‘Burst of Color’ opens at Northwind Art’s gallery

PORT TOWNSEND — The Washington State Ferry boat was nearly empty when Donna Lark stepped aboard to move away. Her husband’s job had necessitated a relocation from Port Townsend to Redmond, and they were setting out at a strange time.

“We were on the ferry when the world was closing down,” Lark recalled.

It was March 2020.

One of the things Lark would miss: the group of local fiber artists who cheered one another on when they met every month.

Wait, you don’t have to miss us, these friends said. With the pandemic in full force, meetings were — of course — on Zoom. She could join from Redmond or anywhere.

Now the Peninsula Fiber Artists (PFA) are showing more than 70 of their creations at Northwind Art’s Jeanette Best Gallery in Port Townsend. The exhibition is titled “Burst of Color,” and Lark is part of it.

Her hawk’s head mask, a headdress of silk and felted wool, “is a showstopper,” said Caryl Fallert-Gentry, a PFA member in Port Townsend.

Comprising fiber art by 37 women from across and beyond the North Olympic Peninsula, “Burst of Color” will open today and continue through Feb. 11.

Northwind’s gallery, 701 Water St. in Port Townsend, will celebrate the opening during Art Walk from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. Otherwise, gallery hours are from noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays.

An artists’ talk is set for 2 p.m. Jan. 13. The public is invited to this free event in the gallery, when four artists will talk for a few minutes each, and then open the talk for questions from the audience.

Liisa Fagerlund will discuss surface embellishments; Linda Carlson will touch on “creating with what you have,” Pamela Raine will talk briefly about mixed media, and Kathie Cook will discuss hand-sewing and -quilting.

The “Burst of Color” exhibition encompasses improvisational quilts, textile sculptures, silk paintings, wearable art and other pieces that are hard to classify. There’s “Green-breasted Mango Hummingbird,” a 9-inch-long sequined creature by Pat Herkal of Port Townsend, for example.

Such artworks will be suspended in midair, while others will adorn the walls or stand on pedestals.

Herkal also built “African Crowned Crane,” a 20-inch-tall beaded sculpture with 13 layers of feathers. With these birds, the artist said, she wants to give people two things: whimsy and happiness.

“Joy: that’s what it’s all about,” Herkal said.

Other highlights in “Burst of Color”:

• Cynthia LeRouge’s “Emotional Outburst,” strong feelings rendered in hand-dyed flax roving;

• Barbara Houshmand’s jumbo pair of overalls, “Big Smith;”

• “All the Colors in the Box,” Marla Varner’s hand-dyed cotton quilt;

• “Undersea Glider,” Debra Olson’s reimagined stingray made of hand-painted fabrics, wire and beads;

• “Coral Reef,” Lynn Gilles’ knit and crocheted anemones, urchins and corals;

• “Made You Look,” a spontaneous quilt by Sue Gale.

Like a few other works, “Made You Look” is a result of the pandemic, Gale said.

“It was the passion and diversion of sewing that helped me personally deal with the isolation,” said the artist, who lives in Port Townsend.

The Peninsula Fiber Artists group has “such a diversity of talent at the highest level. We all come up with these incredible pieces,” Lark said.

“I’ve always found I’m inspired by this group, and the feedback about what we show at show-and-tell. It’s something that gives me energy to continue to create.”

Lark looks forward to coming to Port Townsend and seeing “Burst of Color.” And before too long, she’ll be seeing more of the artists in the show.

As it turns out, Lark’s husband is about ready to retire. Within a year, she said, they will be moving back to Port Townsend.