Undersea Photographer Mary Bess Johnson and Potter/Jewelry Maker Penny Berglund Featured at Gallery North

Like treasure discovered under the sea, the “Baubles” exhibit at Gallery North features hand-wrought pottery and jewelry by Penny Berglund surrounded by brightly colored sea creatures photographed by Mary Bess Johnson.

For decades, Mary Bess Johnson has traveled around the globe photographing in some of the world’s most interesting diving sites. Her next trip will be an expedition to photograph aquatic life in Antarctica in 2018! Through her photography, Mary Bess is able to bring us along with her on her dives. She shares many of her undersea experiences with her dry land friends through fascinating tidbits about the undersea world on her greeting cards and sea-life themed playing cards. The undersea photography in this exhibition draws from three of Mary Bess’s bodies of work: Baubles: jewel-colored fish; Adventurers: nudibranchs in unique habitats; and Patterns: a close focus on colors, shapes and textures. These images are presented on metal and tempered glass.

Former Gallery North member artist Penny Berglund returns for the month of November to feature her pottery and jewelry. Penny has worked in clay for more than twenty years. Penny is a native of the “dry side” of Washington, and finds her artistic inspiration in the basalt formations of the Gorge and channeled scab lands, the furrows of the dry land wheat fields, and the cloudscapes of an almost endless sky. These vivid textures and color contrasts have found their way into her ceramics and jewelry pieces. In this show, she will be presenting her decorative wheel-thrown pottery, including primarily raku and sagger-fired pieces. Penny’s jewelry pieces echo the intriguing surfaces of her ceramic work. Pendants and earrings made from etched copper and tinted with patinas parallel the work she does in raku.

Meet artists Penny Berglund and Mary Bess Johnson at the Gallery North Artists’ Reception on Saturday, November 4, from 1 PM to 4PM and during the Third Thursday Art Walk on November 16, from 5 PM to 8 PM. “Baubles” is open to the public daily until November 30.