Art galleries throughout Port Townsend and Jefferson County are taking part in the weekend of the “First Saturday” Art Walk for May by having their featured artists address and interact with the public.

PORT TOWNSEND GALLERY

The Port Townsend Gallery at 715 Water St. downtown has selected weaver Cathie Wier and glassworker Brian Iverson as its featured artists for May, and they’ll be at the gallery from 5-8 p.m. during the Art Walk on Saturday, May 3, during which light refreshments will be served.

The self-taught Wier inherited her mother’s looms, and was recently introduced to shibori, the Japanese art of “resist dyeing,” which inspired her to incorporate dyeing and pleating into her woven and silk creations.

Wier draws inspiration from the ocean, wild rivers, forests and gardens with planned but organic bursts of color, and she designs warps to create patterns of pleats and color combinations.

Wier’s silk work is more spontaneous, as she dyes freeform hand-stitched pleats to reflect “nature’s tapestry.”

One of Wier’s weavings was included in Interpretations 2025, an international juried exhibition at the Visions Museum of Textile Art in San Diego.

Iverson, a lifelong Washington resident, has spent the past 25 years learning from fellow artists, and his glass art is inspired by the time he spends exploring the outdoors, and finding peace in natural spaces.

Iverson spent this spring illustrating themes of rebirth through “bright, energizing colors,” and in addition to his large, fluted bowls, colorful paperweights, gazing balls and lampworked sculpture, the Port Townsend Gallery is featuring his garden art in its outdoor space.

Iverson is currently expanding his studio space at Eaglemount, where he hopes to begin production by the early summer, and start teaching classes this fall.

BAYSIDE ART GALLERY

The Bayside Art Gallery will celebrate the opening of “En Plein Air: Landscape Paintings by Pacific Northwest Plein-Air Artists,” with a day of painting in the gardens at the Old Alcohol Plant Inn on Saturday, May 3, followed by a champagne reception on Sunday, May 4, from 4-6 p.m. and dinner with the artists from 6-8 p.m.

The artists-in-action and opening reception are free to the public, and tickets for the dinner can be purchased at the Old Alcohol Plant Inn’s website.

Bayside Art Gallery is located on the second floor of the Old Alcohol Plant Inn, at 310 Hadlock Bay Road in Port Hadlock.

“En plein air” is French for “in the open air,” the practice of painting outdoors, directly in nature, that rose to prominence under the French Impressionists, who aimed to capture the effects of light and atmosphere on the landscape and other subjects.

This group show features Pacific Northwest plein-air artists Michael Friel, Irene Graham, Britt Greenland, Steven Hill, Nancy Romanovsky and Richard Eaves Woods, plus Wandering Art Guild members Cougar George, Leela Wagner and C.W. Sawyer.

All artworks in the exhibition are available for sale, with proceeds going to Bayside Housing and Services to benefit people experiencing homelessness in Jefferson County.

RSVP curator Christopher Forrest at cforrest@baysidehousing.org.

GARDINER GALLERY OF THE ARTS

The Gallery of the Arts at the Gardiner Community Center, at 980 Old Gardiner Rd. in Sequim, is featuring local Gardiner artist Fran Reynolds, who will be on site to meet and greet the public from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 4.

Both of Reynolds’ parents were art majors at UCLA, so drawing and painting were family activities for her as far back as her childhood when her folks would practice creating art with all their kids, even during vacations.

“Plein-air painting was enjoyed by all,” said Reynolds, whose interest in art took her through a career in visual merchandising. “I’d always wanted to teach art, my father’s career, but I wasn’t able to obtain my teaching credentials until I was 48.”

Reynolds enjoyed her 16 years of teaching art to high school students, but has never previously considered herself an artist, since this marks her first time exhibiting her work in a comprehensive show.

NORTHWIND ART JEANETTE BEST GALLERY

The day after the “First Saturday” Art Walk, Northwind Art’s Jeanette Best Gallery, at 701 Water St. in Port Townsend, will host what event organizers describe as “a freewheeling discussion, with abundant time for questions,” with mixed-media maker Elissa Greisz and sculptor Maxwell Yakush at 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 4.

The duo’s show at the Jeanette Best Gallery, entitled “A Closer Look,” features dozens of Greisz’ iridescent foil-and-aluminum pieces, and Yakush’s sculptures made from stones harvested from locations including North Beach.

The May 4 talk is free and open to the public.

Northwind Art Executive Director Martha Worthley and her staff will ask the two artists a few questions, then encourage the audience to pose questions of their own.

“A Closer Look” is one of three exhibits at the Jeanette Best Gallery, along with the “Ars Poetica” show of poetry and visual art, and the “Showcase 2025” exhibition of 15 artists from around the region.