If you’ve ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes in an artist’s studio, look no further than the Snoqualmie Valley Art Studio Tour.
The Sept. 6 tour is organized by local nonprofit North Bend Art and Industry, which hopes to make it an annual event. Run entirely by volunteers, the free tour will cover eight locations in North Bend and Snoqualmie. Participants can visit any and all of the locations in whatever order they wish to see where art is made, purchase art and ask artists questions.
The idea for the open tours came from participating artist and Art and Industry teacher Bonnie Katz Sailors. Sailors is a full-time painter and was interested in doing a garage sale of sorts to offload some of the work she has built up over years.
Then she thought, better than a garage sale, local artists should open their studios to the public.
“I thought we needed to do that because there were plenty of artists in the area that I thought would also want to participate,” she said. “They said, well, we’ll help you, but you’ve got to be the person doing it, because they know there was no bandwidth over there … and I just ran with it.”
The tour covers several art mediums, including printmaking, painting, fiber art, photography, ceramics and handbag crafting. Some of the tour locations are private studios not normally open to the public, while others are located inside Art and Industry’s Center for Creativity.
After opening up an application for artists to participate in the event, Sailors picked 10. She says she wanted to keep the first year a manageable size, but she is open to expanding the event in the future.
There are 10 artists but only eight stops, making it even more feasible for attendees to visit multiple — and there’s even a prize for those who visit all 10.
“Some people are going to show their process, some people are going to have little activities they can do when they show up,” she said. “Everybody has a stamp. … If you get all the stamps, you can get a free class at North Bend Art and Industry.”
Sailors said the tour allows local artists to get eyes on their work without having to apply to a gallery, worry about transporting their art or having commissions taken from them.
“This is a really good way to have people come in, see your work, buy your work, and you get all the money, which is really nice for artists,” she said. “And I think the people who come and see the artists and their process and kind of see their environment, it kind of creates a greater connection for everybody.”
North Bend locations
• Anne McCulloch, clay sculptor: 1533 Bendigo Blvd. N.
• Barb Koefod Seese, painter: 10321 428th Ave. SE
• Bonnie Katz Sailors, painter: 42121 SE North Bend Way
• Laurie Kathleen Clark, handbag maker: 13517 476th Ave. SE
• Leslie Nan Moon, printmaker: 42828 SE 176th St.
• Renee Sonnichsen, handbag maker: 10321 428th Ave. SE
• Scott Rinckenberger, photographer: 106 W. North Bend Way
• Stacy Garfield, photographer: 42121 SE North Bend Way
Snoqualmie locations
• Heather Climer, photography, painting and more: 5805 404th Ave. SE
• Kellie Robertson, ceramicist: 8054 Falls Ave. SE
Studios are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For a map of locations and more information, visit northbendartandindustry.org/snoqualmie-valley-open-studio-tours.
