PORT LUDLOW — The colorful, waterside Mats Mats Bay home and studio of the late Northwind Arts Center co-founder and artist Jeanette Best is still filled with light, even though her brushes have been stilled.
What remains is Best’s legacy of love for the organization she nurtured for the past 19 years.
When Best died in December at the age of 79, she left the bulk of her estate to Northwind: the contents of her home and some property.
Northwind volunteers have organized an Estate and Art Sale from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday at her home at 60 Carey Court, off Oak Bay Road, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Jeanette Best Memorial Fund at Northwind Arts Center.
The art center board plans to use the funds to update the gallery which bears her name in the Waterman-Katz building on Water Street in Port Townsend.
The entire contents of her home will be offered for sale including furniture, furnishings, kitchenware, clothes, linens, decorations and her vast collection of indoor and outdoor potted plants.
Also included in the sale will be her personal art pieces, art books and her supplies.
“Her art, her supplies, her color, her personality is all throughout this house,” remarked Thya Merz, president of the Northwind board of directors.
“She made her life on the bay for 27 years and her paintings drew inspiration from the views from her waterfront studio.
“Jeanette worked across a range of mediums. Everyone who knew her over the years has a favorite period. She worked in brush and ink, and painted in oil, watercolors and acrylics. She had a kiln and did ceramic pieces, including vases and functional items. She painted on glass and there are stemware pieces available.”
There also is a large selection of her cherished art supplies and tools. According to Merz, Best invested in the highest quality tools and materials.
“She has some beautiful Japanese brushes,” she noted.
Merz and Polly Lyle, vice-president and development director of the organization, have been pulling together the remains of Best’s life and have discovered some quirky things about her.
“She was a collector,” said Merz as she pointed out closets full of clothes, some still with tags attached.
“What’s interesting about Jeanette was that she was very stylish, very high end. But she put these clothes together with items she found at the thrift stores and would mix them, creating that hi-lo fashion that’s so in vogue now.”
Some of the most interesting furniture for sale is an eclectic collection of carved wooded chairs thought to be old century Scandinavian.
Lyle said that one of Best’s rooms was dedicated to celebrations of all kinds.
“For every holiday you can imagine, there is some kind of light or decoration,” Lyle said. “There are many Christmas lights and ornaments, on a large scale. She loved to decorate to honor a holiday.”
Best also bequeathed Northwind three pieces of real estate.
“Jeanette has three contiguous waterfront lots here on the bay that will be sold as one big building lot when it goes on the market in a few months,” said Merz.
According to Merz, Best knew Northwind’s back gallery was going to be named for her, and she was pleased with that decision.
“She didn’t know we would use the proceeds from this sale to refurbish the gallery and we wouldn’t be able to do it without her generosity. It’s a nice connection,” Merz said.
Renovation plans include replacing the floor to make it consistent with the floor in the front gallery. There will be new gallery lighting, and the ceiling will be painted.
“We want to optimize the space for art showing and selling, and as a performance space,” Lyle said. “The renovation will also enable us to remove the wallboard that surrounds the cast iron columns back there. They are part of the history of the space and should be shown.”
If all goes as planned, during the new season beginning in February 2019, the space will be dedicated.
Merz summed up Jeanette Best’s commitment to the arts community.
“She took hold of Northwind and guided it though to her end to create a wonderful community of artists and artisans and give them an opportunity to participate in a gallery and juried shows. She selected a team to keep the momentum moving forward after she left us, and we proudly do so to honor her.”
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Jeannie McMacken can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jmcmacken@peninsuladailynews.com.
