PORT TOWNSEND — Mary O’Shaughnessy will lead a Northwind Showcase panel of artists in discussing the conflict between stylistic consistency and creative exploration in the world of visual arts at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Participants include Sue Eller, Kathleen Secrest, Michele Soderstrom and Charles Van Gilder.
The free event is co-sponsored by Northwind Arts Center and Port Townsend School of the Arts, and will take place at Northwind Arts Center, 701 Water St.
Panelists will discuss the differences between depth and breadth in an artist’s work.
Can an artist who stays within one art form continue to be innovative and excited about their work, without feeling redundant?
Does learning new mediums enhance an artist’s idea or does that process dilute the “why” of art-making?
Many artists experience these questions as an internal dialogue, and this Salon discussion will bring forward different perspectives on both kinds of approaches.
O’Shaughnessy brings a varied background to her own art-making, with curiosity driving her work in many mediums including letterpress printing, kiln-formed glass, book arts, collage and sculpture. In leading the discussion with the Showcase panel of artists, O’Shaughnessy plans to ask each panelist about their approaches and how they address both style and exploration.
Northwind’s Showcase is an annual juried group of 2D and 3D artists whose work is exhibited in monthly rotations in the Jeanette Best Gallery at Northwind Arts Center. Showcase artists Eller, Secrest, Soderstrom and Van Gilder work in a variety of styles and mediums including acrylic, oils, watercolors, mixed media and ceramics.
The Art Salon series is a partnership between the two nonprofits — Port Townsend School of the Arts and Northwind.
“Lest We Forget” by Mary O’Shaughnessy is in the Northwind Showcase.
