SEQUIM — When you hear the laughter pouring down the hall, you may wonder what’s so funny about old wood.
That hilarity, turns out, is just the sound of an Olympic Driftwood Sculptors “meeting,” which was more like a party, with abundant snacks, for the 26 members and six guests who got together earlier this month at the Sequim Prairie Grange Hall.
These artists are in the throes of preparing for their next big show, this Saturday and Sunday during the Dungeness River Festival in Railroad Bridge Park west of Sequim.
The free show, featuring driftwood-sculpture demonstrations, displays of finished art and unfinished wood for sale, will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.
A frequent refrain during September’s Olympic Driftwood Sculptors meeting went like this: “I’m not an artist; I have no talent for that kind of thing.”
Yet there they were, making art from random pieces of wood found on beaches or left behind after clearcuts.
Sally Wikstrom of Sequim never thought of herself as a sculptor, but then she took a six-week driftwood course with Tuttie Peetz, an award-winning sculptor and veteran teacher.
“I like the shine, the grain, the flow of the wood,” Wikstrom said while working with a piece she might call “Sailing Away.” The shape suggests a sailboat, to her eyes.
Marilyn Brenneis of Sequim noticed Peetz’s art in a Peninsula Daily News photograph about a year ago, and decided to wade in to the hobby.
“I was so taken with the beauty she brought out of nature,” said Brenneis, who’s working on a small piece she may call “Nessie” for its allusion to the Loch Ness monster.
This isn’t Serious Art. But “it’s a lot of fun,” Brenneis said.
Kim Braun of Sequim and her husband, Tim, saw the Olympic Driftwood Sculptors’ display at the Clallam County Fair last month, and accepted the invitation to the club’s September meeting.
“The people were so nice,” Braun said, adding, “I’m not the least bit artistic; they tell me all I have to do is scrape and sand.”
Peetz, meantime, roamed the room admiring the handiwork.
“I love it,” she said. “I’m a big believer in sharing what you love.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladaily news.com.
