PORT TOWNSEND — A tapestry of jewels awaits Gallery Walk patrons Saturday night.
Jewelers Addy Thornton, Andrea Guarino-Slemmons, Shirley Moss and Suzy Louise will be on hand from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at the Port Townsend Gallery, 715 Water St., for an artist reception.
Thornton blends metal, yarn and gems, knitting, pearling and crocheting fabric and wire to form intricate 3D designs. She particularly enjoys weaving in semi-precious jewels, according to a news release.
“My love affair with jewelry has never really diminished as new techniques are always a way of reinvigorating my work,” she said.
Guarino-Slemmons has been crafting beads and designing jewelry for 30 years. She collects stones, glass and shells from local beaches for this purpose. During Gallery Walk, she will feature jewelry of distinction inspired by the Pacific Northwest.
Moss, or “The Chainmaker,” specializes in handmade chains, creating every chain one link at a time. It is meditation in metal, as she says.
Louise focuses on the raw, earthy and lush. As a rock-hunter, gardener and seed-saver, Louise’s love for the earth often spills out into her art. Her designs include special stones, fossils, dinosaur bone, silver and copper metals.
Other Gallery Walk attractions include:
• Gallery 9, 1012 Water St., will feature artists Susan Spar, a classical painter, and Tom Stewart, a hand drum maker, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
Spar will present two dramatic marine paintings, as well as still life and cloud paintings. In conjunction with the gallery’s “100 under $100” sales event going on now through December, Spar will offer small unframed studies and finished paintings in oils for less than $100. Green dots mark sale items.
Stewart will present his 194th drum, a 24-inch high, 13-inch wide deep bass drum crafted with a finish layer of American red gum.
“I get excited when looking at a raw piece of wood and envisioning what a beautiful drum it will make,” he said of the process.
Stewart also creates Zen gardens, yoga block props and Yin Yang hanging art — “functional artwork that is good for the soul.”
• Northwind Arts Center, 701 Water St., will open for Gallery Walk from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., showcasing two exhibits.
Small Expressions includes curated pieces no larger than 15 inches in any direction. The exhibit will be open through 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 30.
In addition, the work of Denise Champion, who recently ventured into the brave new world of mixed media and metal, will be displayed during December.
Originally, Champion painted exclusively en plein air in oils and pastels. She started her career as an artist by studying color with Richard Nelson, who developed and trademarked the Tri-Hue Method — painting with only cyan, magenta and yellow.
Since then, Champion has painted en plein air in nearly every state and owned an art gallery in Maui, Hawaii.
“One of the advantages of having been painting for a long time is that you have had lots of practice, and if you don’t get stuck but are willing to expand your knowledge, it can take you on some very exciting adventures,” she said in a press release. “That is what happened to me this year.”
Experimental artist Susan Kazmer introduced Champion to mixed media and metal. Now, the public may see the transformation.
“Realistic painting was never my goal. Abstracting the landscape and color interaction are my voice,” Champion said. “Applying this in another media has been exciting and invigorating.”
Champion’s work remains on display until Thursday, Dec. 28.
Susan Spar’s classical paintings, including “Before the Reef,” will be featured at Gallery 9, 1012 Water St., Saturday for Port Townsend’s Gallery Walk. (Susan Spar)
