Watercolors, fabrics on display at First Friday

A variety of mediums are going to be on display during the First Friday art show at the Ritzville Art Center on Friday, June 1 at 7 p.m. Local artist, Carol Schwisow, is featuring her diverse artwork for watercolors, wall hangings and fabrics.

Schwisow grew up in Richland before attending college at Washington State University where she met her husband, Del, and graduated with a degree in education. The couple lived in Omak for a few years, Pasco for one year and then came to Ritzville to farm.

During the time that the Schwisow’s lived in Omak, they had their first two children. As a birthday gift one year, Schwisow received art classes as a gift from her husband, and from there, her passion for art continued to blossom.

The couple also lived in Twisp and it was here when Schwisow began taking classes from Arlene Campbell.

“She was a real inspiration to me,” Schwisow recalls. “That’s where I started drawing, but I think I was always drawing as a child.”

Schwisow fondly remembers an art project she completed when she was 12-years-old, and the remembrance of the project rekindles the passion she has for art. She only took one art class at WSU and that was “because I wasn’t contemporary enough,” Schwisow joked.

In the 46 years that Schwisow has been a resident of Ritzville, she taught art at the Ritzville schools and at Big Bend Community College for about 10 years. Schwisow also opened a business called the Cellar of Treasures, which she owned and operated for nearly 20 years.

Art became even more of a passion for Schwisow when she was teaching children about mediums during her teaching career.

“I always liked encouraging children to paint and do artwork,” Schwisow said. “It was fun for me to be involved, and for them to be able to express themselves freely.”

Schwisow painted with her sons Scott, Craig and Todd during their childhood and now has begun painting with her six grandsons. She explains that while her sons may not be artists in the traditional sense of the word, they have chosen careers with artistic elements, such as architecture.

Currently, Schwisow has about eight pieces of artwork on display in the Ritzville Art Center, not including the four pillows and wall hangings.

Schwisow used to sew all of the time, and made her own clothing. After retiring, Schwisow focused on making quilts.

A recent endeavor for Schwisow is incorporating realism to fabric and experimenting with fabric arts. She has one wall hanging on display at the art gallery that displays the creation of incorporating a painting and sewing it into the quilt.

Schwisow explains that she has never been good at following quilt patterns and by creating her own design; it brings individualism to the creation.

Schwisow prefers to paint flowers with watercolors and occasionally uses photos of flowers to create her masterpieces. She also enjoys painting local terrain, barns and windmills, and incorporating all of those into landscape paintings.

Last winter, Schwisow had to take a leave of absence from the art gallery committee because of a surgery and she was unsure of when she would have enough energy to dedicate to the responsibility. Now that she has recovered, she looks forward to creating more artwork and expanding her expertise.

Schwisow hopes to be able to teach a class this fall with the gallery’s permission in order to help locals expand their artistic knowledge and teach techniques that she has learned over the years. She still has the desire to teach others and to provide those around her with an opportunity to create something beautiful and meaningful.

Schwisow plans to display more of her artwork during the First Friday event, and the majority of her artwork is smaller paintings and pieces. She says that she prefers to paint small, square paintings in order to experiment with different techniques in watercolor.

The First Friday event is sponsored by the Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce and celebrates the talent and success of local artists in the area.

The Ritzville Art Center is located at 109 West Main Avenue. For more information about the event, contact the Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce at 659-1936.