PORT ANGELES — A chance to explore your local outdoor art gallery — a growing concern — comes this Saturday with free Art on the Town tours, downtown Port Angeles’ 43-piece collection of sculptures big and small.
Community members are invited to first enjoy refreshments from noon until 1 p.m. at the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain, which is at the intersection of First and Laurel streets; then, at 1 p.m., the guided strolls will start.
These free tours will stop at the collection’s two newcomers: the cast bronze “Camp Harmony,” Bellingham artist John Zylstra’s newly erected sculpture, and “Peace Angel,” another new piece by Leo Osborne of Anacortes.
“Harmony” stands in front of Pacific Rim Hobby at Railroad Avenue and Laurel Street while the all-steel “Angel” awaits on the east side of Laurel near Front Street.
Saturday’s Art on the Town walks will introduce participants to downtown’s scores of other works, such as Osborne’s “Coming Home” and “Cormorant Master,” which are across from each other on First Street between Oak and Laurel; Bob Stokes’ “Robert,” a haunting bronze and glass figure on Railroad Avenue near the MV Coho dock; Dan Klennert’s “Seahorse” on First Street; and “Unipus,” the Front Street tentacle by Gabrielle Karlic-Glasen of Sequim.
Stokes and Gray Lucier, a longtime promoter of Port Angeles’ public art, also will be part of the tour, stationed beside their sculptures and ready to answer queries about them.
“I’ll be frozen in place,” joked Lucier.
Seriously, the sculptor will be highly animated and ready to discuss his art, which includes “The Long Journey” and “Fair Winds,” two salvaged-steel works at Front and Oak streets.
Lucier’s contributions to Art on the Town also include “Salish Moon” on Front Street between Laurel and Lincoln and “North by Northwest” at First and Oak streets.
“If you haven’t been on the tour before, you’re going to find some of these quite pleasing, and entertaining in some cases,” Lucier said.
“And you’ll come away a little prouder of your downtown.”
“This [tour] is going to be interesting because you’ll get to meet some of the artists, ask them some direct questions, and get their take on their pieces,” Stokes added.
To help raise funds for the art tour, the Port Angeles Downtown Association will auction off a bike-rack sculpture by Bainbridge Island artist Steve Neff, plus a new sculpture by David Eisenhour of Port Townsend.
Both pieces will be on display at the Dyar fountain Saturday; after that they will go to The Art Front Gallery at 118 E. Front St.
Those interested in owning one or both can place their bids between Saturday and Aug. 12, and the winners will be announced at Studio Bob, 118 ½ E. Front St., on Aug. 13.
To learn more about Art on the Town and to see a walking map to the sculptures, visit www.PortAngelesDowntown.com or phone the downtown association at 360-457-9614.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3550 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.