Third Annual Functional Arts Quimper Event

The Third Annual Functional Arts Quimper event in Port Townsend showcases the world-class craft of local artisans John McCormack, Gunter Reimnitz, and Steve Leggett. New local woodworker, Will Hiegel, will be joining the group. The exhibit runs Saturday, November 7, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. and Sunday, November 8, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Musicians Tex, Abe and Friends, will be performing Saturday, November 7, at 6 p.m.

These Quimper artists share formal training from acclaimed American art and design schools, including Rhode Island School of Design, North Bennet Street School in Boston, and San Francisco Art Institute. Moreover, the artists bring the richness of their lives to their work.

John McCormack often brings a sense of humor and whimsy into pieces he designs and

Table by John McCormick

builds. His serious sense of high functional design shines throughout his body of work. John states, "I am an artist/craftsman, and a teacher of furniture design and construction. I endeavor in my work to design and create beautiful functional objects. I make things using methods that honor the material; the life of my furniture is limited by the longevity of the wood itself." He also teaches out of his own shop at Bainbridge BARN, and met and mentored Will Hiegel through Owl 360’s Leveling Up Internship program. 

Guitar by Steve Leggett

Steve Leggett ran the mill and joinery shop at Timbercraft Homes, and is a sculptor, machinist, luthier, and is skilled in electronics, designing, and building his own amplifiers and guitar electronics. Steve specializes in creating one-of-a-kind electric guitars and amplifiers. He takes inspiration from the natural environment, found materials, and outright whimsy.

Born and raised in Alaska, Gunter Reimnitz, fashions images of marine life along with his signature Abraxas Crow clutching a red berry in his sculptures. Gunter states, "My way of making metal sculpture relies upon setting the stage, with knowledge and experience, for useful accidents to occur. These accidents often bring the spark of life to a piece that I could not have created intentionally, but have been seeking all along. This coalescence of intention and accident is the experience that I love and the reason I make art." 

The exhibit can be seen in the Cotton Building at 607 Water Street, Port Townsend, WA. For more information, contact John McCormack at mccormack.johnp@gmail.com or 415-310-1770.