A trio of local craftsmen from the Quimper Peninsula have come together to present “Functional Art of Quimper” at the Cotton Building in downtown Port Townsend …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you had an active account on our previous website, then you have an account here. Simply reset your password to regain access to your account.
If you did not have an account on our previous website, but are a current print subscriber, click here to set up your website account.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
* Having trouble? Call our circulation department at 360-385-2900, or email our support.
Please log in to continue |
|
A trio of local craftsmen from the Quimper Peninsula have come together to present “Functional Art of Quimper” at the Cotton Building in downtown Port Townsend this weekend.
Woodworker Darin Clark will join steel sculptor Gunter Reimnitz and John McCormack, furniture designer and maker (plus teacher), at 607 Water St. from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, for the first in what they hope will become an annual series of shows.
McCormack noted the rich diversity of formal training the three artisans have received between them, “from among the most acclaimed art and design schools in the country,” including the Rhode Island School of Design, the North Bennet Street School in Boston and the San Francisco Art Institute.
Moreover, McCormack asserted that they bring “the richness of their lives” to their work.
“The artisans of this show bring fine craft to its highest level, to create art that we live with, that enhances our living spaces and our lives,” said Janine Boire, one of their clients.
Although he lives in Port Townsend now, Reimnitz was born and raised on Kodiak Island, Alaska, and spent his childhood fishing for salmon on a 42-foot boat with his family.
Perhaps not surprisingly, marine life often shows up in Reimnitz’s work, along with his signature “Abraham’s Crow,” clutching a red berry in its beak.
Reimnitz and McCormack agreed that their goals are to create and design objects that are both beautiful and functional, and while they take their work seriously, McCormack admitted that he often allows his sense of humor and whimsy to appear in that work.
While McCormack employs methods that seek to “honor the material,” since “the life of my furniture is limited by the longevity of the wood itself,” Reimnitz’s methods of metal sculpting rely upon “setting the stage, with knowledge and experience, for useful accidents to occur.”
According to Reimnitz, such accidents often bring “the spark of life” to pieces that he could not have created intentionally. That is what he’s been “seeking all along.”
Reinmitz added, “This coalescence of intention and accident is the experience that I love, and the reason I make art.”
Remnitz and McCormack first met while working together on a far more utilitarian endeavor, a garage door installation for which Reimnitz provided the metal rails. Even then, McCormack saw him as “a natural partner,” and they eventually became shopmates in a shared workspace.
“He makes the best stereo cabinets,” McCormack said of Reimnitz.
Although this region boasts a number of arts and crafts fairs, Reimnitz and McCormack agreed that such events can require relatively costly overhead for occasionally limited space. Presenting a joint show at the Cotton Building was a less expensive alternative.
“We would have more control over how we showed our wares, in the midst of an already supportive community,” Reimnitz said.
“Functional Art of Quimper” also allows McCormack, Reimnitz and Clark to include various pieces without regard to any preset “themes” or confines of content, thus affording them more diverse ranges of work for display.
McCormack acknowledged it would be beneficial if the Nov. 2-3 shows also led to more work, especially since he’s open for not only commissions of furniture design and “small architectural interior work,” but also private instruction, a passion he shares with Reimnitz.
In addition to wanting to be useful by passing on his knowledge and insights, McCormack also appreciates how students’ questions can lead him to refine his own processes, thereby inspiring better work on his part.
“I like teaching because students keep you honest and hold you accountable,” Reimnitz said. “It takes courage to make a leap of faith into making something. It’s getting harder to get into some of these trades, because these are older crafts, but being able to make things is a beautiful way of life.”