Port Ludlow Art League hosts fair, exhibits

PORT LUDLOW — The Port Ludlow Art League will host its Holiday Arts Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

The fair is at the Beach Club, 121 Marina View Drive.

The event will feature artwork from local artists, including jewelry, ceramics, baskets, woodwork, photographs, paintings, stained glass, textiles, cards and books.

Proceeds will benefit the league’s Scholarship Fund for Jefferson County school and youth programs.

The Port Ludlow Art League is comprised of artists who create a variety of artwork. Along with art exhibits at the Port Ludlow Art League’s Gallery, Sound Community Bank, the Port Ludlow Inn and the Bay Club, art league members provide a collection of artwork at the following locations now through January.

• The Bay Club lobby — Diane Walker — abstract acrylic paintings.

• Coldwell Banker Best Homes — Fran Bodman — acrylic paintings.

• Active Life Physical Therapy — David Layton — photographic collages.

• The Beach Club — Stephan Lovendahl — acrylic paintings.

• Port Ludlow Post Office — Sheryl Goldsberry — watercolor paintings.

At the same time, the art league is hosting a group show, Holiday Gatherings, at the Bay Club, 120 Spinnaker Lane in Port Ludlow.

To celebrate the upcoming holiday season, the exhibit features artists’ interpretations of holiday celebrations around the world.

It has been on view throughout the month of November and will be on display through December. Visitors are encouraged to vote for their favorite pieces.

For more information on art exhibits at the Bay Club, email Alan Ahtow at info@portludlowart.org.

In December, the art league will highlight the work of Brenda Barcelo, its artist of the month, and Beth Olson, its jeweler of the month.

Barcelo is a self-taught artist originally from Montevideo, Uruguay, who dedicated decades to the art of balsa wood carving. When a fire engulfed her California home in August 2020, destroying her entire collection of carved balsa wood artwork, she redirected her artistic talents to drawing — specifically portrait drawing.

“Leaving behind wood carving and mastering an entirely different medium helped Brenda free herself from the painful memories of the fire,” according to art league organizers.

While many of her portraits are done from photographs, Barcelo also enjoys live drawings, organizers said.

“When I feel the portrait comes alive with the likeness and emotions of the person I’m portraying, a smile arises inside my chest,” she said.

Barcelo uses only graphite and charcoal pencils, ink and plain drawing paper.

During December, her work will be on view at the Sound Community Bank at the corner of Oak Bay Road and Osprey Ridge and online at www.portludlowart.org.

Olson’s unique jewelry designs will be on display in December at the Port Ludlow Art Gallery and the Sound Community Bank and the Port Ludlow Art Gallery next door.

She creates one-of-a-kind jewelry using semi-precious stones such as chalcedony, turquoise, rhodolite, garnet, kyanite and jade.

The gallery is open Wednesday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m.

Guests will be welcome for a $5 fee at the art league’s pre-Christmas meeting on Dec. 21 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Port Ludlow Bay Club.

The speaker will be Carol Reynolds, who will discuss a new textile technique called “new hand stitching” or “slow stitching.”

This is a mindful process that encourages the artist to thoughtfully create textile art by stitching with needle and thread.

Reynolds works with repurposed cloth, thread and photo transfers — cutting, ripping, sewing, dying and painting fabrics, achieving depth by layering with transparent and translucent materials.

She will lead attendees in a slow stitch exercise to spark their interest in textile art.

For more information, visit www.portludlowart.org or email info@portluldowart.org.