ARTS COVERAGE TO END ALL ARTS COVERAGE >>>

At this point it goes without saying. If you're looking for coverage of local arts in Tacoma, Olympia, and all points in between, the Weekly Volcano is THE place to find it. Our goal is to consistently provide the best local arts coverage possible to our fantastic readers -- always be on the lookout for ways to shine a light on all the awesome creativity we see around us.

Here's a look at the Volcano arts coverage waiting for you this week in print and online.

VISUAL EDGE: WISH YOU WERE HERE

There are a lot of artist-made postcards in the Wish You Were Here postcard exhibit at the Kenneth J. Minnaert Center for the Arts Gallery at South Puget Sound Community College. More than 75 local and regional artists submitted more than 250 works. Sorry, I didn't count how many made the cut, but there are a lot of them and they run the gamut, from sweet and sentimental to corny, wise, clever, beautiful, stupid and amateurish. The postcards include paintings, prints, photography, drawing, ceramics, sculpture and mixed media. (There are no wall labels to indicate media, so if I say it's a watercolor or a photo-collage or whatever, that's my best guess.)

A few of the postcards in this show are clichéd, and there are some that are badly done; but for the most part the works are very inventive and skillfully executed. ... -- Alec Clayton

THEATER: ALMOST, MAINE

I've never felt such contradictory reactions to a play as I did to Almost, Maine at Olympia Little Theatre. It's an anthology set in a fictional settlement on a cold winter's night, and I both loved and despised it. Depending on where you sit, it might be the best date show you've ever seen. ... -- Christian Carvajal

MOVIE BUZZ: RON LAGMAN'S COMMITTED

Saturday, Jan. 14, 6:53 P.M.: I walk down a blustery Opera Alley in downtown T-town, looking for an address and looking forward to the first public screening of filmmaker Ron Lagman's new work, Tapat Sa Pangako (Committed). Yet danger looms above my head - talk has grown this past week about an apocalyptic snowfall (GASP!).

Hey, anything can happen in 2012, right? We may be in for The Day After Tomorrow, tonight. Or tomorrow. Or perhaps the day after tomorrow. Point is, you can't take any chances. Before reaching The Space I scan the skies apprehensively. All clear. Good. I duck inside.

Lagman's bubbly wife Juliette (wo)mans the sign-in table, and gives me a bracelet along with a big smile. I soon spy the writer-director as well as one of Committed's two stars, Rick Walters. His unnamed character doesn't speak a word, only aggressive grunts while exercising in an early scene. Viewers soon find out how much of an animal he truly is. ... -- Christopher Wood

WE RECOMMEND: DAWN OF 2012

Debuting Thursday with a special opening reception, Dawn of 2012 (Emerging Artists of 2012) at Fulcrum Gallery is a collection of Tacoma artists ready to break out - on the cusp and ready for someone to brightly shine a light on their work. That's exactly what Fulcrum, and proprietor Oliver Dorris, plan to do. Featuring the work of Julian Pena, Kelsi Finney, Gabriel Brown, Kirsten Marie Pisto, Meghan Mitchell and Branden Urban, Fulcrum says to expect of the show, "a spectrum of graphic forms, surrealistic imagery and repurposed material." ... -- Weekly Volcano Staff

PLUS: Comprehensive Arts & Entertainment Calendar for the South Sound

PLUS: Bikini Snowwoman on Hilltop