Art and Life at Northwind: Experience the Joy of Small Expressions

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Northwind Art Jewelry Studio students show off the enamel earrings made in a recent Sunday workshop. Photo by Diane Urbani.   [/caption]

A Northwind Art Column by Diane Urbani de la Paz

“The purpose of art is to elevate the spirit, or pay a surgeon’s bill. Or both, really.

“It can help a person remember or forget.

“If your house doesn’t have many windows in it, you can hang up a painting and have a view. Of a whole different country, if you want.”

That’s writer Harrison Shepherd, responding to a question about Frida Kahlo’s paintings. Shepherd is Barbara Kingsolver’s invention in her 2009 novel about Mexico, “The Lacuna.”

I love this.

As winter’s dark descends, I turn to art — beholding it, making it  — to elevate my spirit and yes, open up a new view. Many views, in fact: We’re on the threshold of Northwind Art’s biggest show of the year, alongside a burgeoning roster of art classes.

Opening Thursday, Nov. 20, is “Small Expressions,” in which participating artists must keep their creations at 16 inches or less in any direction. They’ve gone wild, painting, sculpting, embroidering, beading, waxing and photographing, as Northwind’s Jeanette Best Gallery fills up with dazzlement.

On comes a fabulous opportunity for gallery bathing, as one of the Northwind Art board members puts it.

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Participants in a Northwind Art School class make collage papers at Northwind's Fort Worden State Park studios. Photo by Martha Worthley   [/caption]

“Small Expressions” is a show for the giving season. Prices average about $200 for original works of art, and buyers can take their purchases home right away to wrap them up for a loved one.

Fresh art is continually rotated into the space where purchased art was. So the gallery, at 701 Water St. in Port Townsend, has a highly dynamic thing going on.

At Northwind Art School at Fort Worden State Park, life is just as animated, with more holiday craft classes than ever — taught by fine artists who know the joy of play and relaxation.

Martha Worthley, Leila Block, Jodi Ericksen, Meg Kaczyk, David Repyak, Laurie McKenzie: These are some of the teachers offering craft classes as lighthearted, all-access sessions for everybody. These are formidable artists not hung up on what’s art, what’s craft, and all that jive.

The delicious array of affordably priced classes at the school is happening largely because Leila Block, who was promoted to education manager this summer, listens carefully to what people want.

Check out the lineup at https://northwindart.org and you’ll see more than 65 offerings between now and mid-2026, from Winter Evergreen Wreaths on Dec. 3 to Holiday Painting Fun on Dec. 8 to the new Drop-in Open Studios every Tuesday starting in January.

I’d like to call your attention to a class with a sweet essence and a long name: Mindfulness Practices for Art Making as a Gift to the Self. Meg Kaczyk, a student of mindfulness and an expert teaching artist, is the guide in this Dec. 9 class she calls “an afternoon of sweet, mindful experiencing.”

The class is open to teens and adults, and no prior experience with art or meditation is required.

A recent workshop participant crystallized the gifts of art making.

“I love the escape and the expression,” said Jeanne in her evaluation of the mosaics workshop she took.

May we all have those — whenever we need them.