On a morning walk in the Queen Anne area of Seattle earlier this year, my wife Linda and our daughter Haley discovered a Harold Balazs piece overlooking Puget Sound. A nearby plaque indicated that Harold was one of 11 artists represented in a tribute to a local patron. The serene setting was fitting, given that Harold had passed away three months prior.
I don’t recall the first time I actually met Harold, but I do remember taking a tour of his backyard art studio in the 80s with my father-in-law, a member of the Spokane Woodworker’s Guild at the time. Our paths crossed a few times when I helped organize an annual art event for the Mead Education Foundation, and again when we researched and designed a mid-century architecture exhibit at the MAC. Here he is, in 2011, before one of those interviews:
The Balazs home was full of creativity—including the work of several artist friends—and seeing Harold and Rosemary was always a treat. On my last visit, while sitting at their kitchen table, Harold wrote the following inscription in my copy of his recently published book The Family Album: “Remember only common things happen when common sense prevails.” His wisdom was as wonderful as his art.
