Karin Anderson never thought she would see her artwork displayed in a gallery.
Fast forward 12 years, and Anderson now finds herself saying goodbye to the Sequim art community after a dozen years of being a Blue Whole Gallery member and featured artist.
Her vibrant artwork will be displayed one last time at her showcase “Inspired!” during February starting on Friday, Feb. 3, at the Blue Whole Gallery as the featured First Friday artist.
Anderson will be leaving for Santa Fe, N.M., in late spring upon her husband Jack’s retirement from his position as a pastor at Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church.
Anderson is a mixed-media artist and uses several different types of mediums, such as watercolor and acrylic paints, pastel, gouache, colored pencil, everyday objects and even shredded paper from her husband’s old dentistry work.
She said her artistic style has changed through the years from realistic paintings to abstract assemblage pieces and titled her showcase “Inspired!” as a reflection of her work over time.
“I’m struck by all the beautiful color and texture that I see,” she said, explaining that some of the local produce found in the area, such as fruits, vegetables and flowers have been inspirations for some of her work.
Anderson said she also is drawn to circles and graphic letters which can be seen in many of her abstract and 3-D assemblage pieces.
“Abstract work is hard because you have to still be thinking about that composition and elements of design,” she said.
She explained that for her abstract art is a more intuitive process.
“Your background, your training, everything is more intuitive, it’s like the light bulb going off in your head.”
Anderson said art always has had a place in her life. She earned a BFA degree in studio art from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma and worked as a graphic design artist for 10 years in the Seattle area.
Born and raised in Port Angeles, Anderson said she feels like Sequim is home.
While a lot of her time was spent at home with her daughter Turi and son Matt, Anderson always has been involved in the art community from volunteering in the art classes at Sequim High School to chairing the Sequim Arts Student Art Show for six years.
Anderson started trying abstract work after an experimental watercolor class taught by local watercolor artists Bob Brown and Mary Franchini. She also was inspired by Blue Whole Gallery member Deborah Sterk’s abstract pieces and has been diving into abstract art ever since.
It was by Brown’s suggestion that Anderson would be a good fit for the Blue Whole Gallery that led her to apply and eventually become voted in as an artist and member.
For her showcase this Friday, Anderson said she might display her artwork based on similar styles.
“There’s color themes in my work,” she said, referring to a lot of the teal, blues, oranges and reds that consistently appear in her pieces.
Anderson said in the future she definitely will be continuing her artistic work in New Mexico and might take some time for art classes.
Looking to the future
The Andersons decided to move to New Mexico after taking a couple of vacations there where they both felt a spiritual connection and for her an artistic one.
“Having grown up and lived here in the Northwest all my life, it’s so different down there,” she said, adding that that was something they really wanted, something totally different.
In the future, Anderson said they both want to be involved in the community and hope to volunteer.
“Both of us feel real strongly about volunteering,” she said, either volunteering at a food bank, homeless shelter or after-school programs.
Jack Anderson grew up in Seattle and has been a pastor at Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church for 14 years. Before his position as a pastor, he had a career in dentistry for 18 years in the Seattle area.
“It’s been a wonderful ride,” he said of his journey as a pastor.
“This community of people — the church congregation — has embraced my family and I and we’ve been treated as well as anyone could possibly expect.”
He said what he likes about his church congregation at Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church is that it is heading in a more progressive direction and he hopes to find one similar in New Mexico.
The Andersons are both looking forward to seeing a different part of the country. Jack Anderson explained that New Mexico is one of the poorest states of the country and he envisions himself starting a chess club, tutoring or reading with children at an elementary school.
He said that not only will the art community in Sequim miss his wife but that the church congregation also will miss her dearly.
“Everybody likes Karin,” he said.
