In search of outdoor art: Sequim commission calls for entries

Sequim’s City Arts Advisory Commission encourages people to submit more pieces for their “Art All Over — The Art Show Without Walls.”

The show will feature art works made from recycled and reused materials that will be displayed in city parks for three months.

“We thought it would be a great idea to use our parks as a gallery,” arts commission chair Suzanne Horn said.

Horn explained that since COVID hit the commission has had to rethink how they encourage artists and bring art to the community.

“Basically we’ll put it out there where people are,” she said.

Commission member Craig Robinson said that he hopes people will enjoy the art and that it will “evoke a sense of the creative community we have here.”

Horn said that the submission deadline has been extended — to when will be decided at the board’s Feb. 22 meeting — so as to encourage more people to submit their work or work in progress via this link: form.jotform.com/213216088841152.

The commission has permission from the city officials to hang art on chain link fencing at city parks so that passersby can enjoy them while on walks. Carrie Blake Community Park will be the first to receive art, in time for the Sunshine Festival.

Pioneer Memorial Park will also host pieces, and two more parks have been identified as locations for possible outdoor art, given enough submissions.

Weather-proof identifiers will be included with the artwork, giving the title of the artwork and the artist’s name (unless anonymity is requested) and possibly a further description.

Their webpage announces the show this way: “Sequim’s City Arts Advisory Commission is passionate about permeating art into the everyday lives of people where they are, while raising awareness of the place that art creates for the reuse, recycling or repurposing of objects.

“To that end, we ask artists to find an old sign, floor planks, canvas, or whatever other used material that can be painted on carved or modified but will be able to hold up in the elements outside for a 3-month period.”

Horn emphasized that people should create their art with the understanding that it may get weathered or vandalized. Weatherproofing should be applied, or artists can create with the intent to let their art disintegrate. Rules and guidelines can be found at tinyurl.com/SqmArtAllOver.

The commission has already received a number of pieces of art, ranging from driftwood sculpture to painted umbrellas. Robinson contributed a painting on recycled board called, “Octopus Man.”

Some pieces are inappropriate for outdoor exposure and will be exhibited at the Karen Kuznek-Reese Gallery, which is currently hosting an exhibition of Marina Shipova’s photographic art.

“Normally we think of art as something that we’re going to hang on our wall for twenty years,” Horn said. “This is more about the artistic process, and sharing with others.”

She said the show is an experiment that the commission hopes will turn into a lasting experience in town, with more and more art exhibited in the open air over time.

“My fondest hope is that people jump on board and make submissions,” Horn said.