August at AOT

Internationally recognized master printmaker Ken Parker returns to Artisans on Taylor bringing with him a new body of work. Parker presents large-scale silkcreen prints of overstuffed vintage armchairs. The life-sized studies make “you want to curl up in them,” says AOT Director Teresa Verraes.

Parker describes printmaking as “2D sculpture!” Silkcreening is one of his favored printmaking techniques. He uses the silkscreen process on its own and also with collograph to form a hybrid highly unique to the artist, the collo/silkscreen print. Making prints up to four meters square in some cases, his is a very sophisticated, accomplished work.

Parker holds a Masters Degree in Fine Art from the University of Ulster at Belfast and continues to exhibit his prints and sculpture and teach on both sides of the Atlantic. The prolific Irish artist has spent the summer in the region teaching printmaking at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle. AOT is proud that he has made the time to show some of his new work in Port Townsend, which was once his home for several years.















Also, featured at AOT are Peter Gritt and Brent Wickline, two artists whose small-scale works are powerfully delicate. Working with ink on paper Gritt’s line-work drawings emerge “from deep within his uncensored imagination.” As a child he was “lost in the world of comic books,” which he first taught himself to copy before pushing his own edgy drawing style and seeking subjects beyond the reality of his source materials. Inspired by old Sears catalogs and thrift store finds Gritt uses his sense of the ridiculous to twist sedate images into outlandish fantasies.

Wickline’s table-top kinetic sculptures move with the slightest of provocation. Created from twisted wire, splashes of brilliantly colored plumage and various odds and ends they achieve a simple elegance and perfect balance. They give the viewer an irresistible impression that the work is reacting to their presence.

Opening Reception is Saturday, August the 2nd from 6:00 to 8 p.m. Artisans on Taylor is located in Downtown Port Townsend at 236 Taylor Street, across the street from the Rose Theatre. The gallery is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.




























IMAGES: Armchair Study 2, Large Armchair, & Rosita & Armchair Study, Silkscreen prints by Ken Parker.
Elephant Walk, Ink on paper by Peter Gritt.
Feather sculpture by Brent Wickline.

Fused Glass by Lizbeth Harper

I am fascinated by the whole process of fusing glass. Opening the kiln after the glass has been fired reveals a treasure. The glass has transitions from a raw edged, cold feeling piece to something soft, sensuous and vibrantly colored.

Currently, I am happily exploring the may possibilities fused glass offers. My glass wall art mounted on different metals creates a reflective piece that is contemporary and striking. Each design, never preconceived, reveals a unique play between form and color. As I work on the piece, I try to let the glass "speak to me" and move in a direction that is both harmonious and balanced. Creatively, I find each piece a new and stimulating adventure.