The annual Bainbridge Working Studios Tour will return Friday, Aug. 10 through Sunday, Aug. 12, inviting guests and locals alike inside several island artists’ work spaces for a behind-the-scenes look.
Ten artists, working in a variety of mediums and disciplines, will be showing work in three studios, all open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
All participants are professional “working” artists, said event organizers Gregg Mesmer and Diane Bonciolini, of Mesolini Glass Studio, one of the three host studios.
The main benefit for visitor and patrons, Bonciolini said, is for them to see where art is actually made, as most artists enjoy sharing the techniques behind their work and demystifying the process.
“You see the tools, you see everything,” she said. “It’s a realistic view of a working studio.
“Let’s show people where we live, where we work,” she added. “We tell people you don’t have to come to buy, that’s not what we expect. It’s like an open house and we love it when people just come and say hi and see what’s new — this year we have quite a few new things — so that’s fun, it’s fun to share that.”
Work on display will be of a wide variety of mediums of disciplines, including painting, sculpture, jewelry, digital compositions, glass and stone.
Bainbridge Working Studios Tour is a free, self-guided tour. Patrons can get original hand-crafted art directly from the artist, chat with them, and tour the host studios and see actual work in progress.
The studios are: Davidson Working Studio (9000 Hidden Cove Road), Rolling Clay Studio (11236 NE Sunrise Drive), and Mesolini Glass Studio (13291 Madison Avenue NE).
Participating artists this year, including several new faces, are Mesmer and Bonciolini, Asha Kent, Jerry Davis and Ethan Currier (at Mesolini); Millard Davidson (at Davidson Working Studio); and Jan Schupay, Deborah J. Milton, Lisa Ellis, Pamela Dick and Morgan Terry (at Rolling Clay).
“Each year changes, and each year it morphs to where I can see us attracting more artists,” Mesmer said. “The openness of the host studios is what’s really huge.
“The importance is to know who you’ve got in your own backyard, I think,” he added. “There’s always newer artists that are out and about, and hopefully they’re involved with one of the tours somewhere, being able to be hosted at a venue somewhere.”
There will be a special opening night reception Friday, from 5 to 7 p.m., at Mesolini Glass Studio. Light refreshments will be served.
To learn more about each artist, and for a map of the studios, visit www.biworking studios.com. To learn more, call Mesolini Glass Studio at 206-842-7133.
