A tale of two tours: Working artists share space and latest creations around Bainbridge Island

By Luciano Marano • August 7, 2019 8:30 am
Image courtesy of Dinah Satterwhite | “Jellyfish Triathlon” by Melanie Burns, whose work will be on display at Hidden Cove Pottery & Tile as part of the upcoming Bainbridge Island Summer Studio Tour.
Image courtesy of Dinah Satterwhite | “Jellyfish Triathlon” by Melanie Burns, whose work will be on display at Hidden Cove Pottery & Tile as part of the upcoming Bainbridge Island Summer Studio Tour.

More than 50 artists.

Ten studios.

Two tours.

Countless remarkable works.

The weekend of Aug. 9 will again see the return of two cultural touchstone events to creative enclaves ‘round the Rock: the Bainbridge Working Studios Summer Show and the Bainbridge Island Summer Studio Tour.

The separate but simultaneous tours are both self-paced and free to explore, welcoming adventurous aesthetes from near and far into the spaces of actual island artists. Parking is limited at all locations and carpooling is encouraged.

Both tours also have new offerings on tap this year, exciting additions to already impressive lineups of talent, locales and works on display.

Bainbridge Island Summer Studio Tour

The 19th annual Summer Studio Tour will include more than 40 artists showcasing their work in six local studios.

Artists in the event must be be juried, so the artwork is high quality, original, hand-crafted, and shows the “hand and spirit of the artist,” said tour manager and longtime participant Dinah Satterwhite.

“We actually have a new studio this year,” she said. “And we had an onslaught of new artists, which is cool. Ten new artists this summer, with some really cool mediums. So it’s kind of exciting.”

There will be a wide variety of work on display, including jewelry, pottery, watercolors, mixed media, metal, garden art, wearables, oil paintings, encaustics and photography. Guests can feast their eyes as they grab a cool lemonade and stroll through the studios and gardens, which are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9 and Saturday, Aug. 10 and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 11.

New to the tour this year is artist Danna Tartaglia. Her oil paintings feature horses, koi fish, roosters, and many things in motion.

“Motion and emotion are my inspiration,” she said. “A bright swirling frenzy of koi, horses racing with abandon.”

The result is a very detailed but emotional expression of the original scene.

Tartaglia has a rather passionate way of capturing the spirit of movement with her oils on canvas, Satterwhite said. And her studio is a new stop on to the tour, and many other participating artists will be there during the event.

“This summer includes a lot of new artists, including mediums like crosscut wood with resin, fused glass, ceramics, oils and charcoal, linen wearables, and glass mixed-media sculptures,” Satterwhite said.

The roster of featured artists include Gayle Bair, Rita Belserene, Meredith Chernick, Hollie Clark, Ginny Ford, Page Gehrke, Howard Julien, Dawn McNamara,

Brandon Milton, Suz O’Dell, Douglas Paeth, Dorothy Skea, Haden Starbuck, Danna Watson, Larry Weiner, and Yoshiko Yamamoto, among others.

The six studios on the tour are: Barbara Ferrier’s acrylic studio (5578 Lynwood Center Road NE); Danna Tartaglia’s home/studio (5984 Lynwood Center Road NE); Danna Watson’s eclectic Dancing Spirit Studio (7021 Fletcher Bay Road NE); Sylvia Carlton’s oil painting studio (1245 Grow Ave. NW); Barbara Weissman’s fiber garden/studio (10149 NE Roberts Road); and Mike and Donna Day’s Hidden Cove Pottery & Tile (7176 NE Hidden Cove Road).

For a complete list of artists, viewable alphabetically or by venue, visit www.bistudiotour.com.

Brochures can be downloaded from the website, or found at the Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce. For more information, or to receive a brochure in the mail, call Satterwhite at 206-842-0504.

Bainbridge Working Studios Summer Show

The latest Bainbridge Working Studios Summer Show will feature a dozen artists spread throughout four studios.

“Bainbridge Working Studios is a way of connecting working artists and their studios with the public,” said co-coordinator and participant Diane Bonciolini of Mesolini Glass Studio.

“Bainbridge Island is home to many talented artists working in wood, clay, glass, metal, etcetera. We hope the public can connect with the talented artists that call Bainbridge Island home,” she said.

Bonciolini and her husband Gregg Mesmer are the founders and primary organizers of the tour, which is headquartered at their home, Mesolini Glass Studio (13291 Madison Ave. NE).

Also showing work at Mesolini is Bill Wentworth (stainless steel and bronze sculptures).

The second stop on the tour is Davidson Studios (9000 NE Hidden Cove Road), where Linda (bas-relief botanicals) and Millard Davidson (oils) will host and display their creations.

The third participating studio is Erthwerks (13100 Sunrise Drive NE), where Kathy Mitchell (sculpture), Jackie Reed (sculpture and pottery) and Don Truscott (stoneware pottery) will show work.

Finally, at Rolling Clay Studio (11236 NE Sunrise Drive), visitors can see work from and chat with Jane Schupay (pottery, sculpture), Pamela Dick (digital fractal art), Roberta Beery (oil paintings), Greg Relaford (pottery), John Herring (wooden vessels), and Karen Chaussabel (paintings).

All featured studios are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9 through Sunday, Aug. 11.

For a complete tour map and more information, visit www.biworkingstudios.com.