Arts Fest boasts hundreds of works by local artists

This year’s festival will present 42 solo shows and two group shows, with the mix of art rotating every three weeks.

By Elizabeth Shepherd • July 6, 2023 1:30 am
(Left to right) Jon, Brette and Shannon Flora, joined by Barbara Dusty Gustafson, take in the scene on the opening night of VCA’s Summer Arts Fest, at Vashon Center for the Arts. Both Brette and Gustafson are local artists, with work in the first round of shows for the annual festival (Elizabeth Shepherd Photo).
(Left to right) Jon, Brette and Shannon Flora, joined by Barbara Dusty Gustafson, take in the scene on the opening night of VCA’s Summer Arts Fest, at Vashon Center for the Arts. Both Brette and Gustafson are local artists, with work in the first round of shows for the annual festival (Elizabeth Shepherd Photo).

The first round of exhibitions in Vashon Center for the Arts’ annual Summer Arts Fest opened last Friday, June 30, to a large appreciative crowd and a joyful set of artists.

The Fest was created six summers ago as a way to celebrate Vashon’s vibrant community of visual artists. It accomplishes this by creating multiple “mini-galleries” within the exhibition space of VCA’s Koch Gallery and spacious atrium lobby to accommodate the work of approximately 60 local creators.

This year’s festival, which runs through August, will present 42 solo shows and two group shows, with the mix of art rotating every three weeks. Two more opening receptions — July 21 and Aug. 11 — will mark the debut of new shows in the festival. In addition, VCA will toast the shows again during July and August’s First Friday Gallery Cruises.

Two group shows and numerous solo shows are now on display.

One of the group exhibits includes the work of 16 ceramic artists who have curated a collection of their works that run from large pieces to small, hand-crafted bowls. The artists in this show include Dave Olsen, Pamela Schubert, Jane Neubauer, Roxanne Thayer, Mary O’Reilley, Karen Fevold, Mary Hosick, Sara Barry, Jon-Eric Schafer, Kedar Mankad, Gale Laurie, Marla Smith, Lin Holley, Sonja Bergstrom, Chuck Bonsteel and Sofie Ackerman.

The other group show displays the work of island photographer Ray Phfortner’s students from his latest “Shoot to Show” class at VCA’s Blue Heron Education Center. Together, the photographs provide a travelogue of some of the most scenic spots on Vashon Island.

Photographers with work in this exhibit include Pfortner, EJay Mothershead-Cronin, Kairos, Teanna DelMarter, JP Montagnet, Sherry Lee Bottoms, Carole Mullin, and Tish Kanat.

The walls of both the gallery and atrium are also covered with solo shows of photography, mixed media, watercolor, and fiber arts by artists Andrea Bellon, Lee Cattarin, Brette Flora, Barbara Dusty Gustafson, Inge King, Robin Mallory, Maija McKnight, Annie Marie Musselman, Pamela Wickard, and Wade Yip.

But wait, there’s more: VCA’s gift shop is filled to the brim with new mixed-media sculptures by Morgan Brig.

Stop by and see the current show, running through July 16, from 5-8 p.m. Friday, July 7, or during regular hours for VCA —12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday.