Art in Bloom set at Port Angeles Fine Arts Center

Exhibit will pair local flowers with artwork

Art in Bloom, a Mother’s Day weekend exhibition at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, combines artwork with fresh floral arrangements such as these displayed at the center in 2021. The free exhibition will be open this Saturday and Sunday. (Port Angeles Fine Arts Center)

Art in Bloom, a Mother’s Day weekend exhibition at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, combines artwork with fresh floral arrangements such as these displayed at the center in 2021. The free exhibition will be open this Saturday and Sunday. (Port Angeles Fine Arts Center)

PORT ANGELES — A flower bar, a pansy-planting station and a brand-new mural will be part of Art in Bloom, the annual exhibition to open this weekend at the Port Angeles Fine Art Center, 1203 E. Lauridsen Blvd.

Admission is free to the display of freshly arranged flowers, each of which is inspired by artwork in the PAFAC’s “Science Stories” exhibit.

Art in Bloom will be on display in the center’s Esther Webster Gallery from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Another fresh work of art is also taking shape: a pop-up mural by Port Angeles illustrator Cammry Lapka. She’s turning the piece of plywood covering the center’s front window frame — where a burglar broke the window in April — into her art canvas.

“When we realized that the glass replacement might take awhile, we decided to reach out to local artists to see if we could throw a bit of creative ingenuity at the problem of the unsightly plywood,” Christine Loewe, the center’s executive director, said on Sunday.

“She is volunteering her time and artistic skill this week,” Loewe said, adding Lapka has been painting for the past three days.

Four artist books from the “Science Stories” show were stolen in the burglary, Loewe said, along with specimens from the Slater Museum of Natural History component of the exhibition.

“We were able to rearrange and still have a full exhibit,” Loewe said.

The arts center had no lapse in its hours of operation after the burglary, she added.

Loewe came to work Monday morning, April 18, to find the shattered window, and was able to open the gallery later that week for its usual hours of 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.

Loewe, along with the center’s staff and volunteers, has created two new activities for this year’s Art in Bloom. First, the flower bar is for those who want to try their hand at making their own floral arrangements in the PAFAC’s courtyard.

Tickets include a vessel, locally grown flowers, all necessary tools and basic instruction for creating an arrangement to take home. Advance purchase is recommended at https://pafac.kindful.com/e/flowerbar, since the activity will be open only from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday.

Tickets are $30 for PAFAC members and $35 for the general public, with proceeds supporting local flower farmers and arts center programming.

For children, the Plant-a-Pansy station will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Kids 12 and younger can decorate their own miniature pots and learn how to plant flowers. There’s no cost to participate; the Airport Garden Center has donated flowers for the planting station.

All of this surrounds a springtime tradition at the PAFAC. Art in Bloom, begun in 2004, was the vision of devoted board member and volunteer Mim Foley, who took part in the event until her untimely passing in 2010.

On May 5 of that year, just after Mother’s Day, Foley died in a car wreck a block away from the arts center. Foley’s husband Bud and their family and friends established a memorial fund to ensure Art in Bloom would continue. Bud died in 2016, but Art in Bloom has carried on.

Loewe expressed her gratitude to the variety of people supporting Art in Bloom this spring: the Port Angeles Garden Club, a longstanding partner, along with Tin Can Floral, River’s Edge Farmstead and the Airport Garden Center, which has shared flowers and floral designs with the PAFAC.

Participating in this year’s Art in Bloom main event are members of the Olympic Peninsula Judges Council of the Washington State Federation of Garden Clubs, including Pamela Ehtee, Billie Fitch, Bernice Cook, Patty Wheatley, Tina Cozzolino, Mary Lou Paulson and Linda Nutter. All hold certificates in floral design and judging.

Designers Julia Ahrndt, Jenny Edwards and Sandy Giles from Tin Can Floral and River’s Edge Farmstead will also display their designs in the gallery.

Foley’s daughter, Irene Alltucker, recalled her hopes for this weekend’s event.

“My mother wanted to spend Mother’s Day weekend with a family activity that combined her two great loves: gardening and the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center,” Alltucker said.

________

Jefferson County Senior Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz @peninsuladailynews.com.

More in Entertainment

Peninsula College to host free jazz concerts

The Peninsula College Jazz Ensemble will perform two free… Continue reading

Community Bowls and Soup Share event Saturday

The fifth annual Community Bowls and Soup Share will… Continue reading

Live music performances set this weekend

Live music performances will be conducted on the Peninsula this weekend. They… Continue reading

Auditions set for improv musical

The Peninsula College drama department will conduct auditions for… Continue reading

Artist Karen Hackenberg in her Discovery Bay home studio with her painting titled “The Floating World.” (photo by Craig Wester)
Port Townsend painter explores beauty in pollution

Tacoma Art Museum to host solo exhibit

The light art piece, “Jellyfish” by Nicole Johnson, was part of the 2023 Light Art Experience in Webster’s Woods. (Matt Sagen/Cascadia Films)
Makers Market, Light Art Experience to open Friday

The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center will open its… Continue reading

Christine Brehan, left, Olympic Peninsula Doll Club president, and Sandy Brehan, cofounder of the group, share some of Sandy’s collection of miniature mannequins dressed in clothes that she made from original 1930s-1950s patterns. The blue skirt suit on the left was made by another member. The Brehans shared some of their collections with visitors and residents of Sherwood Assisted Living. (Emily Matthiessen/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Dolls span countries, decades at Sequim show

Sherwood Assisted Living hosted the Olympic Peninsula Doll Club’s “Timeless… Continue reading

Tickets still available for Festival of Trees events

Tickets are still available for Festival of Trees events… Continue reading

Plays, music and puzzles top weekend events

Stage productions, music performances and a crossword puzzle contest highlight this weekend’s… Continue reading

Port Angeles Community Players to host auditions

Auditions for the Port Angeles Community Players’ production of… Continue reading

“Obstruction Point” by Anne Pfeiffer of Port Angeles is part of “Small Expressions,” the wide-ranging show which will open Friday at Northwind Art’s Jeanette Best Gallery in Port Townsend.
‘Small Expressions’ opens Friday in Port Townsend

One of the most wide-ranging exhibitions in recent memory… Continue reading

Actors, from left, Justin Stapleton, Mario Arruda and Sean Stone rehearse “Artificial Emotions,” a short play written by John Painter and directed by Bill Stone, far right. It will be the first of eight plays in Olympic Theatre Arts’ New Works Showcase through Sunday. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Olympic Theatre Arts offers New Works Showcase

Olympic Theatre Arts will offer eight new mini shows this… Continue reading