Campus Partners Spotlight: Hidden Gems
Even if you’ve visited the TwispWorks campus a hundred times, I’m willing to bet you haven’t seen everything that campus has to offer. We host more than 30 organizations and businesses on our 6.4-acre campus in the heart of Twisp, and we have a variety of fun outdoor spaces and public art installations for all to enjoy. I’m excited to share a few “Hidden Gems” with you to make your next (or first!) visit to campus special. Most of these partners suggest contacting them ahead of time to guarantee open doors, but believe me, it’s worth the extra effort!
D*Signs
D*Signs is located in the old Tree Cooler building at the corner of 5th and Methow Streets. Local artist and sign maker Donna Keyser tends to be there early in the morning, but you can also call or text (509-997-0255) ahead to schedule your visit. Her space is an impressive mix of high-tech sign making machinery, Methow Valley Seed Collective seeds sprouted by Donna herself, and the largest, most daring plein air paintings you’ve ever seen. A tour is worth a special trip to campus.
Masha Falkov
Masha Falkov’s studio is an artist-gamer’s hidey-hole, full of more conversation starters than can be described here. Still, I’ll try! Masha creates “nerdy” glasswork as well as fantastical digital paintings, mandelbulb pieces, and ink drawings. Her latest project is Unstable Scientific, “a hi-bit pixel art indie platform game where you’re a physicist unlocking the mysteries of the spacetime in a lab on a remote island.” Make sure you catch her in the studio by connecting with her ahead of time at mashafalkov@gmail.com. A tour is worth a special trip to campus!
Methow Valley Seed Collective
Did you know the Methow Valley Seed Collective is tucked into the basement of the Methow Natives building on 5th Ave? You can “visit” the Methow Valley Seed Collective on campus or at five different retail locations in the Methow Valley (full list). The Collective grows over 100 different flower, vegetable, and herb seeds locally, which means they’re adapted to our bioregion and our short growing season. Right now is the perfect time to pick up some seeds and get your garden started!
TwispEats
Make sure you take a long walk around campus before visiting TwispEats; you’ll want to order everything on the menu! TwispEats is located on the south end of campus—the big paved oval where you find kids of all ages on bikes and roller skates in the summer. Steve Morse and Nancy Pfeiffer, former owners of FORK, are serving burgers, fries, egg rolls, and so much more. They are open on Friday noon – 7pm and Saturday 9:30am – 7pm thru the whole summer.
Fireweed Print Shop
Little known fact: Fireweed Print Shop designed the seed packets for Methow Valley Seed Collective using an antique letterpress and handprinted the first 1,000 packets. Artist and printmaker Laura Gunnip runs the print shop and helps students of all ages engage in the radical act of creative self-knowledge through letterpress and printmaking classes. She also has a retail shop featuring one-of-a-kind and small batch hand-printed items. Call ahead at 509-449-1789 to double check her open hours, or find out about available classes.
Methow Metalworks
I recently commissioned some feather-shaped hooks to hold back my son’s bedroom curtains when not in use. Not only did I receive two beautiful handmade hooks, they were delivered in person—WHILE THEY WERE STILL WARM! Get a similar up-close-and-personal experience when you visit Methow Metalworks at the far south end of campus. Jerry often works with his doors open where he welcomes visitors to stop in and chat, or you can connect ahead of time at 509-341-4810.
Shivelight Studio
Some art you can see the brushstrokes and you know just how it was made. Some art is like Mary Apffel’s—the more you look the more you’re baffled. Mary creates collage art in her aptly named Shivelight Studio in the Gateway Building at TwispWorks. (Shivelights are sharp lances of sunshine that pierce the canopy of a forest.) I bet she’d love to show off her studio if you connect with her ahead of time at 253-886-3082. You can also find her astonishing work in the Confluence Gallery in downtown Twisp.
Velocity Made Good
Maybe you saw Perri Howard’s show at the Seattle Art Museum? Maybe you ran into her in the Arctic? Or the Amazon? Both places where she recently collected “the sonic signatures of place.” But have you seen her studio on the TwispWorks campus? Velocity Made Good is the place where travel experiences, sketchbook drawings, sound recordings, and more are processed by Perri’s exceptional brain and compressed into paintings, installation art, and sound art. Contact Perri to see completed works and works-in-progress in her studio next to Methow Valley Goods on the skating loop at the south end of campus.