Greeting you at the end of State Avenue in Olympia is a glass front full of warm lights. Even on the darkest of winter days, the current exhibit at the Olympia Arts + Heritage Alliance (AHA) Museum, “Light in the Dark,” is impossible to miss.
Standing out among the crowd, right in the front window closest to the street, is a tall, commanding sculpture with strings of lights pulsating and changing colors. As they move along their path, the lights mimic a slow, rhythmic heartbeat. Standing in front of the piece, you first notice its stature and then the raw, industrial elements used to create it.
The artist behind this work, “Don’t Cry Over Spilt Light,” is Natalie Coblentz. Once you get to know Coblentz, you quickly realize that the emotion you feel while examining the piece comes directly from the creator’s own journey, which is woven into the very wires and upcycled materials that hold the structure together.
For Coblentz, light is more than an aesthetic choice, it is a survival mechanism.
Local Artists Natalie Coblentz Believes in Healing Power of Light
“In a difficult time,” Coblentz says, “I discovered that light offered a way to breathe.”
The rhythm of the piece – one string of LEDs pulsing in a slow fade while another travels along receiving light – represents the two ventricles of a human heart. This biological influence stems from the past work of Coblentz as an EMT, where they developed a deep understanding of anatomy.
“I have always reflected on the learning that I have had with anatomy into my art pieces,” Coblentz says.
Following the passing of their father, Coblentz found that working with light allowed them to process grief by letting negative energy out and bringing positive energy in. One side of the sculpture features smooth, transitional color effects, while the other is more concentrated and digital. Coblentz describes this as the process of eating negative energy or trauma and trying to create it to become smooth again through breath.
This transition from trauma to creation was also shaped by time spent in San Francisco working as a lighting designer for a burlesque troupe.
“All the women in the troupe were using the stage to heal from past trauma,” Coblentz says. “I realized that light is emotionally intelligent. It signals to the audience exactly how to feel.”
Coblentz shifted from painting with acrylic to painting with color through light, finding it more elusive and captive because it is a moment that must be experienced before it goes away.
See The Results of Upcycled Art at the Olympia AHA Museum
The sculpture itself is a testament to the power of transformation. Coblentz, a self-described inventor, rarely buys anything new.
“Don’t Cry Over Spilt Light” is composed almost entirely of upcycled materials found in a workshop or salvaged from places like Habitat for Humanity. The glowing white tube at the top of the piece was originally the inner part of a water conditioner unit.
“I am really huge on upcycling,” Coblentz says. “I will buy a piece, and I am like, ‘Oh, I want to make something with this.’ It is about figuring out the mechanics.”
Other components include a conduit rod from a previous lighting structure and a podium made from a remastered light box. Coblentz even hand-fabricated the hinges for the electrical access door.
Ruth Kodish-Eskind, the exhibitions and programs manager at the AHA Museum, sees a deeper narrative in these materials. With a background in carpentry, Kodish-Eskind points out the stagehand functionality of the piece, including the exposed bolts, the plywood, and the visible electrical box. Rather than hiding the labor, the piece celebrates it.
“It triggers this little thought in my head where I am like, ‘Oh no, people should not be seeing it,'” Kodish-Eskind says. “But that is totally the point. You see that it is clearly plywood, clearly from scraps. Things that were not structural are now being structural.”
Kodish-Eskind notes that the “Illuminate Oly” project, which Coblentz is involved with, shares this DIY ethic by inviting anyone interested to build illuminated boxes from studio scraps to share with the community.
Brightening Downtown Olympia with Art
The AHA Museum is dedicated to interweaving the history of Olympia with a safe space for artists to express themselves, and the work of Coblentz bridges that mission.
“I think visitors are really experiencing that,” Kodish-Eskind says. “They notice the materials it is made out of. I think Natalie is bringing those upcycling ethics out into the world, onto the sidewalk.”
For Coblentz, the placement of the piece in the front window is about offering something vital to the city. Coblentz observed that most downtown lighting uses a warm, yellow tone around 2,500 Kelvin, but lacks pure white light.
“We need to actually shed light on this space,” Coblentz says. “Yellow light is fine, but honestly that is more like bedroom light. We should have bright white light. That is what inspires people.”
Coblentz hopes this brightness in the dark inspires more people to create bright art pieces in the downtown area. “Light in the Dark” is on display now at the Olympia AHA Museum. See the exhibit now through April 14, 2026.
Olympia AHA Museum
924 Capitol Way S., Olympia
360.800.7210.
