Washington’s First Wine Barrel Auction Supports New Arts Council

Local artists draw upon artistic ingenuity to transform wine barrels into works of art

11.01.2009 – Port Angeles, Wash., – The Port Angeles Arts Council (PAAC) a non-profit organization established in April of this year to nurture the vitality of the local arts community, is hosting a unique online auction to support its mission and showcase the talent of local artists. Visit http://portangelesdowntown.com (click on Auction), to view and bid on a series of 10 wine barrels that have been transformed into visual – and functional – works of art. Bids will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6.

The Council was created to serve as a forum for artists and arts organizations, to advocate for arts education at all levels, and to facilitate and advise the development of art projects in the public sphere. Funds raised through the auction of art-enhanced barrels will expedite the Council’s necessary start-up activities -- such as completion of its 501(c) 3 filing – and enable board members to more quickly turn their full attention to the organization’s mission.

The Barrels
Retired barrels were donated to the art project by the North Olympic Peninsula’s six artisan wineries. The 10 artists who volunteered their time and talent to the project were given free creative rein. Most artists worked in their garages, a.k.a. “Studio G,” developing picturesque themes ranging from rustic, barnyard scenes to aquaculture to vineyard panorama using paint, fused glass, paper collage and hand-painted silk.

“I’d never worked on a barrel before,” said paper collage artist and former professional musician Anna Nichols. “It was a little challenging at first – I didn’t know what I was going to do. Then the light bulb went on – I saw a rooster with hens and chicks! “

“Paper collage is the primary medium that I work in,” Nichols continues, “but I also paint. This project is a combination of both. I did the background and landscape in acrylic paint, and created the chickens and rooster in collage using a variety of paper. If you look closely, you’ll see a piece of paper on the rooster’s chest that says, Coq au Vin. I thought it rather appropriate!”

“The barrel would work well as a decorative piece in a rustic lodge or sitting next to a stone fireplace in someone’s home.”

Painter Dena Henry came upon the theme for her barrel, titled, Come to the Cabernet, in a different way.

“I started by collecting wine labels from the local wineries, which I positioned on the top and around the bottom of the barrel,” Henry explains. “One of the wine labels said, ‘La Dolce Vida,’ which means ‘the good life.’ That sparked the idea for ‘Come to the Cabernet,’ a theme that continued to develop as I worked.”

Henry’s barrel is all about enjoying the wines made locally on the Olympic Peninsula. She used acrylic paints to create a small vineyard, wine glasses on a table next to a bottle of wine and a loaf of bread, with “La Dolce Vida” and “Come to the Cabernet” painted in a blue sky.

The barrel became quite a conversation piece while in process.

“I live on a street with a lot of foot traffic,” says Henry. “My house has a small garage that is a perfect workspace for my projects, with big doors that open onto a small driveway and good outdoor light. I was working on the barrel in late summer with the garage doors open, and passers-by were very intrigued.”

Asked how she envisions her barrel being used, Henry replies, “I see it as a table with a glass top, and a couple of bar stools around it filled with good friends enjoying a glass of wine and each other’s company.”

Winning Bids
The winning bids will be announced on Friday, Nov. 6 at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center during Paul Chasman’s One-Man Guitar Festival, which begins at 7:30 p.m. The concert is PAAC’s inaugural fundraising event. All proceeds from the $10 admission fee will go to the Council to fund start-up costs and initial operations. PAAC hopes to raise $3,000.00 from the concert and the art barrel auction.

Dubbed by Guitar Player Magazine as a “guitarist [devoted] to the full exploration of his instrument’s capabilities,” Chasman’s musical career has spanned nearly forty years. He was a founding member of the Acoustic Guitar Summit and has been featured several times on National Public Radio. Chasman holds court on four guitars, each one facilitating a different aspect of his broad range, which includes jazz, classical, blues, bluegrass, ragtime and rock, His virtuosic control of harmonic effects produces bell-like tones that cascade through his compositions, and he has authored a number of articles on harmonics technique for national music publications.

Barrels On Display
The art barrels are currently on display at the following downtown Port Angeles locations: First Federal Downtown Branch, Waterfront Gallery, Port Book & News, Art Front Gallery, Olympic Stationary, Wine on the Waterfront, Landings Art Gallery, Red Lion Hotel, and Karon’s Frame Center. Bidding information is available at each site.

Artists
Port Angeles’ wine barrel artists include:
Pamela Hastings, who has exhibited and taught internationally, and whose work can be seen in author/artist , Susanna Oroyans’ books, Designing the Doll; Finishing the Figure and others.

Cathy Jo and David Haight, whose wine barrel collaboration depicts their strong graphic design background and love for the Olympic Peninsula landscape.

Doug Parent, a carpenter by trade who has been drawn to drawing and painting for most of his life.

Anna Nichols, a member of the Cork Gallery in New York City, with work displayed at the Clallam Art Gallery in Port Angeles and in corporate and private collections throughout the U.S.

Anna Wianko Chasman, a teacher of ceramics and sculpture who gleans her inspiration from nature, and whose work is exhibited in galleries in Port Angeles and Oregon.

Melissa Penic, a glass artist, painter and art instructor at Peninsula College.

Dona Cloud, an award-winning multimedia representational artist, whose collaged self-portrait appeared in American Artist Magazine in 1998.

Dena Henry, longtime Port Angeles resident and oil painter.

Karen Sistek, who teaches silk painting both at Peninsula College and in her studio, and was selected to paint a 3’ 9” silk banner which hangs at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Wash. D.C., in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution.

Valle Naveril, a Port Angeles native whose oil, acrylic and watercolor paintings depicting Northwest landscapes have been exhibited in local galleries and businesses for the past 20 years.