On the lookout for heart and soul
Story by MARY BOYNTON
Quarry on Wednesday, July 25.
Barefooted children frolic while their mothers work in a community kitchen made of fallen trees. A nude couple spend a tranquil afternoon swimming in what used to be a slate mine. Human deposits are collected from the community outhouse to be composted. In the midst of this material rich zone, a woodworker tends to his Sunday chores. The Lookout Arts Quarry is in motion.
Lined by fir and cedar trees, a bumpy gravel road off of Old Highway 99 opens into the Quarry. It is an arts center that has promoted sustainable living, education and entertainment for 11 years. Facilitated by community members who engage in nurturing the earth, the Quarry inspires a collective environment and artistic excellence. Newcomers are invited through festival gatherings and an artist residency program.
Jon Top, a woodworker at the Quarry, said the space gives him the same sense of life that Bellingham does. Inspired by artistic creativity, innovative operation and eccentric individuals, Jon began working at the Quarry last September and became hooked. He is now its first paid employee and main groundskeeper. Jon has worked on various projects, his largest being the construction of the Quarry’s main event stage, which he crafted using the cedar grown on the same land where the stage now stands.
“The Quarry has this thing where if you start leading things and projects, you’re in,” Top said. “They really like it when you have ambition and want to see something happen.”
Jon began woodworking a little more than two years ago when his roommate needed an extra hand on a job. It was an opportunity that led him to discover his calling. Initially, Jon participated in remodeling projects in Bellingham. Then, one weekend changed everything.
Only a short time after he began woodworking, Jon went to his first music festival in California. It was Lightning in a Bottle, and his palette for design completely changed. When he came face to face with the wood crafted stage, Jon thought to himself, “I want to build this, I want to build this, I want to build this.” He realized he too could create mind-blowing, artistic stage designs. “I was just super hungry for it,” he says.
The Quarry’s main objective is to provide an inspiring place for artists to work and live affordably, explains Summer Huntington, a Quarry facilitator and resident of two years. “We are in existence for the arts and to support the arts,” she says. Through the artist-in-residence program, artists and creative professionals live on site and work on projects, art exhibitions or events, which is essentially what the Quarry promotes as a community.
The majority of the Quarry’s funding comes from events that take place on site, including Bellingham Arts and Music Festival (BAMF) in May. Also, Flow State Summit in July, Northwest AcroYoga Campout and Northwest Recess in August, and Sh’Bang Festival of Ideas in September. Between each event, community members dedicate their time to maintain and prepare the land.
The Quarry’s special attraction is the community’s use of natural resources from the land. This helps maintain sustainability and preserve the environment. Also, it offers exciting and fun events for the people of Bellingham. Jon and his team of six used trees from the Quarry to build the main stage, carefully selecting each one for ideal presentation and also for the benefit of the surrounding ecosystems.
Jon says it only makes sense to use the trees grown on the Quarry for such a project, because of the high cost of wood and the importance of practicing sustainability. Within three days they cut down and skinned the trees, cutting them to size for the rafters and beams that hold together the stage. Then, they milled and structured the pieces into shape. Once the rafters and beams were assembled, Jon built the wooden design on the roof of the stage. After adding the final touches at 3 a.m. in the pouring rain, Jon completed the stage just in time for the second Bellingham Arts and Music Festival in 2018.
The hand crafted stage continues to stand tall, with help from Olas Perpich, Co-founder of BAMF and Event Producer from Bellingham who has been working with the Quarry for two years. Olas began attending the Quarry’s weekly Sunday work parties after his first visit, when he discovered the ideal location for his senior project, BAMF. “It seemed like a fantastical playground,” Olas says. “Being a builder and a maker, you always kind of want to have that freedom to do those crazy things you imagine, and the Quarry is a fluid place to do that.”
Within the design there are 21 rafters and two big beams that hold the stage together, using a total of 23 large trees from the Quarry. Jon, Olas and the team of volunteers walked around the land and carefully selected each tree that would be utilized for the project, depending on size, appearance and age. Leaving healthy trees for the Quarry to use for future projects is something they always keep in mind as well.
“Thinning this land out is something that inherently wants to happen because it’s like a giant marsh, so letting trees have potential to get really big and become stronger by cutting down some older trees usually helps the ecosystem and the soil. It make sense, as long as you’re cutting down trees selectively and with courtesy,” Jon said.
With his degree in Sustainable Event Production from Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies, Olas appreciates the Quarry’s DIY mentality and dedication to the environment. He believes these elements curate an ideal venue for a festival. Seeing BAMF grow into an event with more art, comedy and entertainment is what Olas hopes to see in the future. The Quarry is a place that facilitates just that, he says.
After working industrialized and corporatized events, Olas was certain his festival production wouldn’t follow that same path. “You do massive scale productions at those things but there’s also an amount of soul and heart that’s lost in it, and I don’t think the Quarry is ever going to be something like that, that’s the beauty of it,” Olas says. “It’s raw, playful and imaginary and it’s not trying to be anything beyond that.”
The Quarry operates on a Socratic system, with different committees and boards that moderate a checks and balances system. Rather than working jobs that aim for profit, the community at the Quarry engage in work that reflects their hobbies and passions. Individuals like Jon, Summer and Olas have discovered an essence of creative outlet. They are just a few among many other artists who flow in and out of the Quarry. “We really are a pretty extensive community, not just in Bellingham but beyond Bellingham,” Summer explains. “When you get to know people it’s nice to have that relationship or a familiar face with someone you’ve worked on a project with.”
Rather than feeling pride for his finished project, Jon views the stage as a contribution through his hobby of woodworking. “More than anything I’m supporting a cause I like. I could go make way more money somewhere else that I don’t care about but this work does something for me,” he said. Creating art through a sense of creative release is enough for Jon. “In 100 years people are gonna come here and have an experience, and I want to be able to contribute to that.”
The Quarry’s events offer individuals a break from the ordinary through music, dance, participatory culture and activities. These events allow individuals to feel a sense of the Quarry’s mission for a sustainable and healthy future not only as a small community but also as a universal society. “It’s a home for a lot of people whether they live there or not,” Olas said.
Artists will come and go, yet the Quarry will always be there with open arms, awaiting new creativity and ambition.
