Local Sculpture Artists Defined at Artists’ Registry Show

Submitted by the San Juan Islands Museum of Art.

Over 80 local artists are participating in this year’s Artists Registry (AR) show at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA). Notably, 19 sculpture artists submitted pieces, some well-known and others showing their work for the first time.

One of the newcomers is San Juan Island artist, Jesse Berube. His piece, entitled, Iroko Multiscale Mandocello is a remarkable example of master-level woodworking and luthiery, the art of making stringed musical instruments. Berube has been learning and practicing the craft for over 15 years. Of his work, he says, “It’s wonderfully fulfilling but arduous and so often inglorious. I carve and plane, glue, and reglue, it’s reductive and additive, its daydreaming and conceptualizing, problem-solving and optimizing, It is intuition and the Pythagorean theorem.”

Oklahoma native and San Juan Island resident, Kristen Douglas-Seitz has shown her work for many years in the AR show. She is a wildlife bronze sculptor proficient in metal chasing, tooling, and patinas. Douglas-Seitz says her work serves to encourage the admiration and preservation of wildlife and natural spaces. Her piece in this year’s show is entitled, Spirit Journey, portraying a bronze stallion in motion.

Terry Ogle is well-known for his sculptural art, often featuring wood from local sources. His AR piece, Sunset Madrone is such an example. Ogle says, “This sculpture started as a slice of a hollow branch from an old Madrona tree limb on the west side of San Juan Island. The old tree had seen its last days. While sculpting it, I imagined it in a different manner. The tree was on the shoreline where eagles perched on its branches and orca chased salmon through the currents and waves. It was a landmark and now hopefully, a worthy tribute to its majesty.”

Lopez Island Artist, Michael Peterson selected his piece, Habitat IV, for this year’s AR show. Peterson says his work is grounded in the natural world, which is evident in this sculpture, depicting a bird at rest on a slab of bark. Peterson says, “My sculptural work evolves from the process of making and develops its own logic. Habitat IV draws on the arrangement of an abstract vessel and carved bird form.”

Not to be missed are the sculptural work of several other artists: Bruce Clark, Joe Cooper, Lori Ann David, Louis Gilbert-James, Jim Lawrence, Laura Long, Sammy Long, Barbara McIntyre, Ranna McNeil, Maria Michaelson, Gerry Newcomb, Stephen O’Melveny, Tom Small, Lloyd Thompson, William Weissinger, and Susan Williams. The AR show will remain at SJIMA until February 21. Located in Friday Harbor at 540 Spring Street, admission to the museum is $10. SJIMA members and those 18 and under admitted free. Museum hours are Friday through Monday, 11-5. Mondays are Pay as You Can Days. For further information visit www.sjima.org

The Artists’ Registry show is sponsored by The Honeywell Charitable Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, Washington State Arts Commission, San Juan Island Community Foundation, Town of Friday Harbor, Anonymous, Printonyx, Browne’s Home Center, and Harbor Rentals.

For further information or if you have questions contact: Diane Martindale at 360-370-5814 or at diane.martindale@rockisland.com, or Jan Murphy at 360-298-2195 or janmurphy.artistregistry@gmail.com.