‘Small Expressions’ encourages art-giving

PORT TOWNSEND — A show unlike all of the others will open this week at Northwind Art’s nonprofit gallery in downtown Port Townsend.

Filling the gallery from Thursday through Jan. 5, the annual “Small Expressions” exhibition will bring together 275 works from 43 artists. A large portion will go on display at Northwind’s Jeanette Best Gallery, 701 Water St., which is open from noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays.

Northwind will celebrate the arrival of the show with refreshments and conversation with participating artists during Port Townsend’s First Saturday Art Walk from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 6.

At the same time, images of all of the “Small Expressions” pieces can be seen online at NorthwindArt.org under the Shop heading.

“Small Expressions” is a show for the giving season, so people won’t have to wait to bring home their purchases from the gallery. As they buy and take away their chosen art, the gallery staff will rotate in other pieces from backstock. So the show will change practically every day, unlike other exhibitions during the year, in which any purchased art stays on display until the show closes.

“When artists apply to ‘Small Expressions,’ their entries can be any art form, from jewelry to photography and beyond, as long as they’re no bigger than 16 inches in any direction,” Northwind spokesperson Diane Urbani said.

“So there are fiber sculptures, vivid paintings, fine art photographs, wildly colorful abstract canvases, wooden assemblage animals and one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces,” she added.

With the average price about $200 for these original works by Pacific Northwest artists, “Small Expressions” is more affordable than many of the shows happening in art galleries around the country, Urbani said.

“You can give a loved one a beautiful, unique work of art and, at the same time, support the local art community. It just feels so good to do that,” she added.