Several animated shorts created by local artists will be screened Saturday at the Northwest Film Forum. Among the artists featured is Central District resident Britta Johnson.

The screening, called Strange Creatures, explores our relationship with the natural world. Contributing to the piece are the award-winning filmmakers of the Seattle Experimental Animation Team,which includes Johnson, Drew Christie, Bruce Bickford, Stefan Gruber, Webster Crowell, Clyde Petersen, and Tess Martin. The screening takes place at 4 p.m. tomorrow. Tickets are available on Brown Paper Tickets.

Britta Johnson photo by Regan MacStravic.

These independent artists create their films one frame at a time in what is called stop-motion animation, a rare method in the age of computer technology.

We caught up with Britta Johnson ahead of the screening for a Q&A.

CD News: For the uninitiated, what is stop-motion animation?

Britta: To animate using stop-motion, one moves an object or puppet or substance a little bit at a time, taking a picture  (a frame) with a camera each time; when the frames are played back at film speed, the object appears to be moving.

CD News: What’s your background? How did you get into animation?

Britta: I grew up watching stop-motion clips on early Sesame Street and MTV, but the real trigger for me was seeing Jan Svankmajer’s film “Alice” in college; shortly after that, I found a super8 camera in a drawer in my parents’ house and started to experiment.

CD News: What can you tell me about this latest project and your role in it?

Britta: I have two films in the show, both of which I directed and animated: “Crashing Waves,” in which people are the objects moving a little bit at a time, and “King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki- Me- O,” which isn’t stop-motion animation at all, but made up of several hundred watercolor drawings. I had great collaborators for both projects; “Crashing Waves” stars DK Pan and Haruko Nishimura –  really stunning dancers –  and “King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki- Me- O” is a music video I made for Laura Veirs. I really like her take on the traditional song, and Bela Fleck’s banjo playing can’t be beat.

CD News: What other recent projects or upcoming work should we mention?

Britta: I just made a fun music video for the band Qui that should go live soon, and this September I’ll be installing and animating a project involving hub caps on the SEAT section of the red wall at Cal Anderson park. Also, I’m currently developing a series of animations about internal organs and healing.  More on that soon…

CD News: What’s it like being an independent artist?

Britta: Fun! And complicated. The errands are sometimes the best part.

To view more of Britta’s work, head to her website.

Seattle police are investigating an incident involving a man who alleges he was stabbed in the International District yesterday afternoon.

The SPD Blotter has more:

Seattle police are investigating after a 29-year-old man told officers he was injured Thursday by a knife-throwing assailant in the International District.

Just before 3:30 PM, the victim was involved in an altercation with three or four other men in a parking lot near 12th Avenue S. and S. Weller Street.

The man told police one of the suspects threw a knife at him, striking the victim in the back. The victim didn’t provide officers with many details about the suspects.

Employees at a nearby medical facility helped treat the victim at the scene before medics transported the 29-year-old man to Harborview with non-life-threatening injuries.

I’m just over a month into my gig as your Central District News Editor-in-Chief, and I’m already seeing how important this site is to the community. So many of you make us your go-to spot to get timely and accurate updates on local happenings, from accidents that delay traffic to new building construction to lost pets.

As this community continues to grow and change, Central District News must grow and change with it. We know we must build on the foundation we’ve laid in the community, expanding with increased coverage of the issues that affect your life in this neighborhood. We’ve served you well in the past and we want to work even harder to bring you the news.

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    Queen Underwood, born and raised in Seattle, Garfield graduate and Olympic Boxer, shares her story with Cappy’s Boxers. Queen started boxing at the age of 17 and began her amateur career at 19. The Olympian is also a six-time USA National Champion, the 2010 World Championships bronze medalist and the 2013 Continental Champion. For Queen, participating in the 2012 Olympics was an overwhelming experience. There was a lot of pressure going into London. Not getting the results she had hoped for, Queen is hungry to continue training to get the Gold in the 2016 Olympics. Queen’s latest competition was the 2013 Continental Championships in Venezuela. She fought four matches with stylistically different boxers. In her first match, she fought an unfamiliar opponent from Brazil. Initially, Queen thought it would be an easy match, but her opponent threw a lot of punches. Queen used her quick movement to diffuse the punches. By the end of the first round, she had a strong 8-point lead. Her second match was against Canada. Queen had reviewed footage and found her opponent to be awkward and rangy. Queen knew that she had to either commit inside or use lateral movement and make adjustments. The key to winning this match was to not get caught being flat-footed. Queen’s toughest fight was her third, against Puerto Rico. She had faced her opponent before and lost by decision. Queen’s opponent was a Southpaw, but she had worked a lot with Southpaws at the training camp. So that was not a problem. Queen mimicked her opponent’s style, was explosive and showed intent behind every punch. It was a close match, but Queen won in the last round by a slim margin. Her last match was against Argentina. Argentina has a reputation of good boxers with good movement. Her opponent was tall, slender and had good range. Queen used a lot of faints, moved in explosively, countered and ended her combinations with a jab. The key in this match was to be active and throw punches every 3-4 seconds.

The journey for Queen Underwood continues. As her motto goes: Can’t stop, won’t stop. Queen will continue representing Team USA in the coming year. She aims to train and gain experience in preparation for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Follow Queen on Facebook and Twitter (@queenunderwood) for updates. To contact Queen, email her at [email protected].

Washing, drying, and folding a hospital’s laundry is big business, one that until recently belonged to the Central District.

Now, though, the Hospital Central Services Administration (HCSA), which serves Swedish, Virginia Mason, Overlake Medical Center, Providence Health & Services and Seattle Children’s, is shuttering the laundry facility that has operated at 1300 E. Columbia St. since 1966.

Current hospital laundry facility at 1300 E. Columbia St.

The HCSA is relocating to a new, ultra-green facility in Auburn. With the move, over 150 new jobs will be created in Auburn — and that means those jobs are leaving the Central District.

The HCSA is also selling the building, and according to a report in the Puget Sound Business Journal, there has been a lot of interest. Current zoning would allow a five-story residential project on the site. The large, 1.4-acre site is one of the few large development plots remaining in Seattle.

The building is also in Seattle University’s overlay, and we’re currently awaiting word from Seattle U’s facilities department to see whether they’re interested in buying the building. When we know more, we’ll pass it along to you.

The Seattle Police Department has put out a call for help catching a man wanted for stealing liquor in the Central District.

The police blotter has more:

Robbery detectives need your help identifying a man wanted for stealing liquor and threatening staff members at a Central District grocery store.

On July 20th, the man pulled a knife on employees at the Safeway on 22nd and E. Madison after they confronted him about the bottles of liquor he’d slipped into his backpack. Police believe the same man also stole liquor from the Madison store in May, and fled the scene in a stolen truck.

If you recognize the suspect—described as a white male, between 20 and 30 years old, 5’7, 140 pounds, with brown hair, a thin mustache and tattoos on his forearms—please contact SPD’s Robbery Unit at (206) 684-5535

 

SPD provided the following photos of the thief:

We have updates — and more details to add —  to the earlier story about the garage fire on 17th and Columbia. From the Seattle Fire Department’s Fire Line:

UPDATE: Patient’s age was updated to 54-years-old from initial on scene reports.

July 30—Seattle Fire Investigators determined improperly discarded smoking materials caused a fire in an above-the-garage apartment in the Central District.

Multiple 911 calls came in at 12:52 a.m. reporting flames and smoke coming from a detached garage roof in the alley of a home located in the 800 block of 17th Avenue. Engine Company 25 arrived to find flames shooting from the roof and into the trees above the garage. The flames were also exposing to an apartment complex to the south of the garage.

A neighbor notified the firefighters that a person was living in the space above the garage. Firefighters immediately searched the structure and rescued a 54-year-old male occupant at the bottom of the staircase of the building. The patient suffered 2nd degree burns and smoke inhalation. Medics transported the patient to Harborview Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

Within 20 minutes firefighters contained the flames and they completely extinguished the fire within 45 minutes. Crews were able to protect the apartment complex to the South and prevented the flames from spreading from the garage roof to the multiplex.

Fire Investigators were able to speak to the patient at the hospital and discovered he was smoking in bed prior to the fire starting. The cause is considered accidental. The damage estimate is $40,000 to the structure and $5,000 to the contents.

Firefighters remained on the scene until 8 a.m. in a Fire Watch to ensure the fire didn’t rekindle.

Official event Save the Date poster

One of the Central District’s major annual events is just around the corner. The Central District Community Street Fair, put on by Work it Out and community collaborators, takes place August 10. The fair draws thousands of neighborhood residents and involves over 50 vendors.

Work it Out’s website has more details:

The Street Fair brings together neighborhoods across the Central District, public/private organizations and the business community to share information, resources, and network about what’s going on in our community and District. Exhibits, vendors, arts & craft, farmers market, backpacks, school supplies, books, music, food, performing arts (2 stages), youth engagement and a talent competition all make up activities of the day.