PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles Fine Arts Center exhibit has attracted attention from a prominent arts patron while showing a new kind of openness.

So said Amy Goldthwaite of the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art — BIMA — of the new, free display space for eight works of art purchased in Port Angeles.

Cynthia Lovelace Sears, 81, an avid collector and founder of BIMA, found these pieces at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center exhibit titled “Unrestricted: An Exploration of Artist Books.” That show, which displayed work by 21 artists this spring, had two wings: the main gallery for up-close viewing and the “petting zoo,” where visitors were encouraged to handle the artist books.

“PAFAC’s ‘Unrestricted’ demonstrated how a show of artist’s books can offer more than books behind glass,” Goldthwaite said.

Sears, for her part, was so enchanted that she bought a couple of armloads to add to the artist book collection at BIMA.

The purchases include two from Port Angeles artists: “Trash Talk” by Diane Williams and “Memories: How I Began” by Pamela Hastings.

At “Unrestricted,” Sears also bought “Japanese Rain,” an umbrella-shaped piece by Seattleite Mary Ashton, “The Unraveling of Political Discourse” by Lucia Harrison and Deborah Greenwood of Tacoma, “Ancient Forests of Frying Pan Creek” by Harrison, “AK-47” by Cora Li-Lager of Surrey, B.C., “Armani Unglued” by Lynn Skordal of La Conner, and “Hygge” by Amy Lund of Portland.

The thing about artist books, said “Unrestricted” curator Jan Dove, is they’ve got no rules. They can be made out of translucent handmade paper, strips of newsprint or trash. They may be flat, sculptural, painted or scratched. Artist book makers, Dove noted, think of them as personal adventures.

BIMA, which just marked its fifth birthday, is an ideal place for the works. The museum, near the ferry dock at 550 Winslow Way East, aims to promote local art. And its curators are eager to collaborate with other galleries across Kitsap County and the Olympic Peninsula, according to its mission statement at www.biartmuseum.org/.

“I would just love people to be able to appreciate the artists and the craft persons who are working around us now and give them attention and support,” Sears told The Seattle Times when her museum first opened its doors.

The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center and BIMA have much in common. Neither charges admission to its galleries, both showcase local artists and both hold events besides art exhibits.

While Bainbridge has film screenings and concerts, Port Angeles has Shakespeare in the Woods — free performances in the adjacent art park July 20-Aug. 5 — and Paint the Peninsula, an outdoor painting competition and festival Aug. 19-26. For details, see www.pafac.org/ or visit the fine arts center at 1203 E. Lauridsen Blvd.

BIMA, meantime, is being readied for a show of artist books including the ones from Port Angeles. The exhibit will fill the museum’s largest space, the Feferman Gallery, in March.

Goldthwaite said the artist book show at the fine arts center helped make this happen.

“ ‘Unrestricted’ has, in a sense, allowed us to see beyond the glass window,” she said, “into a gallery show that will be more interactive and inclusive.”