Professional artists and community members are set to combine for a set of unique art pieces adorning an affordable housing project in town.

7th Haven, an affordable housing project being built near the Hendricks and Seventh streets intersection, is set to be decorated with art murals and mosaics embodying the unique natural ecosystems and wildlife of Port Townsend and the Salish Sea.

Utilizing the work of two artists in the Western Washington region, the building is set to be decorated with two murals of nautical and land animals on the north and west building facades, along with a medium-sized mosaic on the front entryway.

Olympic Peninsula-based mosaic maestro Jennifer Kuhns and multi-color mural specialist Jean Bradbury of Seattle were each selected to complete their artistic ideas for the building following an application process with a local panel, consisting of members of OlyCAP (Olympic Community Action Programs), local artists, and others involved in the 7th Haven project.

The panel met multiple times throughout June and July — along with an open house — before making their final decision.

“Well, it was a selection panel of local folks including [County Commissioner] Greg Brotherton, OlyCAP, local artists, and others,” said Mark Blatter, the consulting project manager for the housing project. “We had formal process … with a review and selection panel.”

The panel received approximately 30 different applications from artists across the region.

Kuhns’ planned art piece will follow the theme and title of “Baby, You’re a Star-Fish!” and will bring elements of Port Townsend’s unique water ecosystem. The primary visual elements of her mosaic will include starfish, oysters, kelp, jellyfish, and other local marine wildlife, along with a proposed mermaid’s tail to “add a sense of whimsy,” according to Kuhns’ art proposal submitted to the panel.

Bradbury’s selected mural outline, titled “Forest Families,” is set to be hand-painted onto the first-storey walls of the structure’s north- and west-facing sides. One of the two murals will follow a land-based theme with trees, deer, squirrels, butterflies, and other critters and local flora. The west side will illustrate the underwater kelp forests and will contain local sea life such as seals, octopi, and herring. Her murals will utilize bright, “ice cream” style colors to illuminate the art and “provide cheer on dark winter days,” according to Bradbury’s proposal.

Of Kuhns’ application and subsequent selection, Blatter said, “We liked her proposition, it included a process to involve local community folks in helping design of some elements to become part of the mosaic.”

Both artists’ pieces will involve community collaboration — an important aspect considered by the panel before selecting Kuhns and Bradbury.

For the mosaic, Kuhns is set to potentially engage youth participants in her piece by working with a nearby school, after-school program, or sign-up list where the local youngsters can contribute to the artwork, which would be incorporated into the final piece.

Bradbury plans to host multiple workshops where residents and kids in the community can assist with painting the mural, with the youth likely to help paint jellyfish, herring roe, or other aspects of the artwork.

“That sort of depiction of the natural scenes and local weather, forests, meadows, [and] aquatic wildlife was appealing to the panel,” Blatter said. “We loved the idea from the beginning of finding a way to involve new residents and community members in creating those pieces.”

Art concepts that were “attractive for local residents, friendly, and welcoming to the residence,” were the most highly-considered, he added.

The 7th Haven project is the first affordable housing complex to be constructed in Port Townsend in 15 years, with organizers breaking ground on the structure around a year ago. The building will add 43 low-cost housing units to Port Townsend, which has dealt with an affordable housing crisis for years. The project is under construction and is set to be finished in early 2023.

“I’m excited to find two artists that embody the essence of 7th Haven in their visions,” Brotherton, who was a panel member, said. “We’ve worked to include public input into the selection process and it was a pleasure to work with the committee to ensure that this affordable housing project continues to project the concept of a haven.”