Several pieces from a recent Port Angeles Fine Arts Center exhibit are now part of the permanent collection at Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, an important addition and learning experience for island curators, BIMA staff said.

The pieces attracted the attention of renowned Bainbridge Island arts patron Cynthia Lovelace Sears, while also providing an example of a more interactive way of displaying similar artwork.

Sears, an avid art collector and founder of the BIMA, purchased eight works from the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center exhibit “Unrestricted: An Exploration of Artist Books.” That show, which displayed work by 21 artists, had two wings: the main gallery for up-close viewing and the “petting zoo,” where visitors were encouraged to handle the artist books.

“PAFAC’s ‘Unrestricted’ demonstrated how a show of artist’s books can offer more than books behind glass,” said BIMA’s Amy Goldthwaite. “’Unrestricted’ has, in a sense, allowed us to see beyond the glass window into a gallery show that will be more interactive and inclusive.”

Sears reportedly bought the pieces to add to the book collection at BIMA, which recently marked its fifth anniversary.

The purchases include two from Port Angeles artists, “Trash Talk” by Diane Williams and “Memories: How I Began” by Pamela Hastings, along with “Japanese Rain,” an umbrella-shaped piece by Seattle artist Mary Ashton, “The Unraveling of Political Discourse” by Lucia Harrison and Deborah Greenwood of Tacoma, “Ancient Forests of Frying Pan Creek” by Harrison, “AK-47” by Cora Li-Lager of Surrey, British Columbia, “Armani Unglued” by Lynn Skordal of La Conner and “Hygge” by Amy Lund of Portland, Oregon.