Edmonds Art Studio Tour

About

Mission

The free, self-guided Edmonds Art Studio Tour is offered once a year as an opportunity to visit the private studios of local artists in the Edmonds area. It is held on the third weekend in September and is run by an all-volunteer committee of local artists. This fun community event offers an opportunity to purchase handmade work, see new art being created, or just visit and ask questions of the artists.

The mission of the Edmonds Art Studio Tour is to increase the visibility of the Arts in Edmonds. Its purpose is to bring people to Edmonds to see, experience and purchase art from local artists. The Tour highlights private workspaces not usually open to the public, providing a more intimate look at how an artist lives and works. This event consists of a free, 2-day public tour of approximately 20 Edmonds area art studios showcasing approximately 40 local artists.

Community

"I enjoy the community building aspect of the Edmonds Art Studio Tour. The tour brings people together. It's fun to see visitors interacting with one another and sharing their love of art--an experience that they would not otherwise experience together were it not for the tour."

-David Varnau, Studio #10

Pictured above: David demonstrating his sculpting technique at the 2022 Preview of the Tour

Experiences

"After studio tour visitors recover from the stunning natural light from our floor to ceiling windows and the occasional ferry sighting, I really enjoy showing people the different techniques of clay sculpting. People are curious how a sculpture can be made from coils, slabs, or sculpted solid and hollowed out. Then I blow them away by showing off our new kilns, wheels, slab roller and pugger. Life is good in this clay studio!"

-Mike O'Day, Studio #12

Pictured above: A portion of the Graphite crew (l-r) Rainny Zhao, Tracy Felix, Johanne Friedrichs, Andy Eccleshall, Mike O'Day, and Julie Perrine

Connections

"One of the best things about the Tour is that people get a chance to spend personal time with artists whose work is especially appealing to them, and artists get to talk with people who made time to visit their particular studio."

-Mary Bess Johnson, Studio #1

Pictured above: Mary Bess assisting a guest who was having a hard time choosing which cards to purchase during the 2022 Preview of the Tour

A Brief History

The Edmonds Art Studio Tour began in 2006 as Sue Robertson and Tracy Felix's brainchild, with integral support from Barb Goodfellow Childs, Mona T. Smiley-Fairbanks, Kathleen Johnson, Yenny Broadie, and Ann Wood, among several others. Starting with a mere 29 artists in 16 studios, the Tour has run strong every year since-- even offering a digital Tour in 2020. In 2021 the Studio Tour partnered with their long time supporter, the Edmonds Arts Festival, and began offering a Preview Show with a selection of participating Tour artists selling their work and offering live demonstrations.

Several of our artists have been with us since the beginning: