Tono is an insipration to his classmates, teachers and community members. I am impressed by Tono's drive and ambition. He is so passionate about equality and truly believes every person is has innate goodness and he lives every day making sure others around him realize the same. He has the maturity and awareness of an adult three times his age, yet still hangs on to a youthful demeanor.
Anna Laura is described by many of her fellow classmates as "empowering, selfless, strong and an amazing leader." She has an innate passion for people and genuinely cares about her community. When interviewing Anna Laura I was enthrawled by her modest and humbled demeanor and I instantly knew why so many of her peers nominated her for this award.
This is a map of individuals pledges on how they are going to Be the Spark in their community. Please add your pledge and place the balloon by your community.
Be the Spark is a movement to inspire each other to take action and make our community a more positive, caring place to live. Together, we have the power to build a community that we are proud to be a part of.
Click here to add your pledge
Sha is a sophomore at Foss High School. SHe grew up in Tacoma and feels a great sense of community. She is passionate about getting other youth excited about making this a better place to live: "We have a lot of opportunities for youth to get involved in programs and in the decision making process, we just need to increase the awareness," says Sha-Lu'Juan.
Congratulations, Jessica Spring on being this year's Foundation of Art Award winner!
"It's really an honor to be among the thirteen nominees for the Foundation of Art Award, all talented artists that enrich our community. I'm especially encouraged looking at this, and past years of nominees, that there is a broad range of media represented—like Tacoma, it's inclusive and embracing. Thanks to the selection committee for the opportunity to create a commission for GTCF this year."
Check out a slideshow of photos from the dinner and event
Peter is self taught in just about everything he has done over the last thirty years, including photography. He took what he considers his first “fine art” photo in 2007 and has been pursuing photography seriously ever since. Although he has taken pictures off and on for many years it is only in his 50’s that he found an artistic voice as a photographer via digital photography. Digital photography has opened a world of self-expression that has an immediacy which drives and reinforces his emerging artistic vision.
I found my voice as an artist when I moved to downtown Tacoma in 2006.
Read more about Peter's view on the Tacoma art community.
Elise's paintings explore the relationships between engaging in an artistic process, evoking a sense of place, and expressing time’s passage. She pools, stacks, scrapes, scrubs, pours, stains, drips, collages, and fuses oil, acrylic, and encaustic paint, engaging in processes that reflect forces of nature and capture a state of flux.
I envision community as a support network that is accountable for each and every member and as a launching pad for dreams.
Click read more to view an interview with Elise Richman
Rick embraces struggle and feels it whole heartedly both as an artist and a combat veteran dealing with the emotional after-effects of war. His art fuses stories; finding his voice as an artist and as a combat veteran. He sees art as a challenge, both technically and emotionally.
"While the community already has much in the way of fresh vision, participants, and networking, it will continue to fulfill it's potential as each person becomes more active in the community, and as individuals reach out to see how collaborations with others create synergy and are beneficial for all."
Get a look into some of what goes on before you get to an event. Here are pictures of our wonderful volunteers, staff and some of what went on to make the event run smoothly. We worked with a great team and could not have produced this event without Amy Framptom and Amy Kim from Synaxis Consulting or the fabulous, talented Artistic Director David Koch, and all of the volunteers who donated their time and evergy to help make this event possible.
If you want any of these pictures they are available for purchase online via Team Photogenic.