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. We're  always on the lookout for ways to shine a light on all the awesome creativity we see around us.

This week's Volcano arts section includes a feature Tacoma band Goldfinch teaming with Spaceworks Tacoma to record a new record, a review of Olympia Family Theater's The Phantom Tollbooth and words on the big art show at Washington Center for the Performing Arts.

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

FEATURE: SPACEWORKS TACOMA AND GOLDFINCH

The Spaceworks Tacoma program, described as a joint initiative of the City of Tacoma, Shunpike and the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, strives to match creative groups and empty spaces in downtown Tacoma. Recently, local band Goldfinch took up residence at 1310 Martin Luther King Jr. Way.

"We look for artists, groups, and creative businesses that produce quality work, can engage the community, and can use a vacant space to take their project to the next level," says Rebecca Solverson, Spaceworks Tacoma coordinator.

While Spaceworks is most known for working with visual artists, the program has jumped into the world of music before, including collaborating with the Red Hex- and Slushy-powered The Coma Collective.

Goldfinch is an eclectic band, often classified as indie folk rock. Founded by Aaron Stevens, Goldfinch has changed significantly since the band's one-and-only previous album. Now, with an entirely new lineup of musicians (aside from Stevens), Goldfinch plans to record a second album with the help of Spaceworks. ... -- Kristin Kendle

THEATER: THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH

Given my lifelong adoration of facts and figures, it's a wonder I've never read The Phantom Tollbooth. Written by Norman Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer, this 1961 kid-lit classic is oft referred to as an American Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It tells the story of Milo, a boy given to ennui, who finds himself the recipient of an interdimensional portal in the shape of a tollbooth. He's transported to "the Lands Beyond" - specifically, the Kingdom of Wisdom, which is governed by dueling monarchs, King Azaz the Unabridged (lord of all things literary) and the Mathemagician.

Dorothy had her Scarecrow and Tin Man; Milo has Tock and Humbug. Tock (Emmalene Ryle) is a watchdog, obsessed with time. Humbug's a kind of insectile Newt Gingrich, a role Sara Geiger squeezes for all it's worth. ... -- Christian Carvajal

VISUAL EDGE: GOLD WE HAVE SPUN FROM STRAW!

There's a really big show at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, and it's not on the stage. It's called Gold we have Spun from Straw! and it stretches throughout the Washington Center lobby, mezzanine and the upper balcony. The place is full of art. Really big art.

Especially big is a piece by Bil Fleming and Christine Malek called "Polyethylene Fiend." It's a giant dragon made of used plastic bags and packing materials, bamboo, packing tape, thread, a bath exhaust fan and annealed wire. The piece is also referred to by Fleming in an email as a "Hydrocarbon Leviathan" or a "Petrochemical Problem."

The dragon is huge (45' x 20' x 4') and colorful. It looks like something that should be carried through the streets by a dozen people in costume at a Chinese New Year's celebration or at Olympia's Procession of the Species. The dragon fills the stairwell. Its tail wraps around the railing on the upper balcony and its face almost touches the floor of the ground-level lobby. It is so big that you cannot see the whole thing from any one point of view.

Making "Polyethylene Fiend" must have been a huge undertaking, and it is fun to look at; but sorry, folks, I just can't call it art.

In addition to the big dragon Gold we have Spun from Straw! features selected works from Matter Gallery artists. I'm tempted to say Matter owner Jo Gallagher has picked the cream of the crop, but it may be more accurate to say she has selected the pure art and left out the craft and utilitarian art. No lamps or coat racks or any such, just paintings and sculptures made from, mostly, recycled materials. ... -- Alec Clayton

LOCAL FILMMAKING: THE GRAND'S TUESDAY FILM SERIES

Thanks to its Tuesday Film Series, The Grand Cinema has spent the last six months ramping up the number of titles marching through its doors. The program kicked off on July 26, 2011, with the American documentary Lords of Nature. The theater has since used each subsequent Tuesday to bring in a different film beyond its regular weekly run, amounting to a unique experience for viewers every time.

Executive director Philip Cowan handpicks the growing list, noting that the series "gives me a chance to play 52 more films a year ... that (The Grand) otherwise wouldn't have had a chance to play." ... -- Christopher Wood

PLUS: Comprehensive Arts and Entertainment Calendar

PLUS: South Sound Events the Volcano Recommends