PORT ANGELES — Harbor Art Gallery will showcase the prints of Nathan Shields during the month of August.
The gallery at 114 N. Laurel St., in Port Angeles is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
During the Second Saturday Art Walk on Aug. 13, the gallery will be open until 7 p.m. and visitors can chat with many of the artists whose work is shown at the gallery.
Shields creates art via relief printmaking, carving a design into wood or linoleum, inking the block, and pressing paper onto it to transfer the design.
He frequently takes inspiration from nature and mathematics, sometimes incorporating whimsical or fantastical elements.
“The appearance of block prints was what initially attracted me, and I have fallen in love with the printmaking process,” Shields said.
Born and raised in Ketchikan, Alaska, Shields is drawing on his Alaskan roots for this exhibit. He is showing a series of prints depicting iconic Alaskan imagery, from walrus to northern lights.
“I grew up playing in the forest, which definitely informed my artistic sensibilities,” Shields said.
When not printmaking in his home studio, Shields teaches high school art, math, and computer science at Crescent School in Joyce.
“I’m always trying to show my students the profound connections between art and math,” Shields said.
The gallery showcases work by other local artists such as Bob Stokes and Cindy Elstrom, Carolyn Guske, Robert Amaral, Kelly Coffey, Garret Delabarre, Terri Ench, Tammy Hall, David Johannessohn, Susan Kantowitz, Ruth Kaspin, Nancy McFaul, Gail McLain, Roger Mosley, Eric Neurath, Randy and Sallie Raddock, Jodi Riverstone, Lance and Haley Snider, Eileen Webb, and Kevin Willson.
