Art Lives
The most striking part of Camano Island is that one must actually TRY to find a place without an amazing view. The narrow island north of Seattle is surrounded by sea and mountains. And the water is always changing, ripples moving in the wind.
It’s no wonder art lives on Camano Island.
On Tuesday I drove all over it, meeting with artists who are members of the Camano Island Arts Association and participants with the Camano Island Studio Tour. I took a a mini-version of the studio tour, speaking with artists, watching where they work, and learning how they got to where they are now.
I was struck by the fact that there is so much entrepreneurship to art. The art itself, whether it is acrylic, water color, ceramics or weaving, all comes from a place inside the artist that must be released. It is an idea, a feeling, an itch that must be scratched. And to realize it, these artists take tremendous risks. They also work incredibly long hours.
The image of some stoned hippy artists colony is not only absurd, it’s insulting. The artists I’ve met are some of the hardest working perfectionists I’ve ever known. And when done right, they are able to do something more amazing than building any empire or corporation. They are able to touch people with their vision.
There’s the painter who was so entranced by an exhibit of Russian Impressionists when she was 20, that she sought out masters who had studied under the very artists she was admiring. She then studied under them for 15 intense years. To see her in her studio, to walk through her home, one is surrounded by stacks of paintings. Watching her work, there is a certain controlled madness to her strokes. And when asked about whether she has achieved her vision, weather she’s realized the inspiration that started her on this journey some 30 years ago, she acknowledges that she’s gotten a lot better. But then added, “you can never actually attain perfection. It’s a moving target.”
Then there is the family of artists. A legacy of art passed on from Great grandmother, to grandmother, to mother, to daughter, from husband and wife and from uncles to cousins. Many of whom achieving national recognition.
There is the story of the artist father with a promising career, with one-man-shows at the very museum that featured the Russian impressionists that so inspired another local artist. Riding his star to the top, he too a step off to work at Boeing to help support his wife (another artist) and their three kids. With grandkids now, he’s returned to his art, hopping right back on that star and finding that his paintings are still sought after, admired, collected and meaningful.
Enter then weaver whose basement is filled with these enormous looms. Spools of yard decorate her walls and amazing jackets, coats and blouses adorn the racks that line her halls. Traveling the country, showing at various art events, her work is not only admired, it is worn.
Then the artist/gallery owner who created perhaps the most magical sculpture park I’ve ever seen from a vision rooted in her childhood in upstate New York. Walking through her carefully developed property on 10 acres of ancient trees and the vibrant green grass that only can grow in places like this, with sculpture guiding the visitor through a journey of discovery. And inside, her gallery showcases art of such diversity and talent…from glass to interactive art. Not to mention her own art, pastels with such amazing play of light and lines that simply draw you into a world that is like a heightened reality.
Oh, and the metal sculpture artist who works by day at the transfer station in part to take in a steady paycheck, but primarily to collect inspiration for her art. An object may have been born a wrench, but when this artist sees it she is able to realize it was actually meant to be a fish. And somehow she is able to weld a piece together that is both fish and wrench.
It. Is. Amazing.
I could go on and on…the ceramics master and quilt-maker couple, the mask maker. In total there are more than 60 artists who have been juried onto the tour. There are many more who simply don’t quite make the cut. They are good. But not professional-level good. They may be someday. And with many of these artists also teaching workshops, and the gallery owner looking to launch an artist in residence program, chances are with a lot of hard work, those aspiring artists will also join this elite group.
I for one walked away inspired and moved by the dedication of these artists, my own passions reignited. It’s no wonder this tour has been such a success over the past 12 years. And why so many people from all parts of the country come to experience both the beauty of the Island and the passion of the people.
Art truly does live on Camano Island.
