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Finding color later in life: 2026 Madison House Art Stroll features local artists on May 28

Published 2:55 am Monday, May 18, 2026

Explore artwork and creativity at a free public Art Stroll, a resident and employee showcase May 28, 3 to 5 p.m. at Madison House

Bainbridge Island residents can look forward to an art-filled end of May with the second annual Madison House Art Stroll, a free community event showcasing the remarkable artists who live and work at Bainbridge Senior Living. 

Taking place Thursday, May 28, from 3 – 5 p.m. at Madison House, the afternoon brings together a diverse lineup of resident and staff artists – from emerging voices to those with decades of exhibition behind them – along with wine, cheese and live music by Ranger and the Re-Arrangers. 

It’s an open invitation to step inside, meet the artists and experience the creativity that thrives within the community year-round.

Among the featured artists is Carol Burns, 81, a Bainbridge Island resident and watercolor artist who has been practicing watercolors since she was in her 40s. 

Her work is loose, vivid and nature-inspired – what she calls ‘a playful dance with white spaces and rich watercolor paints.’

Those who’ve seen her work know she brings the whole of herself to it. 

Burns recalls one time in particular at an outdoor show in Eugene, she had rock and roll blasting while she painted, moving a little as she worked when a reporter spotted her from across the park. 

The next morning, she was on the front page of the newspaper. 

It’s that kind of joyful, unselfconscious energy that makes her work – and her presence at the Art Stroll – something worth experiencing in person.

Madison House Art Stroll featured artist Erika Michael.

Fellow resident Erika Michael brings an equally extraordinary story to the afternoon. Born in Vienna, Michael emigrated with her family to New York in November 1939, fleeing Nazi persecution. 

She went on to earn a Ph.D. in Art History from the University of Washington, teach at universities across the country and study under abstract expressionist masters Robert Motherwell and Ad Reinhardt in the 1960s.

Two of Erika Michael’s pieces that will be on display at the 2026 Madison House Art Stroll on May 28.

Burns and Michael are just two of the artists whose work will be on display at the Art Stroll, alongside fellow residents and staff members who bring their own creative voices to the event. 

The full showcase reflects the diversity of artistic life at Madison House – proof that creativity doesn’t retire.

The Art Stroll is open to the public on May 28 from 3 to 5 p.m.

For more information or to learn about living at Madison House, contact Lori Dreier, outreach and move-in coordinator, at 206-842-2500 or visit bainbridgeseniorliving.com.

Follow them @BainbridgeSeniorLiving on Facebook and Instagram.