Hidden Away in Palouse, a Community of Artists Thrives

Summary: The small, agricultural town known as Palouse has a thriving community of multidisciplinary artists and a few venues for artistic display.

Outline:

I) Introduction

·         Setting the scene

·         Brief description of Palouse

II) The Green Frog Café

·         Featured Artist

·         Owner’s belief as to why there is so much talent the community

III) Mary Rothlisberger

·         Occupation

·         Feelings about Palouse

IV) The Bank Left Gallery

·         Basic description

·         Tina Ochs, featured artist and former WSU faculty member

V) Why Palouse?

·         Privacy

·         Creativity

Sources

·         Mary Rothlisberger: 509-288-1313

·         Pamela Duran: 509-878-1391

·         Paula Echanove: 509-595-1885

·         David Wold: 540-656-9542

·         Tracy Milano: tmilano@wsu.edu

Overarching trees line each end of the isolated gravel road.

The path traverses the crest of a quiet hill, and gravestones dot the sloping grassland on either side. Vibrant and rolling farmland abounds in every direction. A few scattered country homes litter lower parts of the elevation.

Looking northwest, the outskirts of a small town can be seen flanking each side of a thin river. This little community is known as Palouse, and it is tucked right next to Washington’s eastern border, 15 miles north of Pullman.

In the belly of one of Washington’s richest agricultural regions, Palouse is equipped with many of the quaint features one would anticipate: outlying farms, grazing livestock, old train tracks, a singular main street for local businesses and numerous rocking-chair-equipped white porches. However, hidden away in the roughly 1000-person town is something different, something less expected: a talented, multidisciplinary community of artists and creative minds.

“There’s a ton of artists here,” said Paula Echanove, co-owner of the Green Frog Café in Palouse. “We have a lot of talented people in this community.”

According to Echanove, the Green Frog features artwork from four or five local artists.

David Wold, a sasquatch-tracking cryptozoologist, is one of the painters featured in the Green Frog. Wold lived in Palouse until last December and is well-known around the community for his variety of interests. He now lives on the East Coast.

Echanove attributes part the town’s wealth of artistic talent to its proximity with Washington State University.

“We are fortunate to live next to the university and its diversity,” Echanove said.

WSU’s presence can felt throughout the community.

“Palouse is the most awesome place in the world,” said Mary Rothlisberger, a WSU alum and traveling community sculptor who calls the town home.

Rothlisberger received her MFA in sculpture and is a citizen artist who spends much of her time on the move throughout the world to develop art within the existing culture of various communities.

While she works as full-time artist, Rothlisberger emphasized how many community residents embrace art in their day-to-day lives regardless of their profession.

“There is not a lot of pressure for commercial art,” Rothlisberger said, noting the town’s significant number of quilters, painters and drawers.

Town residents do not have to go far to see local pieces showcased. Cruising down Main Street, one will see regional art displayed in the Bank Left Gallery on the southern end of town.

Opened in 2005, the gallery utilizes the former Palouse bank building and is paired with a neighboring bistro and tearoom.

“We have lots and lots of artists that we represent that are from Palouse,” said Pamela Duran, who runs the gallery with her husband Nelson.

The gallery features new artists every month. One of the summer’s featured artists was Tina Ochs, a former WSU faculty member and current Palouse resident. Ochs painted several mannequins to match the different seasonal colors found in the scenery around Palouse. She also bedecked the gallery in flowers.

The building itself was built in 1889 and to this day still has the bank’s original stained glass windows and vault, Duran said.

What about Palouse attracts such an artistic community?

“There’s a certain privacy,” Duran said. “Being in Palouse offers that opportunity. When I moved here I felt it was like it was a storybook little town. It allows people to tuck away and do their art.”

It is the wonder of the town that keeps people like Rothlisberger coming back.

“What’s different about Palouse is that I consider everyone an artist,” Rothlisberger said. “Everyone is really creative. Creative about problem solving, creative about making time for each other. It’s a creative community as opposed to a consuming community. A lot of communities just consume culture, but the people in Palouse create it.”