PORT LUDLOW — The Port Ludlow Artists’ League will host a reception for its artist of the month and jeweler of the month Wednesday.
New member Lucrezia Cuen Paxson is April’s artist of the month, while Maggie Smith is the group’s jeweler of the month.
Both are expected at the Port Ludlow Artists’ League’s Second Wednesday Reception from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the lobby of Sound Community Bank and next door at the Artists’ League Gallery — both at the corner of Oak Bay Road and Osprey Ridge Drive.
Paxson comes to Port Ludlow from a career in journalism. She holds a master’s from King’s College in London and is a recipient of the Golden Mic award. She is now a professor of journalism at Washington State University, Everett campus, and about eight years ago began art studies at Seattle’s Gage Academy.
“An international journalist stationed in London, my professional life covering wars and world events ended suddenly in 2000 due to an accident,” Paxson said.
“The quiet act of placing oil paint on canvas brought me back from a dark place. Harnessing pain and frustration and translating it into powerful equine images on canvas was a breakthrough.
“In these images, I find strength, peace and beauty.”
Smith began her lampwork bead studies in Port Townsend in the early 1990s and later studied at the Pratt Art Institute in Seattle.
She has made beads and designed jewelry for more than 20 years. The glass that Smith uses comes mainly from Italy. She calls her business “Baci” which means “little kisses” in Italian.
Her beads are paired with sterling silver, bronze or copper components in her jewelry.
For more information, contact league President Claudia Wicks at 206-351-2414 or claudiawicks@msn.com.
