SEQUIM — The public is invited to the eighth annual ARTfusion Art Show, set from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today, Saturday and Sunday at the Cutting Garden Art Center.
The show will feature new work by four of Sequim’s award-winning professional artists at the center, 303 Dahlia Llama Lane.
Demonstrations by the artists will be held at 2 p.m. each day.
Organizers have dedicated this year’s event to colleague Rocky Fankhouser, who died last year of cancer at 71.
“Always generous with his beautiful work, his time and woodworking expertise, Rocky is sorely missed and continues to inspire us all,” show organizers said.
ARTfusion artists are using recent traveling experiences to inspire works showcased in the 2016 ARTfusion show, organizers said.
They’ll also be using a new venue in 2016 utilizing Catherine Mix’s new classroom and gallery.
Mix, a founder of ARTfusion and owner of the Cutting Garden Art Center, began painting in earnest in 1995 and has participated in and hosted workshops by nationally recognized artists.
She paints with pastel and watercolor (and sometimes both media together), capturing the scenery of the Olympic Peninsula as well as still lifes and portraits.
This year, Mix has been focusing on plein air painting, traveling to France to study with plein air master Ian Roberts. Her work can be seen at www.catherine mix.blogspot.com.
Paulette Hill, a prize-winning jewelry designer, also traveled extensively this year, taking a long sojourn to the Southwest.
New jewelry pieces incorporating stones discovered on the trip and inspired by the warm textures and colors of the region will be the focus of the jewelry pieces she will show this year.
Recognized for her wire-wrapping technique, this year Hill has been exploring wire weaving. She continues to teach jewelry-making techniques and has joined the Artists Showcase at the Northwind Art Center in Port Townsend.
Tuttie Peetz, a driftwood sculptor, continues to teach. She is experimenting with incorporating Guilder’s Copper Paste and other metals into her work. She also is working with wood from the High Desert of Oregon.
Experimenting with inlays of crushed semi-precious stones adds a new dimension to Peetz’s pieces. She looks forward to sharing her new ideas and new works at ARTfusion this year.
Linda Collins Chapman, recognized for her carved porcelain and ceramic sculpture, is working on a large commission in her Penny Lane studio.
This year, she continued her support of the Artist Trust by donating a carved porcelain plate to the gala auction. “Spinner” was featured in the silent auction and sold to a new collector.
Shows this year included “Small Works” at the Northwinds Art Center in Port Townsend and “Convergence” at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center.
Her work also was included in the “Black and White” and “Sculptural Works” shows at the Sequim Civic Center’s art gallery. She will be showing at the fifth annual Soroptimist Gala Gift Show, scheduled for December in Sequim.
Collins Chapman also looks forward to teaching a mask-sculpting workshop at Western Carolina University this coming year. Her work can be seen at www.lindachapmandesign.com.
For a preview of the new artwork, a map and directions to the Cutting Garden Art Center, visit www.art fusionsequim.blogspot.com.
“Coming About” by Tuttie Peetz.
Catherine Mix’s “Cafe Umbrellas.”
A vase by Linda Collins Chapman.
A vase by Linda Collins Chapman.
Jewelry by Paulette Hill.
Jewelry by Paulette Hill.
