Local artist grants foster culture and creativity for BI

Does Bainbridge Island bring out the artist in people or do the artists come to Bainbridge?

It’s likely both.

Eight BI artists will take a year to build a unique project that will expand the boundaries of their craft, using a $1,000 grant each from local arts nonprofit Arts and Humanities Bainbridge. The organization has offered small project grants to artists who live or practice on BI for over a decade, and its 2024 cohort is one of the most wide-ranging yet.

This year, AHB selected painter David Repyak and visual artist Danis Morgan; filmmakers Emma Cameron, Anisa Ashabi and Gabe Nathan; sculptors Peter C. Sprung and Craig Jacobrown; and martial artist Anna Choi.

While those artists look forward to their projects, the outgoing cohort offers lessons from their year of hard work. For some, the project is the largest undertaking of their career; for others, it represents a boost on a continued project. Several are well-established; others are burgeoning talents. But each has a deep connection to BI—and its unique character takes shape in their work.

“When I moved here, my focus changed completely to channel a healthier lifestyle,” Sprung said. “I started working more organically and healing my relationship with nature.”

Now in his second year as an AHB grant recipient, Sprung makes abstract sculptures that evoke moments of destruction. He began as a painter, sometimes working collaboratively, and shifted to sculpture when he became fascinated by the shapes of trees that had been struck by lightning. On BI, he is inspired by the chemical contamination at the Eagle Harbor Superfund site.

“I love creating art with room to breathe, so each person can see different things. I avoid literal depictions to give space to each person’s experience,” Sprung said. “In doing that, I also wanted to raise the public consciousness about the environmental issues with creosote and microplastics.”

BI’s natural environment is a source of inspiration for many AHB grant recipients.

Isobel Coney, a ceramic and textile artist in AHB’s 2023 cohort, is originally from a rural farming community in the United Kingdom. Coney used her funds to purchase a digital kiln, which has streamlined her ceramic art production and allowed her to experiment with new glazes. She takes inspiration from the natural environment and duality of her upbringing in the U.K. and her life on BI, she said. Tea is a constant theme.

“The sea surrounding Bainbridge Island continuously inspires my work: the rhythm of the waves and the ebb and flow of the tides. The beautiful shades of blues and greens, rich depth in some areas and delicate details in others,” she said. “I like to celebrate the elegance of afternoon tea and use it as a way to illustrate friendship, the love of a place, the patterns of life and making the places we call home.”

Morgan, a painter in the 2024 cohort, also found a connection to nature through her rural upbringing in Alaska.

“Being around nature has helped me understand the idea of being part of the bigger picture the best. It is always where I find inspiration for my paintings as well as developing a sensitivity and space for awareness,” she said in a 2020 interview with AHB. “I am my most true self in slowness and solitude, coming out into the world once in awhile to share and gather.”

Morgan uses an ancient technique called encaustic painting, where she mixes beeswax, tree resin and pigments to paint on wood, silk panels or paper, then fixes the designs with heat. The method captures “the pure essence of nature and trees,” she said, reflecting movement, transparency and light.

For a community that values the arts as much as BI, the public-facing aspect of creative work can be its own inspiration. The joy of belonging and community is central to the art practice of several AHB grant recipients.

Jacobrown grew up on BI, and uses both sculpture and puppetry to elevate local indigenous stories that bring life and longevity to traditional wisdom. Trained by legendary Suquamish carver Duane Pasco, Jacobrown designed several pieces of public art around BI: “Leap Frog” at Battle Point Park, “Caregiver” at Rotary Park and “Rainbringer,” a triangular sculpture that stands at the corner of High School Road and Madison Avenue. As part of the 2024 AHB cohort, Jacobrown plans to bring more public art to BI.

For Ashabi and Choi, the public is art.

Ashabi is in the process of transforming her novel “Finding Chaz” into a TV series. “Chaz” is loosely based on Ashabi’s experience growing up on BI in the 2000s and 2010s, and her story aims to paint a portrait of a complex relationship between two high school students. Her AHB grant will fund her ongoing project.

Complex relationships are Choi’s bread and butter. Choi teaches tai chi and qigong, Korean martial arts that focus on breathwork and energetic movement to cultivate emotional regulation. Her goal is to spread “mindfulness, inspire peace and anchor love on the planet” through interpersonal bonding, which she facilitates through seminars in workplaces and schools. She anticipates organizing a healing peace performance for BI in the next year.

It’s one thing to earn a grant — it’s another to go through with a project. Some of the 2023 recipients offered advice to the new cohort.

Donna Dowdney, a mixed media visual artist, recommended that recipients expect the unexpected and have a backup plan. She recalled an incident where a five-day class she planned to attend was canceled the day before it was to start, so she substituted other art classes, purchased a new sewing machine, and participated in additional exhibitions instead.

The key to a distinct style is to allow your artistic energies to flow freely, and allow your intellect to do the same thing, Sprung said. Having an education that encompasses many disciplines can inform your artmaking and make you stand out. “The broader your education, the more tools you’ll have, and the more flexible you can be,” Sprung said. “Collaborating with other artists is also crucial — listen to them.”

Molly Brahmer paints joyful, interactive murals around BI that depict beloved pets and local landmarks. She has a piece scheduled for the BI Chamber of Commerce, but murals are labor intensive, and progress can feel slow at times, she said. She advised that artists “keep pushing forward” when they hit a wall.

“It’s taken nearly a year since receiving the grant, but I’m grateful for the connections I’ve made and the community support that’s helped me along the way,” Brahmer said. “Stay patient and committed—every step forward counts, and the journey is worth it!”