On June 10, 2025, I had the fortunate and unique opportunity to sit down with Seattle artist Heidi Fairall. Her quirky and whimsical style shows not only to how she perceives art, but life itself, and was refreshing and inspirational for aspiring creatives alike. For myself, she made me think about how I approach the creative process when it comes to my own projects.

Base Camp Studios 2 isn’t just a studio space. It’s a community. It’s a reminder that art lives through people, through shared space, and through the simple act of saying, “Hey, come take a look.” If you are looking for art that moves, surprises, and welcomes you, head to Base Camp. You won’t just see the art. You’ll feel it.

It is refreshing to have a press dedicated to queer stories. It is even better that these stories are so accessible. Many of Northwest Press' offerings are available digitally for download as well as in traditional paper and hardback. The price of each is much more affordable than the latest from the big publishers as well as in a beautiful package. There is something for everyone at Northwest Press, and as it says on much of their wonderful merch: Comics are for everyone. 

When asked to attend the 2^nd annual Seattle Fetish Ball and write about it, I only had one question at first: What do you even wear to fetish balls? I’m the type of person that needs to look at menus, check parking, and figure out how long a walk from place to place is. I like being informed, but mostly I have a fear of being or looking out of place. Luckily, they had guidelines. Fetish wear required, it was clearly intended to be a safe space for the fetish/kink/alternative communities.

A day trip out of Seattle up to San Juan Island, near the Canadian border, will take you to one of my favorite Washington icons. At Roche Harbor, a short walk through a wooded cemetery more than a century old will lead to a clearing, in the center of which rests a large stone rotunda. Afterglow Vista (previously known as McMillin Memorial Mausoleum) seems otherworldly—a classical, open-air rotunda containing Masonic symbols, including a round stone table and chairs (in which the ashes of the McMillin family, along with those of John S. McMillin’s secretary Adah Beeny are interred) in the center of a Pacific Northwest island forest.

JLH: [This show] is sort of like confirmation. And I think that’s been an experience for people. I’m also a Survivor. The experience of people coming in and asking, “Does this agree with me or not?”, and me feeling concerned and sensitive about how this feels for Survivors, because, again, the framing is not around Survivor experience. It’s around the document, the lack of documentation, and the protest around our systems of power that are definitely not serving. So almost an archival protest. The programming needed to be more of a deepening of conversations around survivors and their experiences.

On the surface, the works in  Jennifer Leigh Harrison’s show I’m Trying to Tell You Something: Breaking the Silence of Femicide Through Visual Art at Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA), belie the show’s heavy subject matter. In contrast, the work is light, largely abstract, not portraiture, with no obvious violence exhibited. In fact, the only works featuring human subjects are a performance by Harrison and two videos, where she partners with performers from Seattle Pole Dance. A closer look, however, reveals that Harrison’s work utilizes a unique data visualization, in addition to educational wall labels, to tell the stories of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women.

If you spend time in historical Downtown Renton, you will likely run across our next guest—just look up. Erasmus the Rooftop Dragon landed atop a crooked little building in 2019. Since then, the city of Renton has embraced Erasmus, holding the annual Dragon’s Landing festival every April to commemorate his arrival.  

Nicole Bearden (NB): I’m excited to chat today, Erasmus. I’ve never had the pleasure of speaking with a dragon before.  

Erasmus the Rooftop Dragon (ERD): The honor is yours, I’m sure.

Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month, Heidi Grace Acuña presented their debut fashion show with Living Waling Waling, held early May 2025. Acuña partnered with Seattle Center and was selected to represent and uplift  emerging and established local AAPI artists. Acuña is a multidisciplinary artist who has appeared on TV, galleries across the West Coast, and was a finalist at Fruit Bowl. Born in Washington and raised in Hawai’i, Acuña moved from sculpture to fashion and brought a colorful bouquet of upcycled and sustainable clothing through their designs. 

Created by Eva Anderson, Derek Bishé, Mali Elfman, Eric Hoff, Tommy Honton, and E3W Productions (Aaron Keeling, Austin Keeling, Natalie Jones), AOTW is a completely new flavor of production. The focus of AOTW is to create a deeper relationship between art and its participants, and the entrancing world of The Shape of the Night is completely enrapturing, entangling you in the story, performance, and atmosphere. The Shape of the Night is an art gallery, an escape room, a drag show, a play, and a magical realm.

Although caring for the planet is an action that should be taken every single day, engagement tends to increase during the month of April. Commonly referred to as Earth Month, people like Naomi Spinak put forth extra effort during this time to raise awareness about the importance of sustainability in their community.
If you live on or near Bainbridge Island, chances are you may be familiar with some of her work.She helped launch the annual Trashion Show with Sustainable Bainbridge nearly 10 years ago. 

Nicole Bearden (NB): If you end up in the U District, on the Burke-Gilman Trail, you might run across our next guest, one of Seattle’s oddest icons: The Wall of Death. I appreciate you taking time to speak with us today. I must say, your appearance is pretty intimidating, Wall, not to mention your name. What has your experience on the Burke-Gilman been like?

Heidi Grace Acuña presents Living Waling Waling, a fashion event celebrating the matriarchal power of the orchid. Amassing more than twenty artists across mediums in the total production of this show, expect upcycled fashion, eclectic dance performance, and a side of Filipino bites.  Heidi Grace Acuña is a multi-disciplinary artist who sublimes their sense of disconnect to explore topics of identity, culture, gender, and home. Acuña has a background in sculpture with a permanent piece at North Seattle College. Since the 2019 pandemic they have expanded their craft into other mediums like fashion.

On my way back from my short hiatus, I ran into our next Iconic Convos interviewees, Hat n’ Boots at Oxbow Park in Georgetown. At 22-feet high (Boots) and 44-feet wide (Hat), these two are hard to ignore.

Nitroy launched Fancy Plants in fall of 2022. Located on the Ave at the intersection between the University and Ravenna neighborhoods, Fancy Plants is a multipurpose shop where Nitroy hopes to create a welcoming environment for plant carers of all experience levels. Acknowledging that “plants are living things, so they can be really overwhelming emotionally,” Nitroy says that her goal with the store is “trying to make growing plants less stressful and more joyful.” 

There's nothing more titillating than the forbidden. Tacoma Cabaret, partnered with YouWen Production Company, knows this and flawlessly executed a Prohibition-themed show called “Velvet Rope.”

In February, I was an instructor at an arts-infusion workshop for a group of Seattle Public School elementary teachers. The workshop was held at an amazing multi-arts space that I had no idea existed in Seattle: PublicDisplay.ART. Arts Impact, the organization I teach with, acquired the use of the multipurpose space at no cost—an arts space that can be reserved and used for FREE! “How is that possible?” I asked myself. I connected with Marty Griswold, the Publisher of PublicDisplay.Art (they also publish a hard-copy magazine) and he filled me in on all the details. 

Photo by Stanislav

The annual comics celebration Emerald City Comic Con is a great time to discover local shops that carry books by the incredible artists you met at the show. 

Here are five shops from across the Puget Sound region that will serve all of your geeky needs. These are by no means the only shops to go to, but have made a particular impression on a comic lover like me.

Curry painted iconic musicians from Jimi Hendrix to civil rights activists James Baldwin, Michelle and Barack Obama, John Lewis, and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Curry titles his show Where Do We Go From Here—prodding conversation about how we continue to fight and move forward as agents of change.I asked Curry how the people in his portraits answer the question posed by his show. “We keep fighting. We keep supporting,’” Curry answered. 

Nicole Bearden (NB): In honor of Seattle’s Faux Spring weather last week, I decided it was time to have a confab with one of my personal favorite Seattle Icons: A Sound Garden. Located on the NOAA campus near Magnuson Park, between Piers 15 and 17 on Lake Washington, A Sound Garden reverberates with hauntingly atmospheric intonations as the wind blows through artist Douglas Hollis’ twelve, 21-foot high, steel tower sculptures. Sound Garden, I appreciate your presence today.

A Sound Garden (SG): a chorus of metallic hums breezing through the air We are delighted to converse with you.