November 29, 2025 - February 15, 2026

You are invited to an opening reception to meet the artist!

November 29, 2025

Time: 12-2pm

Location: 157 Front Street North

Artist Statement:

Joan Fiset

Some years ago I discovered a woman in England who “rescued rags.”  She became a source of pieces of vintage fabric, lace, and ribbon, but more importantly, she saved up frayed, tattered scraps she would otherwise “throw out.” When she’d accumulated enough to send I purchased from her Rag Rescue website. After receiving them bundled into small bags I dampened then ironed each one.

Once I ironed a small scrap of silk with tiny flowers. It may have been part of what became a piece of lingerie decades ago. When the iron passed over the scrap, fragrance of perfume announced itself. I felt a link to a woman in another life in another time.

I’m drawn to the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, possibly because my mother was a child, young girl, and woman then. While there’s a sense of nostalgia about these vintage creations, there is something else as well. They are informed by what has been and is no longer. In some mysterious way they link to something answering to and answered by other lives in the long ago.

My fabric animals and personages arrived via intuition. In some way hard to explain, each one feels familiar in its own way. “Ophelia’s Quilt” and the hanging informed by a very old baby’s bib were both inspired by a knowledge of loss.

About Joan:

Joan Fiset is a writer, poet, teacher, therapist, and textile artist. She has taught at the University of Washington, Lewis and Clark College, Woodinville High School, Hugo House, and more. Joan currently offers writing classes and private mentorship for writers. Her publications include Now the Day is Over (Blue Begonia 1997), winner of the King County Publication Award, and Namesake (Blue Begonia 2015); How It Was with Scotland (Ravenna Press 2015), How It Looks Away from Here (Ravenna Press 2020), Minor Chord (Ravenna Press 2024) and Unborn Stars (forthcoming from Ravenna Press in 2026). Her work has appeared in Trickhouse, Tarpaulin Sky, Kudzu, Calyx, Ploughshares, Poetry Northwest, the Seattle Review and others. She lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband, Louis. You can learn more about her work here.

The gallery space is open by appointment only, and for pop up hours as announced. Reach out, and follow our instagram for details! We would love to show you this gorgeous work.

Previous exhibits at Happy Time:

May - August 2024: “The Language of Trees” - William Cook - Linocuts and monotypes (website)

September - November 2024: “Shadows of Life” - Matthew DeFilippo - Oil paintings (website)

December 2024 - February 2025: “Social Media” - Multidisciplinary group show

March 2025 - April 2025: “For the Love of Film” - Arturo Solorio & Sammy Alvarez - photographers and associated mixed media sculpture (more from Arturo & Sammy)

May 2025 - June 2025: “Letters from Strangers Friends” - Anna Sullivan (website)

July 2025 - August 2025: “Urban Wildlife: A Shared Space” - Raili Jänese - Acrylic paintings (website)

September 5 - October 19 2025: “ΓΝΩΘΙ ΣΕΑΥΤΟΝ (know thyself)” - Juliet Fiss - Acrylic paintings (website)