Like a flock of multicolored sheep turned loose, the Handwork Studio artists are bursting out of their studio off Port Townsend’s Hastings Avenue this Saturday for the Handwork Market, a downtown convergence of creativity.

From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Cotton Building, 607 Water St., this event brings together wearable, functional and abstract art made mostly in Port Townsend.

“We have two artists from Portland, [Ore.], who used to live here,” said orchestrator Lisa Leporati, adding one artist each from Tacoma and Kingston are also joining in.

“This year we hand-picked more of the artists,” added Jenny Mayeda, who works with Leporati at the Handwork Studio.

On Wednesday night the pair were attaching stones and sand dollars to a towering, indigo-dyed sculpture that will preside over Saturday’s market.

Admission will be $2 to benefit The Benji Project, which offers programs for youth mental health (www.thebenjiproject.org). Leporati said she wanted to help a local organization, and it was an easy decision to choose this one.

Handwork Market’s list of participating artists includes, but is not limited to, Jesse Joshua Watson, Martha Worthley, Erin Scabuzzo, Tininha Silva, Jodi Ericksen, Kata Golda, Charlotte Cooper, Makenzi Wrinkle, Suzanne Margaret, Dessa McFadin and Nicole Larson. Details are found on the Handwork Market Facebook page.

Other art forms abound this December weekend on the North Olympic Peninsula. Here’s a cross-section of what’s out there.

• The Port Angeles Fine Arts Center Makers Market hosts 31 artisan vendors at the center, 1203 E. Lauridsen Blvd.

The market is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays until Dec. 19, with extended hours on some evenings. To find out more about other Wintertide activities at the fine arts center, see www.pafac.org or phone 360-457-3532.

• The Port Townsend Ballet, a nonprofit school, presents “The Nutcracker” at 5:30 p.m. tonight and at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden State Park, 200 Battery Way, Port Townsend.

Tickets are $20 via www.porttownsendballet.com.

• “Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley,” a new romantic comedy, opens tonight at the Port Angeles Community Playhouse, 1235 E. Lauridsen Blvd.

Inspired by Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” this play is about Mary, the bookish, unmarried middle sister who is coming into her own.

Curtain times are 7:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Tuesdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 19.

To purchase tickets, visit www.pacommunityplayers.org and be ready to show proof of full vaccination at the door.

• The Port Townsend Symphony Orchestra with featured soloist Maria Powell invites the public to its dress rehearsal tonight at the Chimacum High School auditorium, 91 West Valley Road, Chimacum, at 7 p.m.

Admission is free while patrons must show proof of vaccination at the door.

The orchestra’s winter concert Saturday night is sold out. For more about the organization, see www.ptsymphony.org.

• “Winter Wonderland” is the theme of December’s Port Ludlow Art League exhibit at the Port Ludlow Bay Club, 120 Spinnaker Place.

An artists-of-the-month exhibit is also on display at Port Ludlow’s Sound Community Bank, 9500 Oak Bay Road, and online at www.portludlowart.org.

This month the show stars art league volunteers — plus jeweler of the month Sheryl Goldsberry’s “shattered glass” creations in honor of women.

• The Port Townsend Gallery presents its December featured artists: Kristen Wade, Andrea Guarino-Slemmons, Martha Collins and Shirley Moss, at its location at 715 Water St., Port Townsend.

The venue is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and by appointment.

• The Olympic Peninsula Art Association invites the public to its live and online members’ show and activities. First is the opening reception from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight at Sequim Museum and Arts, 544 N. Sequim Ave.

Then in-person viewing of the members’ art exhibition is open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays through Dec. 18 and again from Jan. 19-30. Online, see www.opaa group.org or www.2021membershow.opaashow.org.

OPAA also has its fundraising auction happening online through Dec. 17 at www.opaagroup.org; profits benefit the group’s scholarships and community programs.

• The Olympic Peninsula Ukulele Strummers (OPUS) will play Olympic Theatre Arts’ revamped Gathering Hall, 414 N. Sequim Ave., Sequim, tonight during the First Friday Art Walk starting at 5 p.m.

Songs from the 1940s through the ’60s will fill the place; admission is free.

• The Gallery-9 artist cooperative presents painter and cloisonné jewelry artist Linda Lundell and woodworker Robin McKann this month.

The gallery, 1012 Water St. in Port Townsend, is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Monday.

________

Jefferson County senior reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3509 or durbanidelapaz@peninsula dailynews.