Elevated Ice Cream hosts ῾Social Distancing Art Show’ in May

Students from The Masters’ Atelier in PT provide the art

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The state’s social distancing requirements have made it difficult to conduct art shows, even in communities as artsy as Port Townsend.

But The Masters’ Atelier of Drawing and Painting has found a way, in partnership with Elevated Ice Cream & Candy Shop, to allow local art enthusiasts to take in an art show in town, while still staying safe from COVID-19.

The first “Social Distancing Art Show” is slated to run from Saturday, May 2, through Sunday, May 31, at Elevated Ice Cream, which is open for takeout orders from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

“Throughout May, when you get a treat at Elevated, you can enjoy perusing art from The Master’s Atelier fine art school and associated local artists,” said Nancy Lucas Williams, founder of The Masters’ Atelier in Port Townsend. She’s one of four artists whose works will be showcased, along with Rebecca Nerison, C.W. Sawyer and the artist who prefers to be identified only as L.F.

Williams said it took about a month to coordinate the event, which features approximately 40 works of art, mostly from the 2019-20 school year at The Masters’ Atelier, but also from the artists’ home studios.

The school normally stages a year-end on-site open studio, which Williams said was not possible this year due to the governor’s stay-at-home order, so she’d been searching for an alternate venue that would be pandemic-safe while still making the students’ art visible to the public when she happened to wander into Elevated Ice Cream.

“They’re one of the essential businesses in Port Townsend that’s open for takeout, and they also host monthly art shows,” Williams said. “They had a last-minute cancellation and were able to fit us in for the month of May.”

Williams was sad that the usual places she goes to experience and exhibit art are currently locked up or otherwise inaccessible.

“I feel like my spirit is slowly wilting and my artistic soul has been drying up,” Williams said. “I really wanted to persevere in finding a venue so we could share with the community the beauty and vitality of viewing and creating art, not only to transport us, but also to feed our souls and give us hope for the future, especially during this difficult time.”

In addition to introducing her students’ art to the community, Williams hopes the show will bolster a greater sense of interconnectedness within the community.

“Artists are continuing their work of making sense of the world, the good and the bad, by remembering the beauty around us, and within us, in the art we create,” Williams said.

Williams praised not only her students, for managing to pull together on such relatively short notice to stage this show, but also the new owners of Elevated Ice Cream, Josh and Shirlena Freund, whose “kindness” and flexibility she lauded for being able to fit The Masters’ Atelier into their showing schedule.

“We hope to have a closing meet-and-greet at the end of May, but until then, the show can be enjoyed while waiting for your tasty treats,” Williams said. “The exhibition wall is currently cordoned off from the tables, and will allow customers to view the work as they pass through the space when they purchase their food. There is no seating allowed in the space, but there are three entrances and exits to allow ample space between customers, to stay a safe distance apart.”

While no artists’ reception is currently planned due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions, Williams sees the potential for an outdoor area behind the shop to be used as the social distancing meet-and-greet from a comfortable 6 feet apart.

“Masks can be removed while we eat our ice cream,” Williams laughed.

In the meantime, Williams also hopes to familiarize the community further with The Masters’ Atelier, a four-year full-time apprenticeship program based on the materials and methods of the Old Masters.

Students who study a minimum of nine hours a week are provided their own studio space, under the tutelage of a master artist, and begin by drawing casts sight-size in charcoal to train their eyes to see and reproduce the nuances of shadows and shapes from life.

The Masters’ Atelier also offers six- to eight-week courses of three-hour classes throughout the year for artists interested in shorter-term instruction on a variety of subjects and media.

“In a nutshell, The Masters’ Atelier is a realist school of art that uses classical training methods to teach everyone how to paint and draw,” Williams said. “We believe there are many different forms that art can take, and that a trained eye and hand can help students shape art so that they may express themselves more eloquently. Come see our work this month, and tell us what you think.”

For more information, check out the school’s Instagram account at “themastersatelier” or visit its website at themastersatelier.com.