BY RON EVANS
Downtown Wenatchee is bracing itself for one of the most electric nights of the year: the return of the Night Market on the Ave, set for Saturday, September 20, 2025, from 6 PM to 10 PM between Orondo and Palouse blocks on Wenatchee Avenue.
Suzy Walker of Garden Vintage and Josh Thaut of Norwood Wine Bar, cooked up the idea as a way to mash art with nightlife and keep it 21+ so the crowd leans lively, not stroller-heavy. Past years have seen everything from surprise pop-up installations, peep shows, life size art vending machines, massive sculpture installations and quality art of all types.
One of the things that makes Night Market so special is the constant effort by the organizers to keep things fresh each year, while still retaining its charm (and many of the more popular vendors). But the real magic is that it not only celebrates local creatives, it brings in all sorts of kooky out of town creatives. “You gotta have that outside energy to keep things interesting. Night Market will always offer a mix of local artists and non-locals, and this year we have quite a few new vendors coming to town. It’s always a bit different than what we did the year before.” says Walker.
Another thing that makes the event unique – there’s no beer garden, you are free to grab a drink and wander. “Some people have asked why we don’t make it all ages, but there are plenty of family friendly events in town. It’s nice to not have to stay within the boundaries of a beer garden. You can get right up close to the bands, shop all the art booths and grab a bite without having to leave your beverages behind. It’s more fun, it’s like one big art party.”
I reached out to a few of the MANY artists coming to the September market. Arpeggio Romiti, Yokai Glassworks and PUNCH Projects. Also see page 19 for a full list of who and what will be at the event.
I know you’ve done painting and drawing work before - aside from that, were there any other mediums you have experimented with?
I am a big crafter, and I know it’s because I watched my grandmother work with various crafts growing up. She taught me how to crochet and sew when I was very young. By high school I was wire wrapping my own jewelry and spray painting stencils onto clothes. Since then I have tried screen printing, block printing, lampshade making... I’ve dabbled with resin. I love learning new crafts and would try so much more if I had the tools and space for them.
Are you still active in those other mediums?
I paint maybe once a year... but I do use my drawing skills to help create stencils for my beadwork. Knowing how to hand sew has helped me a lot with my work, not just for the embroidery part but also for sewing fabrics together. I am currently getting back into block printing so I can use stamps to duplicate small designs for my beaded accessories.
When (and how) did you first get into beadwork?
In 2021 I was bored at work, browsing the internet looking up medieval paintings of cats with human faces because they’re funny and I love them. At some point I came across a 13th century portrait of a saint made entirely of seed beads sewn onto cloth. I couldn’t stop staring at it, I knew I wanted to try it for myself. That day I ordered cheap beads and fabric online. I watched a couple how-to videos on YouTube... which were not that easy to find. I made one small picture of a fish and after that I became obsessed with the medium.
Creepy pop culture icons, twisted characters and other oddities find their way into your work. Talk about your interests concerning subject matter?
Honestly it’s just what I’ve always wanted to make. My mom calls me her creepy kid, as a teenager a lot of my art consisted of flowers with eyeballs, animals with human faces, and deep sea creatures. I was heavily inspired by the H.R. Giger and Salvador Dali posters hanging in our home. There was a short time in high school where I took an interest in drawing portraits, but the smoothness and symmetry of the human face was a lot less interesting to me than movie monsters. Fast forward to present time, I am now working with a medium that I have complete confidence in... I know I can make exactly what I imagine, it’s something I struggled with in other mediums. I am a big fan of horror movies so beading monster portraits is a lot of fun for me. Outside of fan art, I want to create surreal imagery that brings emotion and discussion on mental health and death. I have always been transparent about my own mental health issues, from anxiety dreams where my teeth fall out to grieving over the deaths of loved ones.
Have you been exhibiting/selling your bead work? Talk about how people have been finding your art.
I have been exhibiting for one year! My first show was in Pasadena, CA with SugarMynt Gallery for their annual Halloween show. That first show was what really gave me the motivation to move forward. I then submitted work to Ghost Gallery in Seattle for their annual holiday mini art group show, I sold all five pieces. At that show a local art collector bought my framed cigarettes, he then contacted me on Instagram to order some cigarette brooches he could wear. He showed them to the owners of Doll Parts Collective who then reached out to me to create pieces to sell in their shop.
Thanks to those three shops, 2025 has been a very busy year for me. I’ve beaded 1-2 pieces for every group exhibit at SugarMynt, brooches and artwork for Doll Parts cheese themed show. I also got my first solo show this year with Ghost Gallery in June, in which I sold 8 of my 12 pieces. And thanks to that show, I was contacted by Stilig Studio to show my art during the Snohomish Art Walk, that little town has an incredible art community. I have found the more local shows I do the more I have connected with the art community here which has given me more opportunities than I could ever imagine.
Artists love to know how other artists work. Are you often alone in a dedicated work space/studio listening to podcasts? Talk about your process as well. Do you sketch things out first? Do you make patterns of some sort?
My process starts with reference photos found on the internet. I remove the color and I alter and collage the images to create my desired piece. I then draw a stencil over the image and print that stencil onto an adhesive printable fabric. I then apply that to my white linen and bead directly onto it while keeping the photo nearby for reference. It’s kinda like I make my own paint by numbers. Once finished, I dissolve the stencil in water, flat dry and hem the finished piece, then mount it on velvet.
The last few years I was blessed to have a desk job that allowed me to bead at work... but I just quit that job. I’m about to start my next adventure as a full time artist, most likely working on my living room floor... in front of my TV. I like to refer to monster movies as my research for portraits... but on Wednesdays at 9am I log into YouTube to join the episode premieres for Dark Art Society Podcast hosted by Chet Zar.
What kind of goodies will you be bringing us for the Night Market on the Ave. this month?
I am bringing every framed piece I have; movie icons, fish with faces of the unidentified deceased people, plants with skulls. I am also working on smaller pieces like hanging ornaments and accessories. There will be a lot of cigarettes... My collectors love them and I love making them. And FUCK ICE brooches in various colors. Every time I make these they sell out fast, so please swing by my table early!
Social media/links:
On your website – you mention starting stained glass in July 2021 as a coping mechanism during a rough patch—and that you “instantly fell in love.” Can you walk me through that moment and how the medium offered more than just a therapeutic outlet? Or elaborate on the therapeutic aspects you get from creating?
When I started glass work, I was trying to navigate my mental health in a productive way. I fell in love with the almost cathartic release that came from the control of breaking glass the way I wanted.
What other kinds of art forms have you dabbled in prior to discovering glass?
Since discovering glass, I’ve actually dabbled in a handful of other art forms like block printing, Suminagashi (Japanese Ink Marbling), and gilding. I originally wanted to pursue ceramics, but never thought I’d have the room for it. So naturally I built a glass studio instead.
Do you think of yourself as collaborating with the sun (or other sources of light) in your work? Is that a stupid question? How does that relationship with light shape your designs in terms of concept and construction?
That is an amazing question! A lot of stained glass is collaborating with the sun from the beginning of a design. Deciding where the piece will hang is almost always first. I prefer to use transparent vs. opaque glass because the refractions of light and color are my absolute favorite part of a finished piece. I’m never really convinced on my color palettes until I see them in the sun.
Do you have a favorite element of the process? One moment that makes all the work and planning pay off for you?
Cutting glass is my favorite step because I had to learn to be patient. Glass is expensive so I had to learn when to walk away from breaking the same piece over and over again. The moment I see a piece finished, I know the blood, sweat, and sometimes tears were worth it.
Are there particular yokai or stories that inform your designs? Talk about these Japanese influences in your work.
Baku (my logo) is known as the nightmare eater. I’ve been an active and vivid dreamer ever since I was a kid, nightmares included. My Baku is a representation of overcoming the thoughts buried deep in my head. I also love a mischievous little guy.
Can you share one favorite concept you’ve interpreted in glass?
My favorite concept is actually creating my (new) logo from glass. I don’t make things for my personal collection, so this one will hold a special place in my heart. The piece will be unveiled at Night Market so make sure to stop by and check it out!
You have offered instructional classes as well. How do teaching and hosting these community events shape your practice—or do they feed back into your creative process? Talk about the experience of teaching others.
People automatically assume I make church windows, and are surprised at my work being more… unorthodox compared to most traditional works. I am fully self taught, so teaching has been one of the most validating experiences in my work. I’m often told stained glass is a lost art, so I’m very proud to be someone who continues this tradition.
Talk about what kinds of things you will have at your booth for the upcoming Night Market on the Ave.?
I want to bring more interaction to my booth for Night Market, so I’m bringing my gachapon machine! Gachapon is a capsule machine with prizes, but instead of a sticker or a toy, you get a mini stained glass piece!
Looking forward, what’s a direction or project you’d love to explore that you haven’t yet? More collaborative pieces, public installations, new cultural or stylistic influences—what’s next for Yokai?
Yokai Glassworks is expanding! I’ll be offering more advanced classes as well as nerikomi pottery in the near future. My main focus this year is finding my style and personality in my work.
I’ve also partnered with a few amazing artists to purchase Class With A Glass! I’ve always wanted my own studio space, and it’s finally happening! We offer art/maker classes for all ages!
Links/Social media:
You can shop my work at
Or follow me on Instagram
@yokaiglassworks
COLUMBIA STREET MURAL FEST ART AUCTION
Kathleen Dyer’s winning piece from the inaugural Columbia Street Mural Fest.
Panels from the Columbia Street Mural Fest will be on display at the Night Market. And you can even bid on them as the auction will be going all through the event. You don’t have to wait though, you can start the early bidding now at givebutter.com/c/cepXQ4/auction.
50% of the profits go back to the artists and then 50% goes to help Wenatchee Downtown Association continue Mural Fest!
It’s a great opportunity to own some (very large) incredible art while supporting your local art scene!
Each piece is 8’x8’ - in two 4’x 8’ panels, so make some room!
What’s the deal with PUNCH?
PUNCH is a volunteer-powered community arts and performance venue operated by a five-member arts collective with an aim to promote dialogue between urban and rural art communities. PUNCH was founded in 2006 when a group of artists from rural central Washington sought to participate in the Seattle art scene by opening an artist-run gallery in Pioneer Square. In its current iteration, PUNCH occupies the original Thorp fire station to cultivate a rural art scene in central Washington through site-specific exhibitions, creative development, cultural events, and micro-manufacturing.
What kind of works does PUNCH look for when it comes to exhibitions?
Seeking to exhibit work that is honest, thoughtful, vocal, fearless, and fresh, and applauding individual expression, the gallery’s primary mission is to provide support and encouragement for artists to create and exhibit their work in an atmosphere free from the constraints of commercialism.
Talk about the music you have there - do those performances coincide with the art in any thematic or coordinated way?
The weekly performances at PUNCH feature both local and regional talent ranging from music to poetry reading, story-telling, puppetry, circus acts and more! Generally, there is no curated correlation between the exhibitions and performances as the exhibitions last the duration whereas we have entirely different performers each week.
What has been the most rewarding aspect of running PUNCH? And how are you funded. Is it a co-op of sorts?
Creating a bona fide third space in a rural community where the programming is free, all-ages and absolutely welcoming to everyone. We love the sense of convivial community-building that happens each Saturday during our hours of operation. As an LLC, our funding comes from a combination of county lodging tax grants, memberships and in-kind donations supplemented by gallery sales and limited-edition merchandise.
Talk about how you curate your exhibits. Do you tend to hold public calls for art?
Scheduling and curation of exhibition is a collaborative effort. Sometimes it’s a member of the collective that takes the lead on curating a group show or invitational. Other times we invite artists for solo exhibitions or outside curators to put something together. There is almost always an underlying theme, topic or concept. Occasionally, we put out “calls for art” and pull from the larger global community of artists, such as our “Barnstorm” or “Vertical Hold” exhibitions which include art in all mediums including video art and similar media that often don’t get much exposure in rural central Washington. These calls get posted to our email list and socials, so keep an eye out and click that subscribe button!
What’s something you all have been dreaming about doing at the space - if money (and any other obstacles) was a non-issue?
We are primarily a volunteer-based venue open one day per week. If money was no issue, we’d love to have the support staff to be open more days per week and expand our food and beverage offerings. We’ve also talked about converting shipping containers into immersive art experiences and maybe an artist-designed RC car track … you know, for the kids.
Who all will be coming to the Night Market this month?
Gosh! Hopefully every single person in Wenatchee and the surrounding area! Maybe your mom? We’ll bring a few folks from Thorp. Hopefully at least one person that knows how to screen print.
Because, we’ll be bringing our screen-printing press and a custom shirt design with a Wenatchee theme. Folks will be able to buy a shirt from us or we can print on your own clothing item. We’ll also have some art and other cool merch from the PUNCH inventory.
Links/social media:
IG: @punchgallery
LNK.BIO/PUNCHGALLERY
