ART AT WORK MONTH >>>

Last weekend several dozen Tacoma artists opened their studio doors to the public as a part of Art at Work: Tacoma Arts Month. I called upon my "artistic" friends to get some recommendations and out of the dozen or so studios I visited – two artists stood out.  Here's a quick glimpse into their work.

R.R. Anderson - Comic Artist Extraordinaire

Walking into Anderson's studio is like walking into a person's mind ... an insane person's mind.

It's a floor to ceiling organized hodgepodge of framed comics, news clippings, antique tools, stacks of finished artwork and books.  Among his collection: a full-on geological display, a batman figurine drowning in a jar of rice, and a typewriter labeled "This typewriter is haunted".

Anderson's affinity for the bizarre isn't solely expressed through studio décor; it's also ever-present in his comic creations.  

Anderson's response to the legislative candidate who recently said, "The Girl Scouts of America are training little girls to be a bunch of lesbians and abortionists." Note the penis-shaped cookie monster.

Like the one above, most of Anderson's comic strips on display in his studio (and available for view at Feedtacoma.com) scrutinize Pierce County politics.  All politics aside, however, Anderson says, "I'm not trying to save the world. I'm doing what I can to stay connected to how the world really is. Ultimately my work is about friendship, need, and other timeless values."

Anderson's work can also be seen in a zine produced by C.L.A.W. (The Cartoonist's League of Absurdist Washingtonians) - a secret society of fez-wearing comic writers. The free zine can be found at several downtown coffee shops including Amocat.

Also upcoming for Anderson is the release of his book, 100 Tacomics: The Secular & Apolitical Cartoon Life of Tacoma and her Moral People(s) which chronicles the last few years of Tacoma through comics.

A celebration of Anderson's book release will be held at King's Books on Monday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. Anderson will be there to sign books and Jeff the Ice-cream Man will provide free Mexican ice-cream.

MICHAELA EAVES - The woman of many mediums

Judging totally on first appearances, Michaela Eaves encompasses the emerging Tacoma artist: she's young, a little quirky, a little hipster, and I'm betting she has a way better record collection than I do.

First off, the studio she shares with several other artists is - simply put - badass. It features high loft ceilings, old brick interior, and huge paned windows that wrap around half of the room, perfectly framing UWT and Tacoma's awe-inspiring smoke stacks.

She's been there for the past two years and has truly found a home in the Tacoma art scene.  "I love how nice Tacoma is to its artists," she said. "Seattle? Not so great."

Michaela's works range from pen-scratched Tim Burton-esque drawings to mystical children's watercolors.

"I used to really want to do illustrations for children's books, but they don't like boobs," she said pointing to the watercolor of a topless nymph.

Me? I think it's pretty damn good (does that make me a nympho?).

Moving on in the tour, Eaves shows me some stained glass-like acrylic paintings, a half-painted door in the works for an upcoming food-bank charity event, and a dozen or so sinister Santa's carved out of driftwood. "I showed these to my mom who asked, ‘Why does everything you make have to be so creepy?'" she tells me.

My favorite of Eaves' pieces are black-ink-drawings stained with coffee. She had these and several other drawings available as prints.

You can check out more of Michaela on her website. For prints and commissioned work you can email her here. 

LINK: Tacoma Art at Work events