THURSDAY. JUNE 20, 2013 >>>

1. Hot off his work as illustrator for the South Sound User's Guide, Alexander put down his tiny line making pens and explores Hilltop Tacoma though found objects. According to pre-show hype, "These found objects were collected and considered before artworks were made from them. Interactions with residents of the neighborhood also served to create work, especially those with the mysterious drifter and neighborhood staple Henry Lee Walls." Titled "Life is OOD," a play off the slogan "life is good" as well as rapper Nas' most recent album, Life is Good, Alexander and Walls offer their inspirations for public viewing with a reception from 5-9 p.m. at Fulcrum Gallery.

2. Of course today is the third Thursday of the month, which means only one thing for the Tacoma crowd: Time for Tacoma Arts Mingle - a night of strolling through galleries, museum and art friendly businesses. And as such hip citizens, you take Tacoma Arts Mingle virgins to the best galleries - and, of course, to galleries offering the best appetizers - hello 253 Collective! But even the hipsters might not know that this gallery across from The Swiss hosts an artist who digs existentialist French author Albert Camus - William H. Bryant III. Does Bryant follow Camus's creed: The artist must create dangerously? That's for you to decide. Bryant says Camus's philosophy of the absurd, views on art and society have been his biggest artistic influence, and the reason why his style of painting depicts the world's ugliness and beauty absurdly in his painting simultaneously. Don't wait for the last judgment - it takes place every day. Yes, there will be nibbles. Check it out from 3-8 p.m.

3. Another Art+Sci Salon will be held from 6-8 p.m. at the Tacoma Art Museum. This collaboration between the University of Puget Sound and the Tacoma Art Museum will focus on the intersections between the arts, ecology, and community - through a panel consisting of Amy McBride, Tacoma art administrator; Elizabeth Conner, artist and adjunct instructor at University of Washington Tacoma; Vaughn Bell, also an artist and adjunct instructor at University of Washington Tacoma; Peter Hodum, biologist and assistant professor at University of Puget Sound.

4. The Kareem Kandi Band will fill the lobby of the Hotel Murano with jazz from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.

5. Thrones, C Average and Moldy Castle will rock The Brotherhood Lounge in downtown Olympia beginning at 9 p.m. 

LINK: Thursday, June 20 arts and entertainment events in the greater Tacoma and Olympia area