Ninth ARTfusion brings together five prominent area artists for Labor Day weekend

While a few of the faces may have changed in recent years, organizers of the ninth annual ARTfusion on Labor Day weekend say the quality remains high.

The event blends 3-D copper and wood art with paintings and jewelry at The Cutting Garden Art Center, 303 Dahlia Llama Lane in Sequim, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday-Sunday, Sept. 1-3.

Returning artists Catherine Mix, pastels/watercolors; Tuttie Peetz, wood sculptor; and Paulette Hill, artistic jewelry; say they’ve been working hard in the past year to explore new avenues.

They expect visitors to be as excited as they are for newcomers Jinx Bryant, pastels/watercolors; and Clark Mundy, a copper sculptor.

“It’s such a rush working with other artists,” Hill said.

“Before the show opens, you step back in awe as everything comes together.”

In the past year, Hill has found comfort in her art following family members’ health issues. She’s continued making one-of-a-kind pieces using semi-precious stones and metals but she’s found new ways to experiment including adding stone beads, wrapping two or more stones into one pendant and adding stones cut in mirror images for earrings.

“There are no mass produced pieces here,” Hill said.

Plein air

For Mix, she’s continued to expand on her plein air painting repertoire.

She’s been out and about on the peninsula 2-3 days a week painting local scenes including mountains and barns.

Doing more plein art has led her to reduce the details and be more “painterly,” which she says means looking more at the big picture.

She’s participated in three juried shows this year including Art Port Townsend and the Plein Art Roundup in Zion National Park in Utah.

Mix will have several unmatted pieces available from her plein art work at a lower cost along with pieces she’s translated from photographs in a 2016 trip to Utah as well.

Wood repertoire

Peetz, known for her driftwood art, says she’s been exploring rare and unique found wood for her art such as twisted juniper from Oregon and a 100-year-old grapevine.

While Peetz continues to teach driftwood and work with it, she says she’s gone beyond that medium because only about 5 percent of her woodwork comes from the beach.

She continues to experiment with new carving/sanding techniques too while adding other materials like rusty metal to her wood sculptures.

This year, Peetz pledges half of her sales to expanding the Dungeness River Audubon Center, too.

Geological find

Bryant makes her first appearance at ARTfusion despite being chosen for the show last year. She was unable to participate in 2016 but she’s eager to join this year’s show.

Her work, she says, fuses her love of geology with art and visitors at ARTfusion can see her vision of the Olympic Peninsula’s geology.

Bryant attributes Mix with helping expand her color palette and incorporating them into paintings whether for expressionistic watercolors or abstract pastels.

Clark’s copper

If you’ve driven through Port Angeles, then it’s likely you’ve seen some of Clark Mundy’s work at popular sites like the Feiro Marine Life Center.

The self-taught copper sculptor specializes in wild salmon and native marine life that can be found on everything from fountains to weathervanes.

Mundy said he started out in watercolor but transitioned to copper over the years and he’s made hundreds of golden fish while drawing inspiration from the Elwha River.

ARTfusion organizers say they reached out to Mundy after participating pottery artist Linda Collins Chapman was unable to participate this year.

“He’ll bring a whole new dimension with kinetic sculptures in the garden,” Mix said.

All of the artists will be performing demonstrations through the weekend including Mundy who plans to bring a stump and hammer to demonstrate his copper artwork technique.

For more information on ARTfusion, visit www.art fusionsequim.com.