When most people think about First Thursday Art Walk, the think about the Seattle Art Museum. SAM is great, but it comprises about 1 percent of the art that happens in our lovely little city. Right next to us in the International District, there is a hive of awesome contemporary art galleries showcasing what's new, local and interesting. During art walk, you can catch the openings for a kazillion new shows and chat with the artists themselves about their neo-dada, post-impressionistic, nihilist woodblock prints. Quit missing out on the artsy-fartsy fun and get your neo-dada derriere over to the ID this Thursday. Most the fun goes from 6 to 8 p.m.
SOIL
112 Third Ave. S.
"Loose Leaf"
Local artists team up with local word-birds in this collaborative show that seeks to expand what a "book" can be. Highlight: the transformation of bad ass poet Karen Finneyfrock's "What Lot's Wife Would Have Said (If She Wasn't a Pillar of Salt)" into a confrontational kiss-off of a sculpture by Daniel R. Smith.
Grover Thurston
319 Third Ave. S.
"Fay Jones"
Fay Jones' art has appeared on "Magic: The Gathering" cards, Bumbershoot posters, and all sorts of other fun places. Her work is flat and funky, recalling a nostalgic childhood past with an air of sophistication.
James Harris
312 Second Ave. S.
"Claude Zervas: Prints and Sculpture"
Having grown up in Skagit Valley, Claude Zervas mutates photos of serene pastoral landscapes by laying globby, alien-looking, totem-like sprout forms over them. It's as if the countryside were taken over by
psychedelic extraterrestrials.
Gallery4Culture
101 Prefontaine Pl. S.
"Bubble Tea"
Jason Hirata, a judge at Seattle U's very own Honest Crit, is having a solo show that centers on everyone's favorite weird beverage: bubble tea. Hirata created a series of slightly surreal bubble tea-inspired posters and images that are being distributed to local bubble tea vendors as well as exhibited in the show.
Wing Luke
719 S. King St.
"Vintage Japantown"
In the 1930s, the Japanese community in Seattle experienced a surge in interest in photography as a medium of expression. As a result, a wealth of photos of the community and the International District have survived, documenting a vibrant culture in a by-gone era.
Greg Kucera
212 Third Ave. S.
"Mars vs. Venus"
The male and female form have shown up in art since its creation — in this show the genders are bent and played with, mixed and matched, and shuffled around in an eye-opening examination of what makes the sexes unique, while knocking down a few borders along the way.
Foster/White
220 Third Ave. S.
"George"
George Rodriguez plays around with what it means to be a "George" by crafting giant ceramic busts of other famous Georges. George Jetson, George Clinton, Boy George, Curious George, George Bush… you get the point.
Stonington Gallery
119 S. Jackson St.
"Speaking Cedar"
Scott Jensen has spent a large chunk of his life mastering the craft of Tlingit carving. Jensen was recently adopted as a member of the Tlingit Chookaneidee clan of Alaska, largely based on his incredibly detailed work.
is a member of the 
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