April 30, 2025

Media Contact:
Marcine Miller, Executive Director, Public Information Office, 509-682-6582, mmiller2@wvc.edu

Wenatchee Valley College student Joanna Lavaun will have her first solo art exhibition, “Ebb & Flow: Intertidal Configurations,” at 383 Threads, 120 South Columbia St., in Wenatchee from May 2 through May 31.

Her exhibit will be open for the First Friday art walk on May 2 from 4 to 7 p.m. 383 Threads store hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Lavaun’s exhibit displays a suite of ornate mixed-media sculptures juxtaposing inspirations from natural organic shapes with human crafted objects. Though the works are made from inexpensive and thrifted materials including shells and yarn, they evoke a campy Rococo vibe.

Lavaun described her work as a step between surrealism and actualism. She hopes that people who view her work will “think about the way materials have been used to represent something else and appreciate how manmade items can reflect what naturally exists.”

An East Wenatchee native, Lavaun is a former WVC Running Start student who intended to pursue an economics/pre-law degree. She transferred to Washington State University with that intention when she made a discovery: “I couldn’t imagine myself working a corporate job for the next 40 years,” she said. She returned to WVC and is now completing a certificate in digital design. She has taken a variety of art and humanities courses, from drawing to sculpture, graphic design to ceramics, creative writing to film and culture. “Life and art are interdisciplinary subjects to me,” and of all the art mediums, Lavaun said, “the way I’m the best at expressing myself is through painting.”

"It has been a pleasure having Joanna take nearly every art class the department offers during her time at WVC,” said Scott Bailey, WVC Arts faculty. “We are all very proud of her initiative in mounting this exhibition. Creating a series of strong,

cohesive works—along with handling all the other aspects of documenting and installing the show—is an impressive step forward in her journey toward becoming a practicing professional artist."

Lavaun has also taken two years of Japanese classes at Wenatchee Valley College, which will prepare her for a study abroad program in Miyazaki, Japan this fall. “It’s honestly perfect timing that I get to segue straight from learning Japanese to being immersed in the culture,” she said. “The classes offered for the study abroad program include Art Appreciation and Digital Photography (along with a Japanese language class), so it lines up perfect with all of my interests and ambitions.”

Her goal now is to finish her digital design certificate at WVC and then transfer to a university.

“My favorite thing about art is actually getting to be an art student, learning about artists and looking at work made by my peers,” she said. “Since being an art student isn’t a career option, I intend to become a professor and work a job that intersects art and academia.”

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Wenatchee Valley College enriches North Central Washington by serving educational and cultural needs of communities and residents throughout the service area. The college is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion for all students and employees and provides high-quality transfer, liberal arts, professional/technical, basic skills and continuing education for students of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds. Visit our website, wvc.edu.

Wenatchee Valley College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in employment and student enrollment. All programs are free from discrimination and harassment against any person because of race, creed, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a service animal by a person with a disability, age, parental status or families with children, marital status, religion, genetic information, honorably discharged veteran or military status or any other prohibited basis per RCW 49.60.030, 040 and other federal and state laws and regulations, or participation in the complaint process.

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To report discrimination or harassment: Title IX Coordinator, Human Resources, Wenatchi Hall 2322M, (509) 682-6445, title9@wvc.edu.

To request disability accommodations: Student Access Manager, Wenatchi Hall 2131, (509) 682-6854, TTY/TTD: dial 711, sas@wvc.edu.