"MEMENTO MORI"  

*'Death' painting courtesy of Carmen Cano 

 

Spring is upon us :::sigh::: . While we would normally indulge our cold, black, evil habit of bemoaning the Shakespearean tendency towards flowers, verse, and the verdant beauty exploding around us in celebration of earth's fertility....we're not going to! Frankly, a little beauty in the form of a cheerful pink cherry blossom is the least of anyone's worries these days, thanks to a grueling pregame of the American Electoral process and the slow spread of a virulent pandemic. So we aren't going to knock the flowers and you should definitely go outside and appreciate them. From a safe, social distance, that is. 

 

Current affairs being what they are, however, we at Ritual would be remiss to ignore our major strength as cynical goths, which is to lean in during terrible times and get simpatico with our collective fear whilst the world rages at the inevitable, ghostly rider and his pale horse. It is in the spirit of getting nice and cozy with our worst nightmares in order to conquer them that we present "Memento Mori", a collaborative art show featuring several unique artists and friends of Ritual.

*'Crow' in ink image courtesy of Valerie Niemeyer

We will have new pieces from Valerie Niemeyer of 'Taco Bell Zodiac' fame, Seattle's own Carmen Cano, the original Enchanting Stranger himself Jon Garaizar, creepy tattoo artwork by Vex Maron, and new deathly doll art by creative creeps AxeHaka.

*'Near The Poplar Tree' oil on linen image courtesy of Blake Blanco 

And in very exciting news, plague be damned, Seattle artist Blake Blanco will be making his Ritual debut at 'Memento Mori' with several ethereal death and plague inspired pieces. This is the very first collaborative art show at Ritual, so of course we will be offering wine and other beverages for those who find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer amount of talent on display. Alcohol scares viruses almost as much as hand washing, you see.  

In addition to disease-fighting cocktails and free-flowing, Thieves Oil-infused hand sanitizer, we'll be offering special $10 tarot readings with Ritual proprietress Sarah Randall Williams, who promises that she cleanses her deck, both spiritually and physically, after each reading. This event is free as part of the Capitol Hill Art Walk series...so what are you waiting for? Face the darkness with confidence and chutzpah...and again, some hand sanitizer. After all, death is inevitable, but that doesn't mean it has to be imminent.

 

 "LOVE AND DARKNESS"  

 

Get intimate with the darker origins of St. Valentine's Day and fully embrace it's freaky Roman predecessor Lupercalia with Ritual's featured artist Vex Maron. 

 

Capitol Hill Art Walk - Thursday, November 13th

Join Ritual in welcoming back Carmen Cano and a new selection of ethereal, haunting portraiture and sculptures. Much of the collection focuses on the inner lives of women as glimpsed through a swirling veil of magic and nature, featuring introspective muses with delicate sparrows for earrings, wreathed and bejeweled raven brides, and sensuous anatomical hearts that pulse with veins of gold filigree. 

This new showing will feature portraits and sculptures available for purchase, wine service and complimentary single card tarot readings by Ritual proprietress Sarah Randall Williams. Carmen's work is true Seattle treasure - don't miss it!

Triskaidekaphobia Party - Friday, September 13th

Yes, it's Friday the 13th and a full harvest moon, but don't cower...empower! Join us at Ritual for 13% off all goods storewide, including tarot readings. Heather Loop of Swamp Swag Creations will be doing tooth bling in-store for just $31 a gem, this day only. Still spooked? Get a Custom Ritual Kit for $31 (reg. $40)  and protect yourself from anything that comes at you.

 

Autumn is nigh, it's getting darker, And what better way to ward off weird Friday the 13th vibes than with Glenn Danzig bellowing about Halloween? In honor of Saturday's show, we'll be playing plenty of Misfits, Distillers, The Damned, and more both Friday and Saturday...if you can't make it to the show, have the next best thing.

 

 

Capitol Hill Art Walk - Thursday, September 12th, 5pm - 9pm

Join us at Ritual for Capitol Hill Art Walk to enjoy tarot readings, a wine/beverage reception, and the ethereal, disturbing portraiture and sculptures of local artist Carmen Cano.  From her personal bio-

"Carmen is a Seattle-based artist, Madrid born and trained. Her works are frequently on the margin of dreamlike, ghostly universes. She explores archetypes, formulas and techniques that bridge intuition with logic, reality with daydreaming, spirituality with sensuality. Cano's also a constructor with a love of tools, leading to a long series of small sculptures, hand-made boxes and artist's books."

"Her work is strongly inspired by the ubiquitous presence of nature, the feminine and the power of symbols."

We are STOKED to have Carmen's work in Ritual for this evening only, and have been sneaking in back every chance we get to gaze longingly at her anthropomorphic bird goddesses. This is a show you do not want to miss. If you can't make the show on Thursday, check out https://www.carmenmaker.com/about to read more about this amazing artist and buy some of her beautiful, strange pieces.

 

 

 

 

 Capitol Hill Art Walk - Thursday, August 8th, 5pm - 9pm

Join us at Ritual for Capitol Hill Art Walk to enjoy tarot readings, a wine/beverage reception, and new art from local weirdo Jon Garaizar of Enchanting Stranger.  Jon is a Ritual vendor and purveyor of strange and scary art that takes form on t-shirts, pins, cards, prints, illustrations, and books. He'll have a wide variety of new merchandise available, and complimentary three card readings will be done with the Enchanting Stranger Gauean Tarot deck. 

 

 

 

 

 

Capitol Hill Art Walk - Thursday, June 13th, 5pm - 9pm

Join us at Ritual for Capitol Hill Queer Art Walk to enjoy tarot readings, a wine reception, and featured wearable art from Heather Loop of Swamp Swag. Swamp Swag is a local purveyor of singular, custom jewelry composed from reclaimed materials including bone, leather, copper, bullets, and crystal that can be found year round at Ritual. On this evening only, Heather will be in store to talk about her art as well as offering her signature service, the 'tooth gem'...custom, temporary art for your pearlies. Swamp Swag will also have custom wearable art inspired by the PRIDE flag on hand to help us celebrate the month of June.