Ned Block

Ned Block grew up in Seattle, Washington, from the age of seven. His childhood home was in the shadows of the Seattle Art Museum and the hours spent there may have sown the seeds of a life in art. As a teen, Ned pursued his interest in art, painting, in a small home studio and taking as many art courses as allowed. “I spent so much time in the art department with Ruth, ‘Think With a Pencil’, Nostrum that other subjects might have suffered.”

Defying his Jewish parents' wish for him to be a doctor, Ned pursued a degree in art from the University of Washington - being taught by some of Seattle’s greats in the 1950s - including George Tsutakawa, Chuck Smith, and Everett DuPen.

Ned’s career started off in creative fields from graphic design, copywriting, and the creative director of a major Seattle ad agency. He then spent many years managing the family business, a Seattle classic from the 1940s to the 1980s, Block’s Army & Navy.

In 1990, Ned turned to his sculpture work full-time. Most of his pieces are built on steel armatures as a substructure for built-up resins and fused metal. In his abstractions of the graceful, droll, and often quirkiness of nature, he rarely missed an opportunity to opt for form over reality - one of his birds even has three wings!

His art really kicked into full gear in the late 1990s when he and his wife, Julie, moved to Camano Island where there was an active community to drive inspiration for staying active and more room to work.

When they started planning to move back to Seattle, he wanted to find another community to be immersed in - from the moment he connected with the Equinox Studios community, he kept his eye on the prize and was a squeaky wheel in Sam’s life until a space finally became available in The Factory.

Equinox provided all that he imagined, and he (and Julie) particularly loved the opportunity to engage with the public at the Open House events. Ned has been super grateful to have been a part of the Equinox community. As with other chapters in his 87 years of life, now is another shift - one that is a little slower and has less opportunity for making sculpture.

Thank you for being such an awesome, welcoming, authentic, and creative community.