Constantine featured at Artist Showcase

Now in its fifth year, the Artist Showcase, which has featured the work of 36 artists from across the Northwest, will showcase the works of Kathy Constantine for September.

Primarily an artist in acrylic mixed media, Constantine employs a variety of other methods into each piece, including hand-painted and hand-formed papers, metal leaf and images shown or painted on the computer, in photography, on monoprinting, in painting and sketching.

With no formal training, Constantine has always followed her creative urges and worked artistic expression into her life, considering herself experimental for her love of trying new combinations and different approaches to a given subject.

“I have had a passion for art since I was a child. I started a neighborhood art club when I was 10 years old and boldly gave instruction to my friends, though I didn’t know much about art myself,” Constantine said.

Since 2015, Constantine has been a Showcase artist, and is teaching classes through the Port Townsend School of the Arts.

The show runs from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Aug. 30 through Sept. 29 and is closed on Tuesdays.

A call for fiber artists

The 13th annual North Olympic Arts Festival is calling for artists to enter its “Transformative Style – Originality, Revolution and Repute” exhibition, open to all fiber arts media, not just wearable art. The entry deadline is 9 p.m. Sept. 8. This year’s theme embraces how attire and fiber artworks reveal spirits in color, action and intent.

“All fiberworks that explores how apparel influences and makes a difference in historic consequences, altered narratives, and personal evolution,” stated a press release from Renne Emiko Brock, North Olympic Fiber Arts Festival director. “Worn inspiration and reputation, from sublime costumes to heartfelt heirlooms, authenticates individual esthetics and fuses integrity with fabric, fashion, and fate.”

Full prospectus is at fiberartsfestival.org and an online entry form is at uniqueasyou.submittable.com/submit. There is a maximum of three art entries per artist, at a $15 entry fee per artist. The exhibit will be held from Oct. 5 through Nov. 24 at the Sequim Museum and Arts at 175 W. Cedar St. in Sequim.

Ireland in concert

All-Ireland champions, button accordion player John Whelan and fiddler Dylan Foley, will bring their passion for Irish traditional music at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 30 at the Quaker Meetinghouse.

Pairing maturity with youthful energy, the duo met at a New York session 12 years ago, Whelan recalled. Whelan was impressed with Foley's potential, later inviting him to perform with his band when they headlined the Anchorage Folk Festival.

After moving to Washington, he learned Foley would perform on an Alaskan cruise, and thought it would be an opportunity to perform in a series of intimate concerts. Besides Irish tunes, they will include some of Whelan's original compositions in the program.

Whelan grew up in London's music scene in the 1970s, and has been named “Musician of the Year” by the Irish Music Association. He has his name on more than 15 CDs, performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and been featured on a number of TV shows. Currently, he performs with The John Whelan Band and the group Galifean with Brian Conway.

Foley is known for his intense drive and fluidity of his playing. He has performed and taught on both sides of the Atlantic, and has recorded two CDs with the band The Yanks. He also has four other CDs, a feat in itself as he is in his early 20s.

Tickets are available at Brown Paper tickets for $18 or $20 at the door. For more information, call 360-302-1658.

Artists at Sound Community Bank

Jewelry and canvas art will be on display throughout September at Sound Community Bank and the PLAL Gallery, located on the corner of Oak Bay Road and Osprey Ridge Drive in Port Ludlow.

The artist of the month will be Pamela Raine, who captures her many experiences in Southwest Asia using collage, plaster, paper, encaustics, watercolors, acrylics, fibers and clay. Throughout her travels, she has visited Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, and found those areas enthralling for the art and architecture. Her artwork will be on display at Port Ludlow Community Bank in September. A reception is set for 5 to 6 p.m. Sept. 12 in the lobby of the bank in the Port Ludlow League Gallery next door.

Katie Jablonski is the jeweler of the month, whose work will be on display at the Port Ludlow League Gallery. Inspired by nature and the expressions of life within the materials she uses, such as bronze and aluminum, to create ceramic sculptures, tiles and vessels, Jablonski spreads a message of peace. She has been working with various stones, silver casting, beading, enameling and polymer clay to create her jewelry designs.

For the Port Ludlow Club Exhibition, Jim Ferrara's work will be on display. He has worked for 25 years as an art director and set designer for the film and television industry. The exhibit will feature a combination of several different styles and techniques, through visual and physical 3D elements. The Bay Club is located at 120 Spinnaker Place in Port Ludlow.

A reception for the arts is planned for 4 p.m. Sept. 12 in the lobby of the Port Ludlow Sound Community Bank and next door at the gallery from 4 to 6 p.m. For more information, contact League President Claudia Wicks at 206-351-2414 or email her atclaudiawicks@msn.com.