A 63-year-old island business, tucked away in the woods above West Beach, enters a new phase as Orcas Island Pottery brings bronze sculpture to its rambling site. Syd Exton, owner of Orcas Island Pottery, is preparing for the official opening of the new Bronze Sculpture Garden on June 27 from 4 to 7 p.m., as she arranges inventory, weeds the gardens, and installs a pond where one of the new bronze sculptures will be featured this summer.

Orcas Island Pottery will add the work of Justin Taylor, Gary Lee Price, Dwight Duke and Dan Hildreth to its inventory of ceramics and pottery. New ceramic work from Penny Sharp, Ryan Lawless, Syd Exton and Matt Haeuser will also be featured at the June 27 event at 338 Old Pottery Road in Eastsound.

Other potters who show their work at Orcas Island Pottery are Fred Schumaker, Matthew Patton, Marc Matsui, Carol Ann Bauer, Beverly Norriss, Joe Brecha, Ryan Lawless, Janet Lum, Victoria Green, Joe Symons, Rigel Weiss, Wray Sheen and Shoshana Avree.

Twenty-seven people contribute their work to the pottery; some have supplied inventory since the 1970s.

The successful business has grown throughout the years, with an extensive conversion of the barn to the main shop in 1969, under Exton’s grandmother, Julia Crandall, who bought the business from its original owners in 1953. Four generations of Crandall’s family have worked at the pottery – Crandall’s daughter Trudy Erwin, who runs the Right Place Pottery, Trudy’s daughter, Syd Exton and Syd’s children Matt Haeuser, Aaron and Kim Hardy.

Exton spent summers growing up on the property and remembers “always building treehouses.” A two-story treehouse, constructed by Azuriel Mayo, entertains children who can play while their parents browse the three shop areas, which include an old log cabin, built in the 1860s and moved to the property in the 1940s (after being purchased for a set of dishes).

Hundreds of pottery, stoneware and ceramic items are displayed outdoors all summer long, and rearranging and stocking the inventory is a challenge. “We work hard in the winter, and work even harder in the summer, trying to keep up the inventory,” says Exton.

The beachfront grounds include pathways, a seafront archway for weddings or other ceremonies, and the studio/workshop where islanders Matt Haeuser and Aaron Hardy (Exton’s children), Evan Blackwell, Penny Sharp-Sky, Ginny and Bob Bivaletz, and Robert Bivaletz work.

Justin Taylor suggested that Exton introduce bronzework to her customers this year. Taylor, who grew up on Orcas Island, learned the steps of bronze casting working at a foundry and began his own bronzework. He’s developed a technique to sculpt an ocean scene and add a patina finish. Taylor, his wife Keary and daughter MaKenzie now live on Orcas Island.

Dan Hildreth says of his sculpting, “I love to create. I don’t see a line between sculpting and gardening, making chocolate-covered strawberries, singing, or even telling a good joke. When we are creating we pass through a door of new possibilities.”

Gary Lee Price creates sculptures that have been installed throughout the world. He resides in Utah and shares the same foundry as the other bronze sculptors featured at Orcas Island Pottery. He believes in “perpetual student-hood” and teaches regularly at his studio in his hometown.

Dwight Duke, an Orcas Island resident, came to sculpture from studies in biology and pre-medicine. He says of bronzework, “I like to explore the tactile qualities of metal, the way light and surface interact. Through the application and removal of multiple layers I can achieve these interactions… as well as reveal to the viewer the process and struggle through which the work evolved.”

Exton says that all her artists are working to create special pieces for the opening. She works with Ryan Lawless who throws the pieces that she then glazes.

Most satisfying to Exton is hearing the comments of visitors on the beautiful place and pottery – “even if they don’t buy anything, just to enjoy that peaceful enriched feeling.” Her goal is to keep Orcas Island Pottery beautiful “and make it a living thing that people can enjoy over and over.” For more information, contact 360-376-2813 or 5604 or go to www.orcasislandpottery.com.