PORT TOWNSEND — The scent of the ocean, the heat of Havana, a long sunset: Such are the inspirations in “Lush Language,” a new art exhibit opening this week.
The show brings together four emerging artists at Northwind Art’s Jeanette Best Gallery, 701 Water St. in Port Townsend, where it opens Friday for an eight-week run. “Lush Language” will also be open for Art Walk from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
“This show is ablaze with color and symbolism,” said Northwind Art spokesperson Diane Urbani. “The artists’ ‘language’ comes across in pastels, ceramic vessels, paintings and aquatint etchings.”
Unveiling their work are Isabel Elena Pérez of Quilcene, Tininha Silva and Claire Ragland of Port Townsend and Becca Fuhrman of Seattle.
Pérez, who lives in a converted 1950 metro bus, works in dry pastels and sultry hues.
“I am inspired a lot by my times spent in warm places, and the colder it is up here, the warmer I tend to make my paintings,” said the artist, who has lived in Havana, Cuba, and Portland, Ore.
Pérez’ background is Cuban, Lebanese and Armenian. She grew up seeing Armenian textiles belonging to her mother’s side of her family; now she recalls their beauty in her pastels.
Pérez has also created a large piece in oil, acrylics and gold leaf. The 79-by-72-inch work is titled “Wedding Spell/Bendiciones,” and took shape around her marriage last summer.
Fuhrman, for her part, said the “Lush Language” title fits her work thanks to its vivid imagery. One of her paintings, “Fast and Loose,” evokes “an unhinged pool party,” she said. Fuhrman’s favorite mediums include house paint and found objects, such as a World War II-era quilt and a vintage bank bag she found in New Orleans.
Ragland also finds that city to be a fertile place; she lived in New Orleans for 10 years before she moved to Jefferson County recently.
“It was the shift I needed,” she said, adding life here gives her more space and time to be creative.
Ragland’s “Lush” works include a ceramic bust with the working title “Butterfly Song” and “Eternal Sunset,” an aquatint etching with gold leaf. It’s rife with symbols, from dogs to masks to pomegranates.
Silva, originally from Recife, Brazil, discovers her sparks on the beaches of Port Townsend. Smooth rocks, shiny kelp, coral, anemones – they keep her weaving tapestries that are odes to the sea.
“Correnteza” (“Current”), “Two Drifters” and “I Was Listening to the Ocean” are among her artworks’ titles.
“Everyone’s work is beautiful,” Fuhrman said of the “Lush Language” blend.
“I’m excited to see how all of the pieces interact together in the space. There’s an interesting Venn diagram among us, a common thread.”
With art, Fuhrman hopes to find a sense of connection with other people.
“It’s easy to feel isolated and alone in your experience,” she said. But a work of art created from the heart, she believes, can offer a sense of belonging, of being seen.
Pérez said she seeks to make her art “pretty personal. When I steer away from that, I get into trouble and make things that are not from the heart. I want to paint an honest picture of my life.”
“Lush Language” will continue at Jeanette Best Gallery through June 30. Gallery hours are from noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays, while information and images of the works can be found at https:// northwindart.org.
