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🤔 Home runs or housing?
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🤔 Home runs or housing?

UNDER THE CRANE. “Everyone’s kind of overwhelmed by everything that’s going on. They don’t know what to do.”
(📸: Aaron J. Hill)

‘I’VE SLEPT ALL OVER THE PLACE’

Path With Art students made 16 posters for their Home Shows partner project, and Aaron’s design ☝️ was one of two that Pearl Jam picked for a limited-edition run.

Aaron, who’s 44, lived without a home in Seattle for 10 years before mid-May. That’s when his name came up on a waitlist for housing with the Seattle Housing Authority and he moved into a one-bedroom apartment in Belltown. “I’ve slept all over the place,” he told us. And he’s felt the city change around him in a pretty powerful way…

The construction crane is a pretty powerful presence in your poster. Tell us about that.

Right after I’d drawn the crane, I saw a story from The Seattle Times that Seattle is in its third year in a row with more construction cranes than any city in the United States. I was like, oh, it’s perfect. I wanted to kinda be subtle about it, that there’s all this money and wealth being poured in these construction projects but then there’s people on the streets being neglected. The homeless people never seem to see that money.

In your artist statement, you talked about that dichotomy between our city’s wealth and how so many people can’t access it, and you mentioned someone you’d seen “crawl along sidewalks on Capitol Hill shoeless while residents walk by.”

That comment comes from a guy up at Rite Aid by Capitol Hill. He was literally crawling on the sidewalk. Socks half on, no shoes. People would just walk by, wouldn’t look at him, and I was like, man. It’s just bizarre to me that this happens.

What do you think keeps us from offering help?

I think everyone’s kind of overwhelmed by everything that’s going on. They don’t know what to do. Plus there’s fear. Fear of the unknown. I remember when I was really at a low point a few years ago. People just ignore you and stuff. And then somebody reached out to me and said, “Hey, how are you doing?” And so I always make a point to do that with people.

They have to go through all this crap. Figure out how you’re gonna do laundry, that’ll take four or five hours one day. Then you gotta run to food bank — that’ll take another four hours. I’ve never been more busy than just being homeless. If you just interact with somebody in a friendly way, just acknowledge them, that can improve someone’s day, you know?

Want to see Aaron’s poster up close? It’ll be on display — along with 15 other Home Show student posters — at the Path With Art gallery space in Pioneer Square from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today and on August 8 and August 10. The posters are not currently for sale, but you can sign up for a poster giveaway at one of the exhibition openings, or get on Path With Art’s mailing list for updates.   

NOW HERE’S WHAT’S GOING ON IN YOUR CITY

Home runs or housing? King County Council member Jeanne Kohl-Welles shocked some people on Tuesday. She’d co-sponsored a plan to let the Mariners spend around $180 million in public money to fix up their stadium, but then decided it was “simply the wrong amount at the wrong time.” She’d rather we spend the bulk of that money on big need — affordable housing — and is going to draw up a new, competing plan to do just that. The Mariners aren’t thrilled, and say they need that money for some critical fixes at the publicly-owned ballpark. Will they strike out? The next meeting on this is on August 29. ⚾️ (The Seattle Times)

Hey, lumbersexuals! An axe-throwing bar is coming to Capitol Hill. We repeat: An axe-throwing bar is coming to Capitol Hill. “The business operates like a bowling alley — you can book a private lane for $120 for 90 minutes or share a lane for $20,” Justin Carder of Capitol Hill Seattle wrote about the upcoming Blade and Timber. “Given you’ll be throwing sharpened axes together while most likely consuming alcohol, choose your lane partners wisely.” (Capitol Hill Seattle)

WA’s top BBQ isn’t in Seattle. And it’s got another state right there in its name. Food & Wine Magazine called Jeff’s Texas Style BBQ in Marysville our state’s finger-lickin’ best. Owner Jeff Knoch caters for the Seahawks, which is quite the endorsement. (The Seattle Times)

Home sweet home? With all the slick apartment buildings and box houses replacing our creaky abodes of yesteryear, The Stranger asked some local musicians, artists, and writers about the strangest places they’ve ever lived in Seattle. Grab a cup of coffee — it’s worth reading through the whole thing. Some key quotes: “I will NEVER MISS the slug infestation.” “Every time someone in the building flushed, I heard it.” And this gem: “Eventually I had a bathroom full of Christs.” 🏠 (The Stranger)

Ask Lynda. Environmental reporter Lynda Mapes has written more than ten stories about something heartbreaking — the endangered orca mom who’s been carrying her dead calf now for nine days. How has the whale’s story affected you, and what questions do you have about orcas in the Puget Sound? Send your thoughts her way. (The Seattle Times)

AROUND TOWN

TODAY

🎶  Shake your hips to salsa at Freeway Park (Downtown)
🎨  Make art, eat food truck grub, and hear “maximalist Indigenous psych” music (Belltown)
🎨  See Pearl Jam posters by people who’ve experienced homelessness — through August 10 (Pioneer Square)
💡  Hear from renowned researcher Dr. Temple Grandin (Downtown)


TOMORROW

🎶  Rock out to Tacocat and other local bands by the Space Needle (Queen Anne)
🎨  Oooh and aaah at the Seattle Art Fair — through August 5 (SoDo)
🎈  Take the fam to celebrate African-American food, culture, and music — through August 5 (Central District)
🎶  Bring the kiddos to a Hamilton sing-along (Downtown)


SATURDAY

😸  Hang out with cats at Cal Anderson Park (Capitol Hill)
🏞  Align your chakras at the Olympic Sculpture Park (Belltown)
🤓  Unleash your anime nerdiness on Sailor Moon-themed crafts and cosplay (Bellevue)
🎈  Cheer on parades of kids, dogs, and floats (Lake City)
🏞  Check out “living sculpture” bonsai trees in a famous house (Lakewood)
💪  Learn how to turn your art into a business (Downtown)


SUNDAY

✈︎  See the Blue Angels at Seafair (Rainier Valley) 🆕
🐶  Cheer on your furriends at a corgi race (Auburn)
🎈  Peruse handmade goods and see a kids parade (Magnolia)
🎶  Hear young musicians perform operatic arias and more (Downtown)


Going to one of these? Take us with you! Email a pic to [email protected] or tag #theevergrey on Instagram. See more upcoming events on our events page, and add your own events with an Evergrey membership. Is an event sold out? Hit reply to let us know and we’ll update the listing in tomorrow’s newsletter.

HELLO THERE, MURALIST

Reader Erin Osgood sent in a fun tip: Her cousin, local muralist John Osgood, is going to be painting a new mural in the Bartell’s parking lot in Queen Anne today. He’s done some neat stuff around town — like the tiger mural at Phinney Market. “They’re planning on starting early and working ’til the job is done,” Erin wrote. Stopping by? Send us a pic or tag it with #theevergrey.

Want to know where to find some of your city’s favorite murals? Check in with the collection you helped us build here. And make plans to check out the new SODO Track mural corridor — it’s the longest in the world.

Oh, and congrats to reader Karen Fite — the winner of those tix to MoPOP and that limited-edition Spider-Man poster.

Keep it colorful, all. — The Evergrey

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