IN THE PENINSULA SPOTLIGHT: Art Port Townsend gathers 37 artists for studio tour

GreenBean, the heroine of Elizabeth Blake’s book True Blue Family, worries that she doesn’t belong. She seems so different, after all, from her folks.

But then GreenBean discovers that belonging is about something else entirely. She learns what it means to be part of a family, and how her differences are wonderful things to have.

So goes the story told by Blake, an artist who invites children and their families to join her for art projects this weekend.

Blake, along with 36 other local painters, sculptors and toy makers, is part of the 14th annual Art Port Townsend studio tour spread across town and beyond; the demonstrations, displays and art sales are all over the area, from Blake’s Tin Can Studio to Chuck Iffland’s fantastical farm in Chimacum.

The tour is free and open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and details about the activities at each stop, plus directions, are at www.ArtPort

Townsend.org. Studio tour brochures are also available at the Northwind Arts Center, 2409 Jefferson St., and at the Port Townsend Visitors Center at 440 12th St. Information is also available by phoning Northwind at 360-379-1086.

Bedazzled

The variety out there is plain dazzling. And as Blake would say, all these differences are to be held high up into the light, since they’re what make each of us interesting.

At Tin Can Studio, where Blake will spend the weekend, she’ll help visiting kids create small projects celebrating their own uniqueness. She’ll also show some of her book illustrations, how they grew from storyboards — and how they add humor and other elements not explained by the words.

Transcends verbal

The panoply of art on the rest of the tour likewise transcends the verbal. Take Iffland’s creatures like the Juggler and the Whirling Dervish. He’s sculpts them out of wood and metal, peoples his backyard with them and invites everybody to come see the process.

“The [studio] tour gives folks an opportunity to see where art and craft is made,” Iffland says, “and to experience the amazing diversity in the local art scene.”

A number of artists are sharing studio space throughout the weekend. The Tin Can Studio at 128 Woodland Ave. brings together Blake and nature photographer Stephen Cunliffe, while Peninsula Palettes, 292 Sand Road, is a gathering spot for 10 more artists.

Sculptures

The studio tour is also a chance to see Margaret Takaki’s blufftop property. At her place at 1617 Washington St., Port Townsend Bay view and all, the sculptor will display her tall figures of Northwest Native Americans, as well as her Japanese ceramics — and she’ll serve green tea and shortbread.

“People who come talk about the peacefulness of the place,” said Takaki, who also runs a bed and breakfast inn.

“There is nothing quite as much fun as being invited into spaces not usually open to the public,” Art Port Townsend organizer Rae Belkin said. “The studio tour is an opportunity to meet the person behind the art, ask questions and begin to understand what the artists are looking for in their own work: why they do what they do.”