Edmonds Art Studio tour offers behind-the-scenes glimpse of local creativity at work

Posted: September 21, 2024 157
Oil painter David Marty (studio No. 8) in the process of creating a new work in his Talbot Park studio.
Versatile Edmonds artist Mona Smiley-Fairbanks (studio No. 12) is the creative force behind much of the public art in Edmonds from murals to “on the fence” creations. She finds inspiration – and materials – everywhere. Her latest creations are a series of wooden wall sculptures crafted from scrap pieces of mahogany she salvaged as a child from her father’s boat-building hobby and has been “carrying around for decades waiting for a way to use them.” She finds great inspiration in Edmonds from the water and the plants and animals that call it home, and was particularly intrigued by Edmonds’ own kelp bed. “My joy is in always looking for the next thing,” she said.
Look for the signs around Edmonds directing you to the 18 studios on this year’s tour.

The 19th annual Edmonds Art Studio Tour, a free two-day public event underway this weekend, provides a once-a-year opportunity to meet and interact with the many talented artists who have chosen to make Edmonds their home base as they invite you into their personal workspaces.

With its mix of natural beauty and a population that appreciates – and nurtures – the arts in all forms, Edmonds has long attracted artists by offering a community that supports and encourages artistic creativity – and the setting with its natural beauty seals the deal for artists looking for a place to set up shop.

Acrylic and pencil artist Sue Coccia and friend Marianne Nolte hold up a quilt that Nolte created from a fabric designed by Coccia.
Jennie de Mello e Sousa (studio No. 14), with some of her ceramic creations.

“I love working and creating here,” said Sue Coccia, whose studio is No. 16 on this weekend’s tour. “Having the Salish Sea here every day is so inspiring. The fresh salt air that wafts up through the bowl and into my studio every morning gets my creative juices flowing. I can’t imagine a better place to do my art.”

Her remarks were echoed by mixed media artist Jennie de Mello e Sousa, who values not only the natural beauty of Edmonds, but “feeling a strong, personal connection with our vibrant arts community.”

Begun in 2006 with 29 artists in 16 studios, this year’s tour includes the studio of event co-founder Sue Robertson (studio No. 15). Robertson has been part of the studio tour every year since and confessed that she “loves doing this and talking to the visitors who come to my studio.”

Scott Anstett, oil and mixed media artist, displays his work at studio No. 15.
Sue Robertson (studio No. 15), co-founder of the Art Studio Tour in 2006, has been part of the event since the beginning.
Sculptor David Varnau explains to visitors how his works are cast in bronze.

 

One of the newer artists to call Edmonds home, oil artist Rainny Zhao emigrated here from China in 2018 looking for “freedom and a fresh start,” and finding a community where she feels “more at home than ever.” She has maintained a space in Edmonds’ Graphite studio for the past 2.5 years, where she has put out an incredible body of work with subject matter ranging from nudes to Venice’s Grand Canal. She became a U.S. citizen in 2022 and is excited about voting for the first time in a presidential election.

With this year’s tour offering 18 studios and 38 local artists who work in an array of media from paint to clay to photography to fabrics to glass and more, there is plenty of variety for visitors to sample. At each stop visitors not only meet the artist but see finished works – many available for sale – and works in progress.

A must-see this year is the Pisces Studio (No. 19) where the indefatigable d’Elaine Johnson has been creating for decades. Now age 92, Johnson says that while this will be her last time on the annual Art Studio Tour, she will continue to work and create.

The Pisces studio (No. 2) has been the creative hub for d’Elaine Johnson over many decades. While Johnson – now 92 years old – says this is her last time on the studio tour, she adds that she will continue to work and produce as long as she can.

An inveterate archiver, Johnson’s studio contains a massive body of organized and indexed work created over her lifetime, the entirety of which she has designated to be donated to Edmonds College, where “it will live on as a lasting legacy and – I fondly hope – inspiration to future generations of artists.”

But she is definitely not retiring.

“I envision finishing off my final work right here in this studio and passing just as I complete the last brushstrokes on my signature,” she added with a laugh.

– Jane Behrens (studio No. 14), abstract acrylic artist, with a series of works inspired by an actual event – a three-day sailboat race hit by an isolated 100 mph rogue wind.
Sculptor David Augenstein (studio No. 5) works in a hard medium – granite – to produce smooth, irresistibly touchable works of art.
Well known to Cole Gallery visitors, Angela Bandurka shows off her work at studio No. 8.

If you missed the tour on Saturday, don’t despair. The artists’ studios will be open again on Sunday between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. For information, maps and more, visit the Art Studio Tour website at www.edmondsartstudiotour.com.

— Story and photos by Larry Vogel

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