The Art Up, Chow Down PhinneyWood Art Walk started in 1995 and was coordinated by the PhinneyWood Arts Council, an all-volunteer organization. In 2022, the PNA adopted the Art Walk to keep the tradition alive.

At ILS, we love the arts: exploring them with our students and showcasing the work of some of our own! This year we’re elated to host June and Gem, by former ILS Art Instructor Ashley Grammar, and illustrations by ILS Co-Founder CM Piper. Come visit Illumination Learning Studio on Friday, Sept. 23 from 6 – 9pm to meet these extraordinarily talented artists, peruse their work and maybe even take a piece home for your own collection.

Learn more about the artists below.

Ashley Grammar, is a Seattle based artist, born in Portland, Oregon specializing in Ceramics, Printmaking, and Illustration. She is the founder of June and Gem.

It took me almost fourteen years of doing hair to gain enough confidence to allow myself to follow my dream of being an independent artist. I recognized that my need to create is unstoppable and it’s not about money or making things that people like. It’s about the act of creating, being vulnerable, not taking anything too seriously, and turning my thoughts, experiences and emotions into something tangible. It’s about creating things I care about and believing that naturally people will follow. It’s about giving in to who I really am, even if that means being poor and everyone hates my work. Creating is my passion, my life blood. Being an artist is who I am to the core and that’s it. So, here I am making art and sharing it with the world.

CM Piper, or just ‘Piper’ as he goes by, has been creating art since he could first manipulate a pencil and brush by hand. While over the years he has dabbled in watercolor, photography and collage, his primary passion is in abstract illustration. Transitioning from ink to digital drawings in recent years, his work remains whimsical, expressive of movement and reveals abstract concepts that seek balance of form while playing with vibrant popping colors. His desire is for the observer to become engaged and entranced in the vivid exploration and movement expressed in each piece. Look closely and you may find hidden characters and messages lurking in the background. 

Instagram @salamanderartist or online www.salamanderartist.com 

About this Series 

Crypto Wizards 1-9 exist here as the physical representations of digital assets, created in 2021 and minted by the artist as NFT’s (non-fungible token). These were the artist’s first NFTs. No. 1 – 7 sold during the height of the NFT craze last year, when he produced under the name SALAMANDER, a persona created for anonymity in the space. 

The rise and recent fall of NFT art was the result of much speculation in the scene, a modern day gold rush. Early producers in this space made obscene amounts of money driven by the hype. The market peaked in January 2022 at $4B in trading volume as the crypto market crashed and took NFT trading down with it in the months that followed.