PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend School of the Arts plans a special exhibit and sale of watercolor paintings by Janet Cramer, with the show opening for the Port Townsend Gallery Walk on Saturday.
The show will be open Saturday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the school’s downtown gallery at 236 Taylor St.
The Port Townsend Gallery Walk is a free, self-guided tour of galleries in Port Townsend, held from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. the first Saturday of each month.
The Cramer show, which will continue through the month of June, is a special fundraiser for the nonprofit Port Townsend School of the Arts and is made possible by the Janet Cramer Fund. All of the proceeds will support the school and its students, said Meg Kaczyk, marketing manager for the school.
Cramer’s daughter Nancy Heckler, who directs the fund, will be present at the opening to provide insight into her mother’s life and work.
Cramer, who lived from 1914 to 2009, was a prolific watercolor artist who most recently lived on Bainbridge Island.
After attending The American Academy of the Arts in Chicago in the 1930s, she had a successful career in New York City as a fashion model and then owned a women’s boutique for 24 years, Kaczyk said.
Soon after, Cramer went back to her first love and began painting full time. She was a juried member of the Arizona Watercolor Association and an associate member of the American Watercolor Society. Her work has been featured in galleries, special exhibits, magazines and in many private and public collections.
After Cramer died, her daughters Karen and Nancy established the Janet Cramer Scholarship Fund.
“This is a rare opportunity to see Cramer’s work on exhibit, and available for purchase,” Kaczyk said.
Hours at the gallery are from noon to 3 p.m. Thursday through Saturday or by appointment.
For more about the school, which is at Fort Worden, see https://ptschoolof thearts.org/.
Here is what’s planned at several other venues during the Port Townsend Gallery Walk.
• Gallery 9, 1012 Water St., will host photographer Nancy Cherry Eifert and jeweler Carlos Roberto Costa Ribeiro as they discuss their art from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
The two are the gallery’s featured artists for June.
Eifert will present new photography of nature’s beauty on the Olympic Peninsula.
Beginning this week, one of her images is shown on the cover of Olympic National Park’s summer newspaper, the Bugler.
Ribeiro makes fine silver jewelry. He has lived in Port Townsend for 15 years and now celebrates his 14th year with Gallery 9. Ribeiro originally hails from Brazil, where he learned the art of fine silversmithing.
His signature techniques include hand-braiding, unique gem stone settings and coconut shell ring-making.
Gallery 9, an artists’ cooperative, is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. For more information, see https://gallery-9.com/ or call 360-379-8881.
• Northwind Arts Center, 701 Water St., will host receptions for its juried “Think Big” exhibit and for its artist of the month, Sandy Haight, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
An Art Talk is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.
“Think Big” opened Thursday and will continue through July 1.
Artists were told to think beyond their comfort zones in producing art for the show.
“In our world of compact cars, pocket computers and tiny houses, once in a while it’s nice to break out of the confines of small and think big. ‘Think Big’ is an opportunity for artists of all disciplines to break the limits often placed on their creativity and go large,” according to a news release.
The juror is Michael Paul Miller, associate professor of art at Peninsula College. Miller received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting and graphic communications from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a master of Fine Arts degree in painting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He currently works in his studio in Port Angeles.
The Artist Showcase 2018, now in its fifth year, features the work of 36 artists from across the Northwest. It is changed monthly. The present show will continue through July 1.
Haight, the Showcase artist of the month for June, is a signature member of the Northwest Watercolor Society and 2016 poster artist for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.
She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drawing and painting at the University of Colorado, and went on to establish a career as an illustrator. She has been focused on painting the inner landscape of flowers for the past few years.
Exhibit hours are from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays.
For more information, see http://northwindarts.org/.
• Port Townsend Gallery, 715 Water St., will present the artists of a jewelry group show from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
Creating a story with enamel and stone is how Addy Thornton views her neck pieces.
Shirley Moss, “The Chainmaker,” has been making handmade chains for 47 years. She considers each chain a meditation in metal.
Andrea Guarino-Slemmons will feature jewelry of the Northwest. Many of her creations are made from stones and beach glass found at Port Townsend’s North Beach.
The cooperative gallery is open daily from 10 am. to 6 p.m. For more information, call 360-379-8110 or see www.porttownsend gallery.com.
• Jefferson Museum of Art & History, 540 Water St., will be open for an Art Walk from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday.
The public is invited to the free and open showcase of area artists at the museum.
For more information, call 360-385-1003.
Andrea Guarino-Slemmons’ pendants will be among the work exhibited at Port Townsend Gallery this weekend.
Nancy Cherry Eifert’s “Ancient Eyes” will be shown at Gallery 9 during the Port Townsend Gallery Walk on Saturday.
Work by the late Janet Cramer will be featured at the downtown gallery of the Port Townsend School of the arts. “Bring It On” by Cramer is one of the paintings from the exhibit.
