Nov. 17-23, 2004

Artist Lecture Visual artist Darwin Nordin and poet Judith Roche talk about their involvement with the Remann Hall Women's Project, a program that teaches art and poetry to young incarcerated women. 7:30 p.m. Thurs. Nov. 18. Museum of Northwest Art, 121 South First St. (La Conner), free, 360-466-4446.

Best of Northwest Craft Get a jump on your holiday shopping at this marketplace featuring 285 glassblowers, woodworkers, painters, ceramicists, jewelers, weavers, and sculptors. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Fri. Nov. 19; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. Nov. 20-Sun. Nov. 21. Magnuson Park, 7400 Sand Point Way N.E., Hangar 27, $5, 206-525-5926.

Documentary and Panel Discussion: New Slovene Avant Garde Slovenia is apparently home to a thriving avant-garde movement, exemplified by Neue Slowenishe Kunst (NSK), an artists' collective that uses theater, art, and music to appropriate old Soviet-era totalitarian kitsch as a form of dissent. A screening of a documentary on NSK will be followed by a panel discussion including two members of the collective, Seattle-based artist Charles Krafft (who has worked with NSK since the early 1990s), and Frye Art Museum curator Robin Held. 7 p.m. Sun. Nov. 21. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., 206-329-2629.

Kobo at Higo Grand Opening Kobo is a fine little Capitol Hill store specializing in art, design, and craft inspired by Japanese tradition. Now, owners Binko Chiong-Bisbee and John Bisbee are working on opening a second, much larger store on Jackson Street in what was once Seattle's thriving Nihonmachi, or Japantown. The new space, which will eventually feature a gallery, tearoom, and museum of Japantown artifacts, will take up residence in the old Higo store, a fixture in the community for decades. 5-9 p.m. Fri. Nov. 19. Kibo at Higo, 602 S. Jackson St., free, 206-381-3000.

Meet the Artists An artists reception and lecture by painter Patti Bezzo and sculptor Scott Mansfield. 1-3 p.m. Sat. Nov. 20. Gallery 110, 110 S. Washington St., free, 206-624-9336.

Potters' Sale Another chance to get your holiday shopping out of the way: a selection of work by 80 local ceramic artists. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Thurs. Nov. 18 and Fri. Nov. 19; 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Sat. Nov. 20. Hollywood Schoolhouse, 14810 N.E. 145th St. (Woodinville), free, www.undiscoveredpotters.com.

Openings

Crawl Space "Does anyone really need to see another goddamn SOIL or CoCA group show?" asks the press kit for "Members Only," yet another goddamn group show—by folks like Gregory Schaffer, Kristen Ramirez, Megan Szczecko, and a cornucopia of other youngsters. Opens Sat. Nov. 20. 504 E. Denny Way #1 (near Olive), 206-240-6015. Noon-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun.

Burke Museum "Evolution's Big Bang" is a touring Smithsonian exhibit about British Columbia's Burgess Shale formation—one of the world's most important fossil records of what life was like 500 million years ago. UW campus, N. E. 45th St. and 17th Ave. N.E., 206-543-5590. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily; 10 a.m.- 8 p.m. Thurs.

Winston Wächter Big, modernist megalithic sculptures in stone, bronze, and glass by Julie Speidel. Reception: 6-8 p.m. Thurs. Nov. 18. 203 Dexter Ave. N., 206-652-5855. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tues.-Sat.

Last Chance

CoCA This year's "Northwest Annual" is pretty good, with a few standouts. Laura Wright's sewn art is a hybrid between two- and three-dimensional art that pays tribute to the tools of paid and unpaid workers; Emily Ginsburg's small monochrome paintings are composed of mysterious little Rorschach blobs/flowchart bubbles; and Sean Healy's colorful cast resin sculptures make use of '70s toys in novel ways. In a category all their own are Pat Boas' three beautiful and disturbing acrylic-and-ink paintings of furry, mutant forms that coil and writhe like some demented genetic fusion of cat's tails and phalluses. On the lighter side is Noah Klersfeld's video shot at an intersection in Manhattan: With an after-the-fact voice-over, he's transformed a boring 10 minutes of pedestrians and cars into piece of micromanaged stage direction that's often quite funny: "You with the glasses, scratch your nose. On three, get rid of the pigeon." 410 Dexter Avenue N., 206-728-1980. 2-8 p.m. Tues.-Thurs.; noon-5 p.m. Fri.-Sun. Ends Sat. Nov. 20.

Consolidated Works "Quiet Revolution" is a group show that promises "interpersonal politics, atmospheric conditions, civil disobedience, fantasy vs. the real, and sensorial information." Artists include Mandy Greer, who creates lovely installations that weave fables in fabric, beads, and glitter; Paul Margolis, who does amazing things with quilts; Jack Ryan, whose installation contains hundreds of acrylic ears; and Kat Tomka's sculptures made from Scotch tape. 500 Boren Ave. N., 206-860-5245. 4-8 p.m. Thurs.-Fri.; 1-8 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Ends Sun. Nov. 21.

Kirkland Arts Center "Ruffle: Decadent Vexation" features fluff with a purpose by Elizabeth Jameson, Mandy Greer, Kris Lyons, and Anna Maltz. 620 Market St., 425-822-7161. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri. Ends Fri. Nov. 19.