Sculptors Workshop Artists Featured in Show at Frances Anderson Center

The National Council on Education in Ceramic Arts is holding a national clay conference in Seattle for the first time at the end of this month.

In conjunction with this event, Sculptors Workshop artists are now featured in a juried show at the Frances Anderson Center in Edmonds, presented by the Edmonds Arts Festival Museum and the Edmonds Arts Commission.

The artists' works are featured through April 24.

The public is invited to an artist’s reception at the Frances Anderson Center Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m.

Celebrating 45 years as a nonprofit arts organization, both potters and sculptors from Sculptors Workshop are showing their works together for the first time with functional and sculptural artwork representing their growth as artists as they continue on their journey of discovery. Clay is the primary medium used.

For more information about the arts in Edmonds, go to eaffoundation.org and EdmondsArtsCommission.org.

The Edmonds Arts Festival Museum and the Edmonds Arts Commission display case is located in the Frances Anderson Center, 700 Main St., Edmonds. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. For information, call 425-771-0228 or 425-771-1984.

The founding of the Sculptors Workshop

The following information is provided by Darlene Mclellan of Edmonds Arts Festival Museum.

Two businessmen, H. O. Hutt (a retired business owner) and Wally Wise (a senior bank official of what is now US Bank, in Lynnwood), wanted to create an art presence in the Edmonds/Lynnwood area.

They started a nonprofit organization and placed an ad in a newspaper for art teachers. David Murphey answered the ad and gradually became the long-standing director.

The Sculptors Workshop was first located at Firdale Village in Edmonds. The owner of the complex thought that having an art studio would draw people to the adjacent stores. He soon discovered that artists don’t make much money and asked them to leave.

Hutt found the Perrinville Corner building for them. They were there for many years, during which the Sculptors Workshop flourished. Murphy was active on the board of directors, managing the growth of the Sculptors Workshop and teaching metal sculpture. 

While at Perrinville, they added bronze casting with Ed Ballew, woodcarving taught by Duane Pasco, and weaving and jewelry making. Kay Henkel originally taught pottery, followed briefly by Lillianne Walker. Shortly after, Rose Morgan joined the Workshop as pottery instructor and ultimately co-director.

In 1981 the City of Edmonds invited the Sculptors Workshop to come to the Frances Anderson Center, where it remains today. Murphey and Morgan ran the workshop for many years.

Since their passing, their legacy lives on today. Sculptors Workshop is a vital arts organization of South Snohomish County, drawing its 40 members from the surrounding area.

Currently, the sculptor’s studio is under the direction of Janet Still and the potter’s studio is under the direction of Julie Perrine.