PORT TOWNSEND — Two exhibits will open Thursday at the Northwind Arts Center in celebration of the small and experimental.
The small
Small Expressions will open at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the center, 701 Water St., curating art no larger than 15 inches in any direction. Work to be considered for the show must be delivered by Sunday between 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. or Monday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Entries must be original, entirely the work of the entrant and executed within the past three years. The exhibit is open to all media, including jewelry.
Juror Marie Weichman works primarily in ceramics and often employs other material to help define the work’s meaning, according to a press release.
Installation, repetition of form, found material and collaboration are a few of the ways in which Weichman’s work is created and presented. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally and published in several magazines and the book “Humor and Craft.” Weichman has been an arts educator for 16 years. She currently teaches at Olympic College.
Weichman will give a talk at 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3. The exhibit will be open through 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 30.
The experimental
The work of Denise Champion, who recently ventured into the brave new world of mixed media and metal, will be displayed during the month of December.
The show runs from this Thursday to Thursday, Dec. 28.
Originally, Champion painted exclusively en plein air in oils and pastels. She started her career as an artist by studying color with Richard Nelson, who developed and trademarked the Tri-Hue Method — painting with only cyan, magenta and yellow.
Since then, Champion has painted en plein air in nearly every state and owned an art gallery in Maui, Hawaii.
“One of the advantages of having been painting for a long time is that you have had lots of practice, and if you don’t get stuck but are willing to expand your knowledge, it can take you on some very exciting adventures,” she said in a press release. “That is what happened to me this year.”
Experimental artist Susan Kazmer introduced Champion to mixed media and metal. Now, the public may see the transformation.
“Realistic painting was never my goal. Abstracting the landscape and color interaction are my voice,” Champion said. “Applying this in another media has been exciting and invigorating.”
The exhibit is open from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays.