Vashon Island's venerable cooperative art gallery VALISE salutes the coming warm weather by inviting you to step into the realm of the unthinkable: that daunting lacuna, that symbol of substance, that aggressive move, that staked-out territory, the BLOCK.

Seven of Vashon's most intrepid artists explore this challenging and ambiguously complex subject through worksin encaustic, oil, watercolor, charcoal, construction, collage, ink and sculpture.

From vanquishing the universally-feared artist's block to embracing the always-welcome volume of charged substance to the very walls on which this art hangs and to the very art itself, this show offers visitors a dynamic spectrum of explorations of a multifaceted theme.

On offer are several ranges of visual experience. Encaustic painter Jiji Saunders' ethereal landscapes pair well with Jennifer Hawke’s constructions; Rachel LordKenaga’s abstract paintings engage George Wright'sminimalist constructions with fervent gusto while Pascale Judet's contemplative visual essays and Michelle Friars' enigmatic charcoal drawings describe a wide arc of emotion under the watchful gaze of Sharon Shaver’s eerily calm paintings.