The 15th annual Summer Studio Tour on Bainbridge Island will return Friday, Aug. 7 through Sunday, Aug. 9.

Forty-eight artists will showcase their hand-crafted art in five local artists’ studios.

This year’s tour will include many wonderful new artists, and a great variety of works, including sculpture, garden art, jewelry, pottery, mixed media, wearables, photography, glass and encaustics.

Each of the five studios on the tour has a variety of art mediums, and between eight and 14 juried artists waiting to greet visitors. The studios are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

“We had a truly great summer last year, with record attendance,” said tour manager Dinah Satterwhite. “So I am expecting a huge crowd again this year. The weather has always been cooperative, and it’s a joy to see so many people having fun talking to the artists and exploring the artist’s gardens and studios.”

Visitors will be welcomed to sit, enjoy some lemonade and snacks, listen to local music, and enjoy the art.

“I thought it was the coolest thing that the [people] were so comfortable, and just enjoying the summer day at the Studio Tour,” Satterwhite said. “That’s something you can’t buy, and that’s something you can’t plan. It just happens with all of the elements coming together in the right way.”

Satterwhite added that what visitors really like about the tour in particular is the chance to collect art from specific artists and hear about the details behind the work — where a jewel came from, or how a certain technique evolved. They also like to see the new work that an artist has developed over recent years, she said.

“We have this funny phenomenon where people will just hang out at the studio,” Satterwhite said. “There is live music, and the ambiance is so welcoming. There will be just a bunch of people there. You would think they were the family of the people who lived there.”

One particularly noteworthy new artist on the tour, Satterwhite said, is Sharon Von Ibsch, who moved to Bainbridge recently from Santa Cruz, California.

“Her work is just incredible,” Satterwhite said. “It’s almost photo realistic.”

Ibsch’s large format acrylic paintings on canvas have a lovely natural flow to them, she added.

She said she feels compelled to convey the beauty of the natural world in her work, as she preserves an exact moment of light, shadow, or motion that attracts her.

“I also have found influence in Claude Monet, Georgia O’Keefe, and Jackson Pollack,” Ibsch said. “Monet took influence from his surroundings, just as I find myself doing. O’Keefe painted beautifully curvaceous up-close views of flowers and had the one image taking stage — uncomplicated by a background. Pollack found freedom in a new style of painting; unencumbered by the structure of what was dictated to be art by society.”

The cover of the summer tour brochure features a detailed peony with Ibsch’s brilliantly interwoven shades of cerise pink, ruby, magenta, and carmine.

Another newcomer to the Studio Tour is Diane Haddon, who focuses on mixed media collages, or assemblages, as she calls them.

Michele Van Derrick and Roshelle Barnett will also be joining the tour. Derrick specializes in small acrylic works while Barnett creates casual and feminine sterling silver and copper jewelry.

After a six year hiatus from the Studio Tour, Dorothy Skea has decided to return this summer. Her pieces include silk wraps, scarves, tailored jackets and blouses.

“She sews like nobody’s business,” Satterwhite said. “Her attention to detail is phenomenal.”

The Summer Studio Tour has an extremely large following, and one reason islanders return to the tour is due to the quality of the pieces for sale.

“By knowing that they’re juried artists, [customers know] it will be good quality, and have good variety,” Satterwhite said.

The tour will feature many different artistic styles and techniques, and various types of art will be scattered throughout the tour.

“I’m really excited about the mixture of mediums, it seemed to balance out really well between the studios,” Satterwhite said. “I really strive to have a nice variety in each studio, and it worked out really well this time.”

The studio tour is a free self-guided tour and complete details including a list of studios, artists, photos and a map can be found online at www.bistudiotour.com.

Brochures can be downloaded from the website, or found at the Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce.

Summer Tour

What: The 15th annual Summer Studio Tour.

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7 and Saturday, Aug. 8 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Sunday, Aug. 9.

Admission: Free.

Visit www.bistudiotour.com for a complete artist list and studio map.