There's a really big show at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, and it's not on the stage. It's called Gold we have Spun from Straw! and it stretches throughout the Washington Center lobby, mezzanine and the upper balcony. The place is full of art. Really big art.

Especially big is a piece by Bil Fleming and Christine Malek called "Polyethylene Fiend." It's a giant dragon made of used plastic bags and packing materials, bamboo, packing tape, thread, a bath exhaust fan and annealed wire. The piece is also referred to by Fleming in an email as a "Hydrocarbon Leviathan" or a "Petrochemical Problem."

In addition to the big dragon Gold we have Spun from Straw! features selected works from Matter Gallery artists. I'm tempted to say Matter owner Jo Gallagher has picked the cream of the crop, but it may be more accurate to say she has selected the pure art and left out the craft and utilitarian art. No lamps or coat racks or any such, just paintings and sculptures made from, mostly, recycled materials.

This show is absolutely worth seeing.

To read Alec Clayton's full review, click here.

[Washington Center for the Performing Arts, Fridays 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and by appointment, 512 Washington St. SE, Olympia]