Whatever kind of art you enjoy — pottery, glass, jewelry, photography, woodworking, acrylics or oil painting — you’ll likely see examples of it by local artists on the Edmonds Art Studio Tour.
The self-guided tour, now in its 13th year, is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
It provides a chance for people to meet artists in the relaxed, informal setting of art studios, where questions, conversation and purchases are welcome.
“Being an artist, you’re usually in your own studio by yourself,” said Molly Winton, whose work includes wood turned bowls and pottery.
The studio tour provides an opportunity “to network and develop relationships with other like-minded folks,” she said.
You can meet Winton at the studio of her sister, Barbara Childs, who is a potter. “She’s a master at it,” Winton said, and the person she turned to when she decided to return to pottery after years of working as a wood turner.
Edmonds artist Nancy Thompson entered college in the late 1960s intent on pursuing art as a major. Then she began questioning what her career options might be. She knew she didn’t want to teach art.
She changed her major, graduating with a degree in biology and minoring in chemistry. She later returned to higher education, this time pursuing a medical degree from an osteopathic medical school in Texas.
It wasn’t until both she and her husband, Jeff Thompson, retired and moved to the area in 1997 that they took up alternative pursuits. For her husband, becoming a master gardener and bee keeper, for her, returning to work as an artist.
Nancy Thompson first began showing her artwork in 2005, and now works as a mixed-media artist primarily working in acrylics.
“My work tends to be abstract, but I may also include something realistic in the painting, such as a bird,” she said. One of those involving a bird entitled “Tell Me A Story,” will be displayed on the tour.
Lynn McManus specializes in fused-kiln worked glass and has been on the annual studio tour for “more years than I can count.”
One of her pieces that will be displayed, a black-and-white plate with intricate rectangles, was crafted last year when she was recovering from a broken wrist.
Studio visitors sometimes see artwork on her shelves she hadn’t planned on selling and ask if it’s for sale.
She said she also works to ensure that there are some pieces, such as Christmas ornaments or miniature plates to use for tea bag holders, that are for sale for less than $10 as well as some of her more intricate, and higher-priced, art pieces.
“I like to make sure people can go home with something that’s affordable,” she said.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
If you go
What: Edmonds Art Studio Tour
Where: A map with the addresses of the studios is at: www.edmondsartstudiotour.com/map.html
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 15 and 16
Cost: Free
More: edmondsartstudiotour@gmail.com or www.edmondsartstudiotour.com
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