Pratt Fine Arts Center Announces New Board of Trustees Members

On August 31, 2013 Pratt Fine Arts Center welcomed four new trustees to its board: Piper O'Neill, Jenny Pohlman, Sarah Traver, and Katherine Wax.

"The Pratt Board of Trustees continues to enjoy amazing talent. Pratt has a steady tradition of engaged and qualified individuals on its board and this New Group continues and benefits from that pattern. We are excited to welcome four extraordinary and unique individuals: two renowned artists, Piper O'Neill, an NEA recipient in printmaking and Jenny Pohlman, a nationally exhibited artist in glass/mixed media and recipient of the Pratt Fine Arts Service Award. Sarah Traver, of the Traver Gallery, brings her knowledge of community building and curatorial expertise and Katherine Wax a land use attorney with Perkins Coie, who's legal experience is a perfect fit for our upcoming Pratt Place Project. We cannot be more fortunate to have such art-focused leadership to keep Pratt focused on its mission and the exceptional council to keep us on track in this stage of growth here at Pratt." -Bob Swain, Board President

Piper O'Neill

Artist Piper O'Neill explores concepts of nostalgia and inherited histories through a variety of media including collaged tissue, etched steel sculpture and experimental short film. In 2013, O'Neill was commissioned by the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) to create the Golden Space Needle award. She is a NEA grant recipient through her recent Pratt Artist in Residence appointment, which focused on printmaking. O'Neill has a BFA in Illustration and Experimental Animation from Parsons School of Design, New York, NY, and a MC in Digital Media from the University of Washington. She is represented by Winston Wachter Fine Art, and will mount her second solo exhibition there in January 2014.

Jenny Pohlman

Designing, creating and assembling contemporary forms from molten glass inspired by the ancient, universal language of symbols, Jenny Pohlman has been collaborating with Sabrina Knowles for 20 years and has supported Pratt Fine Arts Center and Pilchuck Glass School annually since 1990. Their work is in the collections of the American Museum of Glass, Museum of Glass, Mobile Museum of Art and Racine Art Museum among others, and in prestigious private collections nationwide. They are the recipients of numerous awards including Pratt Fine Art Center's Service in the Arts award, BAGI's Saxe Fellowship award and residencies at the Museum of Glass and Wheaton Arts. They teach, lecture, are represented by fine art galleries nationally and served on the Board of Trustees of Bellevue Arts Museum ('09 - '12). Jenny serves on the Education Committee for both Pratt and BAM and the team founded Pohlman Knowles High School Scholarship in 2000, which they fund annually. They have also co-curated two exhibitions, one at BAM and one at Vashon Allied Arts.

Sarah Traver

Sarah joined her father in business at Traver Gallery in 2004. As a director, she works on all facets of the gallery-from strategy and sales to design and installation. With degrees in art and education, she works to keep Traver Gallery focused on the gallery's mission as a space for learning, the sharing of ideas, and insight. She is beloved by artists, clients, and community for her sincere interest and generous spirit. Sarah also serves on the board of Artist Trust. When she is not working, she can most likely be found playing in the wilds of Washington or trying out some new restaurant in Seattle or abroad.

Katherine Wax

Katherine Wax is a real estate and land use attorney in the Seattle office of Perkins Coie, LLP. She represents public, private, and non-profit entities in a variety of commercial real estate matters, including acquisitions and dispositions of real estate, real estate financing, and office and retail leasing. She also assists owners and developers in conducting land use due diligence for prospective projects, in planning for and obtaining entitlements for new projects, and in defending challenges to permits. She graduated from Northwestern University School of Law and the University of California, Santa Cruz (B.A., History). Outside of work, Katherine is involved in the Urban Land Institute's Young Leader's Group and the Seattle and Sound Chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women, and has served as Pratt's Board Intern for the last two years. In her free time, she enjoys urban hikes, reading, and traveling. She lives in West Seattle with her husband, Jason.

Pratt Fine Arts Center offers classes for all skill levels and abilities. It is the only facility in the Northwest where absolute beginners and established professional artists work side-by-side creating art in glass, sculpture, jewelry and metalsmithing, painting, drawing and printmaking. Pratt provides affordable studios with unparalleled state-of-the-art equipment and professional artist instruction to create an environment where students learn, experiment, and create. Pratt is The Place to Make Art.

Pictured: Piper O'Neill

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