Canvas collaborations: ARTjam, ARTfusion come together for Labor Day weekend shows

“Mary and I cannot be more different; that’s why this is interesting,” Lynne Armstrong says, considering the possibilities of the collaborative painting she and fellow Sequim artist Mary Franchini will create at this year’s ARTjam.

Armstrong likens it to “a responsive gestural dance.”

Franchini is a bit more blunt about it.

“Lynne and I are going to drive each other crazy, and it’s going to be fun,” she says.

Fun and creativity are on the canvass for a special collaboration of two artist groups this year, as ARTjam and ARTfusion groups host art demonstrations and sales over Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 4-5, at two iconic Sequim venues.

ARTfusion is set for 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at The Cutting Garden Art Center, 303 Dahlia Lane, while ARTjam is slated for 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Rock Hollow Farm, 505 E. Silberhorn Road.

For the past dozen years or so, both shows have showcased artists of varying styles, and both are back this year with a host of contributors looking to inspire creativity.

ARTfusion, held annually at Catherine Mix’s studio at The Cutting Garden, has expanded this year to include six pop-up tents and will include potters, woodworkers and painters.

“It’s a lovely location,” Sequim artist Jinx Bryant says.

In addition, the studio will feature a so-called “Wall of Smalls” — “We call them bit-sized pieces of art,” Bryant says — that feature 6-inch-by-6-inch pieces of art for sale. The pieces are affordable, Bryant says, and still give the buyer a sense of the artist’s style.

Art aficionados have two big venues to tour this year.

“Two huge locations (with) such great artists,” Bryant says.

Artists at both venues will be at work demonstrating their craft, Armstrong says.

“People can ask questions and people — old and young— can make art,” she says.

“We want to show our finished work (too) but we want to show the process,” Franchini says. “We want people to share that energy.”

The heart of ARTjam, Armstrong said, is the barn at Rock Hollow Farm.

“That’s part of the experience; people enjoy coming there.”

On the farm grounds, ARTjam will feature artists working in clay, pastel, wood, metals and paint. In addition, the event features live music on the Apple Tree Stage both days, as well as some spoken word and dance performances.

Mary Lou Sanelli will perform “Crow,” a literary and dance combination, on Sept. 4.

ARTjam organizers will also auction off “Birds of a Feather,” a restored chair decorated by 15 ARTjam artists to benefit the Sequim Food Bank.

Artists will also honor the work of Ed Crumley, a fellow ARTjam contributor who died this past year.

“He was a true artist,” says Sequim sculptor Ross Brown.

Crumley helped connect Brown to the local art community when Brown moved to the Diamond Point area years ago. Crumley had an idea for the 2020 ARTjam show, a 12-foot obelisk that never was realized after last year’s event was canceled.

“I built a model of what I thought might work,” Brown says. “But then Ed got very sick.”

Now Brown is finishing the piece for the 2021 show.

Brown, an instructor at the University of Washington and Bellevue College, has light at the heart of his art. Attendees of Sequim’s Sunshine Festival may recall Brown’s 10 interactive light stations that mix or filter colors using a light source. He plans to have something similar for this year’s ARTjam, but because the event is during the day attendees can view the light-centric art using viewing boxes.

Sequim artist Liz Harper will have her light-catcher art on display, with fused glass art on a metal stand that filters the sun’s rays.

ARTfusion artist Roberta Cooper will have her gourds on display. Cooper sources her materials from Southern California and uses a water-based urethane coating so people can store dried foods inside.

During a Lavender Weekend years ago, she hosted a solo show and met a group of women from North Carolina, who wound up sending her some pine needle straw from the East Coast for one of her projects. Cooper will display some of those pine needle straw gourds at this year’s event.

Armstrong says the COVID pandemic hasn’t changed her art, neither theme nor process, but that “it’s intensified (the art) in a way.”

Brown says it motivated him to put one of his sculptures at a public area in Diamond Point, a popular spot to stroll. The pendulum-style piece is meant to be pushed or pulled and many walking by stop to interact with it, he says.

Franchini, on the other hand, struggled with the lock-down.

“I kind of stopped making art,” she recalls. “I felt the creativity was leaving me totally. I was getting scared.”

She credits her teaching responsibilities — she instructs five students once a week in her studio — and starting on small pieces of art to gradually find the inspiration.

“It was simple, easy. I wanted to go and play some more,” Franchini recalls.

Now, she and Armstrong are set to find a way to play together at an ARTjam collaborative piece. The pair will join creative forces to bring life to a 5-foot-by-6-foot canvas.

“(Mary) will make a mark, then I’ll make a mark,” Armstrong says. We’re going to respond to each other.”

Francini says people shouldn’t expect order from her contribution.

“I don’t see straight lines, so I don’t make them,” she jokes.

Participating artists

The 2021 ARTjam artists (including guest artists) include: Karin Anderson, multimedia; Armstrong, painter; Brown, sculptor; Brian Buntain, jeweler; Linda Collins Chapman, studio ceramicist; Franchini, painter; Susan Gansert Shaw, multimedia; Terry Grasteit, painter, Mike McCullum, multi-media; Sharman Owings, painter; Macaria (Debbie) Patapoff, jeweler, and Steve Portner, woodworker.

Participating 2021 ARTfusion artists include: Bryant, 2-D painting; Cooper, gourds; Monica Gutierrez-Quarto, printmaking; Lizbeth Harper, fused glass; Paulette Hill, jewelry; Donna LaHue, 2-D painting; Michael Middlestead, ceramics; Catherine Mix, 2-D painting; Marian Morris, 2-D painting; Roger Morris, digital painting; and, Linda Tilley, 2-D painting.

2021 ARTjam and ARTfusion shows

Art demonstrations, sales at two Sequim venues

When, where: ARTjam 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 4-5 at Rock Hollow Farm, 505 E. Silberhorn Road;

ARTfusion 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at The Cutting Garden Art Center, 303 Dahlia Lane

Admission: Free

More info: ArtFusionSequim.com, RockHollowArts.com

“Yakima Ready” (oil on linen) by Linda Tilley, whose work will be on display at ARTfusion 2021 on Sept. 4 and 5.

“Marquetry” by Steve Portner, whose work will be on display at ARTjam on Sept. 4 and 5. Submitted art

“Curvy Lady Gourd” by Roberta Cooper, a 2021 ARTfusion artist who will be exhibiting her craft and whose works will be on display Sept. 4-5.

“Seamstress” by Karin Anderson, whose work will be featured at the 2021 ARTjam event set for Sept. 4-5. Submitted art

Fused glass art by Lizabeth Harper, one of 11 artists featured at the 2021 ARTfusion event set for Labor Day Weekend in Sequim.

“Untitled” by Linda Collins Chapman, a studio ceramicist whose artistry will be on display at the 2021 ARTjam event in Sequim. Submitted photo

“Flutter of Nasturtiums” (oil on linen) by Jinx Bryant, a Sequim artist whose work will be on display Sept. 4-5 at the annual ARTfusion event. Submitted art

Mary Lou Sanelli will perform “Crow,” a literary and dance combination, at the annual ARTjam event on Sept. 4. Submitted photos/art

“Tulips and Camelia” by Catherine Mix, a Sequim painter whose work will be on display at the 2021 ARTfusion event Sept. 4-5 in Sequim. Submitted art

“Drop Off” Mike McCullom, a Sequim multimedia artist whose work will be on display at the 2021 ARTjam event Sept. 4-5 in Sequim. Submitted art

Ceramics by Michael Middlestead, a Sequim artist whose work will be on display at the 2021 ARTfusion event Sept. 4-5 in Sequim. Submitted photo

“Iris and Poppies” by Lynne Armstrong, a Sequim painter whose work will be on display at the 2021 ARTjam event Sept. 4-5 in Sequim. Submitted art

A Feather Ridge agate necklace by Paulette Hill, a Sequim jewelry artist whose work will be on display at the 2021 ARTfusion event Sept. 4-5 in Sequim. Submitted photo

“Key Stone Experiment #1” by Ross Brown, a Sequim sculptor whose work will be on display at the 2021 ARTjam event set for Sept. 4-5 in Sequim.

A jade fused silver necklace by Debbie Patapoff, a Sequim jewelry artist whose work will be on display at the 2021 ARTjam event Sept. 4-5 in Sequim. Submitted photo/art

“Mirth City” by Mary Franchini, a Sequim painter whose work will be on display at the 2021 ARTjam event Sept. 4-5 in Sequim. Submitted art

“Misty Longbeach Sunset” by Brian Buntain, a Sequim artist whose work will be on display at the 2021 ARTjam event Sept. 4-5 in Sequim. Submitted photo