Presented by Olympic Driftwood Sculptors
When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, March 18-19
Where: Dungeness River Audubon Center
Free admission.
For more: Contact Tuttie Peetz at 683-6860 or visit http://www.olympicdriftwoodsculptors.org/
From beginning sculptors to award-winning artists, members from the Olympic Driftwood Sculptors organization will display their driftwood artwork at this year’s ninth annual Driftwood Art Show.
This year’s show will feature artwork from an estimated 30-40 different artists, live demonstrations of works in progress, a driftwood boutique shop and is the only show where guests can purchase raw wood. The proceeds from this event go toward scholarships for Sequim High School graduating seniors that are actively pursuing an art degree.
The Driftwood Art Show held its first event in 2008. Since then, the organization has grown from 13 members to over 70 in the past nine years.
Many of the featured artists are members of the Olympic Driftwood Sculptors (ODS) organization and students of Tuttie Peetz’ driftwood sculpture classes. These students have learned the techniques of driftwood sculpting during a 6-week workshop where students put in 18 hours of work.
Peetz is a driftwood sculptor, instructor and co-founder of ODS. She also is a board member for the Dungeness River Audubon Center where the annual Driftwood Art Show is held.
She describes driftwood sculpture as a Pacific Northwest art form that embraces creativity and reveals the inner beauty of the wood she and her students work with.
“It’s always a very fun show, especially if you’ve never seen it,” Peetz said. She has been practicing driftwood sculpture for 20 years and teaching the driftwood sculpture class for 12-13 years.
She explained that all of ODS’ artwork comes from wood that already is cut down or dead, nothing that is currently alive and living.
The process of creating a driftwood sculpture involves scraping the old or dead wood off of a piece, sanding the clean wood, burnishing — a technique that compresses the cells of the wood to bring out the shine, traditionally done with a deer antler or a sea lion’s tooth that Peetz had for her students to use — waxing and then putting the finished piece onto a base.
Peetz explained the sculpture falls into the natural design of the wood.
“You’re never sure exactly what it’s going to be,” she said.
One driftwood sculpture can take anywhere from three months to a year to complete.
Kathy Cox, a driftwood sculpture student, said she became involved in the art form after seeing driftwood sculptures on display at the Lavender Festival last year, another event where ODS features its members’ artwork.
Marianne Christopher, another student, said she enjoys driftwood sculpting for the creative process.
“It can be anything you want to make it,” she said. “It’s very open and creative and you can do your own style yet get the guidance from a professional.”
The art show is not a competitive event, Peetz said, but a chance for artists from beginners to experts to showcase their work.
This year’s ninth annual Driftwood Art Show will be from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, March 18-19, at the Dungeness River Audubon Center. The event is free to the public. For more information, contact Tuttie Peetz at 683-6860 or visit http://www.olympicdriftwoodsculptors.org/.
