It's time to go behind the scenes to discover how artists tick.
The seventh annual , presented by the Edmonds Art Festival, is a chance to take a free, self-guided tour to visit 23 private art studios.
It's Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Participants can interact with 43 local professional artists, see their tools and equipment, ask questions, see works in progress and purchase their latest work.
Go to EdmondsArtStudioTour.com to preview artists and their work, download a free map of participating studios and galleries and find links to artists' individual Web sites.
There’s a new stop on the tour this year in downtown Edmonds: ARTspot. The newest addition to Main Street, it's artist supply store, studio and a place to see contemporary art. ARTspot is associated with Cole Gallery, which has been on the tour since its inception in 2006.
“I felt we needed some artist quality materials available in the area, as there is nothing else around for the artists in our community,” said Denise Cole.
Now the small artist supply has moved out from Denise’s gallery around the corner to ARTspot, and is greatly expanded. Tracy Felix Fraker is heading up the new location.
“I have been in advertising, graphic design, fine art, heading up art in my kids classes at Maplewood Co-op, a gallery owner and painte," said Fraker. "All these paths converge to make this the perfect fit for me. I absolutely love it.”
The space that is now ARTspot, at 408 Main St., has been a traditional jewelry store for many years. The original cases from decades past are now filled with jewelry and pottery from local artists participating on the tour: Robin Westbrook, Mike O’Day, and Barbara Wyatt. Walls display the art of Sue Robertson, Darlene Gentry Lucas, Kim Brayman, and Mona Smiley-Fairbanks.
ARTspot offers not only supplies, but also a growing list of classes and workshops in the on-site studio. “We are all about the art process here," Fraker says, "beginning with the pleasure of beautiful pigments, colors and textures of the materials, to the unique experience of expressing yourself creatively.”
The tour is supported by the Edmonds Art Festival and Swedish Edmonds.
