Constellation by Darwin Nordin
Confluence
the art of Darwin Nordin and Kristin L. Tollefson
January 26 - March 16,2026
supported by the generous sponsorship of Sylvia White
Jeanette Best Gallery
701 Water Street, Port Townsend, Washington
When you step outside and breathe in the scent of the sea or the forest, you’re having a sensual experience — a blending. This is the feeling artist Darwin Nordin hopes to share.
Nordin paints nature in layers, mixing wild creatures and sense memories. He uses charcoal, pencils and paint washes to render artworks such as “Constellation,” one of his pieces in Confluence.
A confluence is a flowing together of rivers, ideas and beauty. And in this exhibit, Nordin's ideas are paired with those of sculptor Kristin L. Tollefson, who also finds rushes of inspiration in the natural world.
This is a vivid show to warm up the gallery, after its January closure for winter maintenance. Tollefson's wearable art, floating sculptures and strange, beautiful pieces, along with Nordin's luminous scenes, fill the space.
Nordin’s “Constellation” piece is one exquisite example of the show's nature. The painting grew from a walk out to the shoreline at low tide. There were herons, those majestic birds, and there were also sea stars. Later, the artist made a magic-realist scene of them together.
“I started by sketching herons; I wanted to work in this whole experiential thing,” Nordin says.
Like his other mixed-media pieces, “Constellation” is awash in shades Nordin blends and chooses while the art is taking shape on the canvas.
“Color has always been my seductress. I can get carried away,” he says.
Nordin, a naturalist and teacher who has lived in Seattle since 1988, simply invites viewers to take it slow and take a second look, whether they are walking outdoors or experiencing art.
Back in 2007 Nordin and Tollefson had a show together in Seattle, “and it was a magical pairing of work,” Nordin said, adding that they came up with the show's name together.
Tollefson, for her part, noted that her sculptures and wearable art elicit memories of being in specific places.
They "capture light and cast shadows," she said, "expressing connections and feelings that go beyond words."
In Confluence, Tollefson is showing works including “Where to Find Me,” “Selvedge” and “Birchwood,” which are handbuilt interpretations of nature. Tollefson shapes industrial materials — salvaged steel, copper electrical wire — and found objects into her pieces.
The artist added that her travels are a powerful influence. Tollefson has received Fulbright grants to Slovakia and Iceland and completed artist residencies in Wyoming and Chile.
With a master of fine arts degree in metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan and a bachelor’s in art history and sociology/anthropology from Minnesota's Carleton College, Tollefson now teaches art at Olympic College and Renton Technical College. She also leads a gallery program for people with memory loss at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art.
Nordin also has a wide-ranging career in art and teaching. He earned his art degrees at the University of Wisconsin and in Claremont, Calif., and has taught in art programs around the Northwest, including Centrum at Fort Worden State Park.
Through it all, his own art practice is a daily one.
“I always make,” Nordin said. “It’s a way of living, really.”