Pop-Up at the Old Naches Fire House | Arts And Entertainment

J Alexander will open his studio for the sixth annual Fire House Pop-Up from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 2, 2026. Alexander’s studio is the former Naches Heights Fire House at 5500 Naches Heights Road, Yakima.

The Tieton-based artist works with found objects to create his metal-based work. The discards that find their way into his work are often found on the trail and carried out by hand. As he transforms the worn surfaces of aged wood and rusted metal, the objects are renewed to tell a new story.

Alexander’s fire house is another of his found objects, bought at auction, and transformed into an art studio. Once a year it becomes a showcase for state, local and regional artists. This event creates a community of artists for one day to share their work with each other as well as the public.

Every year Alexander strives to mix up the visiting artists, with a focus on new and emerging artists who may not have shown in a gallery setting, as well as artists who are new to show visitors. “I want the show to be known for having new and interesting work year after year,” says Alexander.

He went on to add, “This year is special to me, because one of the most important influences on my art, Leo Adams, has agreed to hang some pieces at the fire house.”

This year’s show is a unique spectrum of media, types and offerings. Along with J Alexander, this year’s featured artists include:

Leo Adams, Yakima, is a Yakama Nation artist known for his paintings and assemblages inspired by the shrub-steppe landscape, sagebrush and desert light of the Yakima Valley. His artwork often incorporates found materials like plywood, coffee filters, wallpaper, foil from cigarette packets and metal.

Janice LaVerne Baker, Tieton, is a mixed media painter and illustrator. Her work is all about the story. She is inspired by materials, especially paper.

Stephanie Clevenger, Yakima, is inspired by basic yet bold and simple concepts. Her favorite material is wax combined with plaster, tar, paper, ink and paint.

Nastacia Guimont, Minneapolis, explores identity through silhouettes and portraiture. She loves to infuse botanicals, bold color and touches of whimsy.

Jane Gutting, Yakima, has a love of nature, design and architecture, which has led her to hand-build sculptures of the animals that entertain her in the desert of Naches Heights.

Greg Kono, Tieton, is a mixed media artist, who regularly employs memories of his youth in his artwork. Play, humor and nature are often executed in the form of kites, toys and sculpture.

Michael Northrup, Tieton, finds inspiration in everyday, local patina: something discovered in an orchard burn pile or the back shelf of a thrift store finds its way in to his three-dimensional work.

Roger G Palmer, Yakima, loves history, geology and reusing. Repurposing what surrounds us in the valley guides his metal work, primarily creating smudge pot lanterns.

Jake Parrish, Yakima, is a photographer who brings his formal training in photojournalism into his travel and commercial work. His work is rooted in authentic storytelling, as he prefers to capture moments, places and people the way they are.

Nona Schulz, Yakima, is quite new to the world of making art but has always had an abiding interest in the natural world, the whimsical and stitching. She uses various fabrics, some dyed with rust, and simple stitching to express mood.

Leslie West, Atlanta, is an encaustic/mixed media artist. Her affinity for found objects and well-worn surfaces are inspiration for textured focus painting. West’s paintings feature simplicity with complex layers of beeswax, damar resin and oil paint.

Pop in to the pop-up at the Old Naches Fire House, J Alexander’s creatively re-purposed treasure. Meet the artists, browse the diverse range of mediums and styles, and perhaps take home a found object of your own.