Writer to reveal artistic side in show

She’s interviewed hundreds of artists – shining a light on new talent and giving seasoned artists their due. She owned a gallery downtown for several years, and made it a haven of creativity for troubled kids. Now, longtime Voices correspondent and freelance writer Jennifer LaRue is having her own show – her first in 20 years.

LaRue’s eight-piece series of poem paintings will be featured at Manic Moon & More Saturday through Oct. 12.

“Painting is very emotional for me,” she said. “A lot of stuff comes out when I paint – more so than writing.”

Yet words are very much a part of her art. She created her new series in acrylics, spray paint and Sharpies. Words spill like a river from a woman’s cupped hands in a work called “Flowing 1.” In “Cheers” poetry shares space with a martini glass.

And her largest canvas, “Under the Influence,” is split between “Drunk” and “Stoned.”

“I got really, really stoned (on marijuana) and did the first half. Then I got really drunk and did the second half,” she explained. “

For LaRue art is all about honesty. “As a society we’ve gotten soft. We’re too politically correct – too afraid to offend,” she said. “A lot of artists censor themselves.”

LaRue isn’t one of them. She shrugged. “I was always very anti-authority.”

As the youngest daughter of actor Albert Salmi she grew up in a privileged Hollywood existence of private schools and visits to movie sets. But with the privilege came pain – LaRue suffered abuse at the hands of her mother.

The family owned a condo at Schweitzer and in 1983 decided to move to Spokane. “My father really hated the Hollywood scene.”

She dove headfirst into the Spokane arts community, exhibiting her work at Raw Space shows. “I was very involved in the underground, progressive art scene,” LaRue said.

Following the deaths of her parents (Salmi shot his wife and then himself), LaRue used her inheritance to open Galaxy Gallery on the third level of Auntie’s Bookstore.

Like LaRue, the gallery was unconventional. She hung children’s artwork alongside established artists’ pieces. Not all artists embraced the idea.

When the gallery closed, she turned to writing – covering arts for The Spokesman-Review and area magazines.

Her passion for writing has led her to a new venture. In November, LaRue will launch Terra Obscura, a magazine devoted to art, culture and philosophy. “Think an intelligent, very adult Mad Magazine,” she said. “Uncensored ideas – a magazine not based on making advertisers happy.”

While she hasn’t had a show in 20 years, she has continued to paint furniture and recently created the FeFi, a personal protection pendant on a retractable reel. The dragonfly design can be clenched in a fist, adding power to a punch. “FeFi stands for feminine empowerment and feminine intuition.”

And now, she’s ready to reveal her latest paintings. “I’m very insecure about my painting,” she said. “Painting comes out of my soul.”

But like the figure depicted in a work she called “Seed Keeper,” LaRue is ready to send her ideas into the universe. She hopes she’s a muse to other artists.

“When artists worry about being judged it lowers the bar. We need to break free from the boundaries society puts on us,” she said. “Secrets divide us. We need to let our secrets out. That’s how we stay connected. That’s how we know we’re not alone.”