The Allied Arts of Whatcom County invite you to view their July exhibition – “Collectively Assembled.”
The exhibition will be open for viewing July 3rd through 25th in downtown Bellingham. The gallery is open Wednesdays-Saturdays from 11am-4pm.
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From the Allied Arts of Whatcom County:
What if 62 artists contributed an 18” x 24” drawing as parts of 22 composite drawings loosely depicting Salish Sea animals? Using the fun drawing game the Surrealists used to play, exquisite corpse, artists made a blind pick of a pre-selected Salish Sea animal part prepared by the inventor and curator of the exhibition, Suzanne Morlock.
New to Bellingham, local visual artist, Suzanne Morlock, conceived of this game idea to help her become acquainted with local creative folks, learn more about a selection of Salish Sea animals and have some creative fun. Allied Arts accepted Morlock’s proposal for this collaborative game idea in the fall of 2025. The show will be in the Allied Arts Gallery, 1213 Cornwall Avenue in Bellingham, July 3-25, 2026.
With a vision which by-passes the thinking mind, the freedom to not over think is the artist’s secret power. Stretching the artist to think outside the box, participants created, using their own style, the portion of the animal they picked. The drawings were executed with a supplied big, black Sharpie marker. One participant quipped, “What a fun project! I never work that big! Or with sharpies. I might have to work this way more often.” What will these Salish Sea creatures look like? What spectacular, hilarious and exotic results will make up this exhibition bringing the head, hand and imagination of individual area artists together to “see” something new, bypassing the typical tools individual artist use to “make art”. Another participant described the process as, “… This is great! … this is hard … this sucks … I suck … maybe … well that’s
kinda cool … this is great!”
The July 3rd reception will be a flashy opening honoring the depicted animals and the humans who drew them. Mark the opening date, Friday July 3rd 6-9pm – an opening not to be missed! An assortment of species will be a part of the festivities as well as some special guests. Ecoacoustician, Andrea Lynn has prepared a sound piece, Voices Beneath the Waves, which will play in the gallery using sounds harvested from the sea. Dancers, Aowyn Leiper, Kaitlin Nelson and Karmen Samione will respond will respond to the visual and sound art with an original movement piece. Bait bites will be served as we celebrate the Salish Sea and spark conversation and care for the ecosystem.
In partnership with Bellingham SeaFeast, Morlock’s collectively assembled will be part of a larger curated exhibition of creative collaborations SeaFeast has undertaken during the nonprofit’s ten year history. Look out for more details on the 10th anniversary celebrations of SeaFeast’s “fishy fun” and creative retrospective at the Cordata Gallery August 22 through October 24, 2026.
