PORT LUDLOW — Port Ludlow Art League’s Artist of the Month is Rose Simon and its Jeweler of the Month is Mara Mauch.
The work of both will be on display at the Port Ludlow Sound Community Bank at the corner of Oak Bay Road and Osprey Ridge Drive in Port Ludlow, and online at www.port ludlowart.org.
Simon’s work also can be seen at http://www.etsy.com/shop/rosesimonarts.
Mauch’s work can also be seen at the Port Ludlow Art Gallery adjacent to the bank.
To purchase artwork, email info@portludlowart.org to make a sales appointment or, for Mauch’s work, drop by the Port Ludlow Art Gallery, which is open between noon and 4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays.
Often whimsical, Simon uses bright colors and incorporates humor into her artwork. She has said believes color is the universal language that brings positive energy and communicates strong emotions.
She participated in numerous creative arts and healing programs while living in Montana and has taught creative journaling for 15 years. When she moved to Washington, she continued to immerse herself in the art of healing, such as teaching a stroke survivor to draw and paint with her non-dominant hand.
Simon’s favorite subjects are bears, birds, abstract cats, and imaginative landscapes. She hopes people will feel the positive energy from her artwork.
Mauch uses a kiln to fuse multiple layers of glass to create cabochons that become necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. After applying shimmering metallic coatings to the fired pieces, she shapes the pieces by hand and then re-fires them, often repeating this process until she obtains the ideal result.
Even after 30 years of creating glass jewelry and art pieces, Mauch never gets tired of experimenting with glass.
“Every time I open the kiln after a firing it’s like opening a present on Christmas morning,” she said. “It never gets boring.”
Guest speaker
The league’s guest speaker this month will be Catherine Alice Michaelis, who will discuss “Artist Books as Story Tellers and Story Catchers.”
Michaelis will present the online program at 1 p.m. March 16. Those interested in attending the Zoom lecturer, can email info@portludlowart.org no later than March 14 for more information.
Michaelis is the proprietor of May Day Press and has been exploring what an artist book can be for 30 years, organizers said.
She works with antique printing presses, moveable type, and any printable medium to summon a dialog with nature, including paper, fabric, film, magnets, and veneer.
When Michaelis isn’t printing, she’s sewing unique works on fabrics that deal with gender, ageism, and memory loss, organizers said, adding that her creativity is showcased through writing, video poetry, animation, and direct dyeing from plants.
She has worked with scientists, writers, visual artists, and even a musician to make edition print work, and responded to crowd-sourced calls for participation, been invited by printing institutions to participate in collective works, and organized invitational print sets, such as Stack the Deck: 18 Artists Mark the Cards for Women’s Health & Healing. Catherine is also the Associate Director of the Cynthia Sears Artist’s Book Collection at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art.
Group exhibit
The group exhibit, which is on display through March at the Bay Club, contains 40 works of art created for the theme, Shades of Red.
Although there are close to 100 shades of the color red, the most popular shades of red include vermilion, wine, scarlet, ruby and carmine. In Egyptian culture, red was often associated with life, health, and victory. In western countries, red is often associated with excitement, passion, and danger.
Participating artists include Alan Ahtow, Ann Arscott, Joan Astin, Brenda Barcelo, Ann Bernard, Fran Bodman, JoAnna Caro, Carol Avoy Durbin, Ann Gagnier, Sheryl Goldsberry, Gary Griswold, Vicky Foster Harrison, Gail Larson, Carolyn Layton, David Layton, Pamela Raine, Randy Radock, Donna Thompson and Diane Walker,
Also, in the lobby is abstract artwork by Webber.
For more information on art exhibits at the Bay Club at 120 Spinnaker Place in Port Ludlow, email Alan Ahtow at info@portludlowart.org.
Merchant exhibits
Several local businesses exhibit work of the league’s artists.
Through April, Active Life Physical Therapy will display the watercolor prints of Gary Griswold, Coldwell Banker Best Realty will exhibit JoAnna Caro’s abstract collages and acrylic paintings, The Beach Club will have on view Fran Bodman’s acrylic and watercolor paintings and the Port Ludlow Post Office will feature oil painting prints by Ken Crawford.
Mara Mauch, who creates multi-layered glass jewelry, is the Port Ludlow Art League’s Jeweler of the Month.
“You’ll Never Believe What Happened Today,” is by Rose Simon, the Port Ludlow Art League’s Artist of the Month.
