It’s almost that time of the year again — a chance to bundle up and go on a treasure hunt for art, all over Vashon and Maury Island, for two glorious weekends in a row.
The 2024 Vashon Island Holiday Studio Tour, presented by members of Vashon Island Visual Artists (ViVA), will feature 44 studios and galleries representing more than 150 artists on the tour.
The tour, running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, Dec 7-8 and 14-15, is a chance to see Vashon’s artists in the places where they create their art and to shop for one-of-a-kind holiday gifts.
ViVA, an anchoring island arts organization, has a broad mission to connect artists to each other and the broader community; to support the needs of its members personally and artistically; to empower creativity through education and exhibition; and to preserve the artistic culture that has for decades been fundamental to island life.
VIVA started life as the Vashon Potters Tour in the late 1970s when a cadre of potters joined together to show work in their studios in an annual tour. Sitting down, they devised a map to direct visitors to their studios, advertised the show, opened their doors, and then welcomed islanders and off-islanders alike. The Potters Tour grew over the 1980s, and by 1992, had morphed into the Vashon Island Art Studio Tour.
Over the years, many artists and organizers kept the Potters Tour and the Studio Tour on track and moving forward.
Some of their names are now legendary in the arts community: Christine Beck, Janice Mallman, Mary Hodgins, Mary Hosnick, Janice Wall, Liz Lewis, Brian Fisher, Penny Grist, Irene Otis, and Sharon Munger, to name only a few of these inventive souls.
But the Vashon Island Art Studio Tour, for all its careful organization, remained a loose configuration of studios until May 2015, when the core organizers decided to apply for nonprofit status. In February 2018, the board decided to change its name to Vashon Island Visual Artists (VIVA) and expand the scope and mission statement to include all Vashon visual artists and supporters.
Since that significant change, the group has only grown.
Here is a list of all the places you can go, and the people you’ll meet, on this year’s Holiday Studio Tour. Artists are named in the order they appear in the tour guide, grouped in various parts of the island.
Gretchen Hancock Painting — paintings of Vashon, ferries, and the Pacific Northwest, at 28405 101st Ave SW.
Kathy Larsdotter Studio — oil paintings and studies, at 10129 SW 263rd St.
Dockton Art Studio — pastels, oil, and acrylics, at 26309 97th Ave SW.
L Witherspoon Jewel Box Studio — Czech glass beads, silver and copy, and painted wood, at 9925 SW 260th St.
Cory Winn Pottery — terracotta and stoneware, at 26040 99th Ave SW.
Radiant Neon — neon light art, at 25922 99th Ave SW.
Dockton Pottery — eight artists working in different media, at 25913 99th Ave SW.
Rose Belknap Studio — oil paintings and felted clothing, at 10039 1/2 SW Dock St.
Vashon Hats & Finery — Knitted finery that is fun, elegant and ethical, at 25947 Gold Beach Dr SW.
Cathy Sarkowsky Studio — paintings, prints, cards, scarves, ceramics and more, at 23115 Kingsbury Rd SW.
Reimnitz Studio – one family’s art in watercolor, monotype prints, oils, and metal sculptures, at 23514 Kingsbury Rd SW.
H.A. & Co. — ceramics and fine jewelry, at 24012 Vashon Hwy SW.
WM Henri Design — leather, metal and ephemera, at 23830 Vashon Hwy SW.
Zuzko Jewelry — handcrafted sterling silver and gold jewelry, at 23707 Vashon Hwy SW.
Donnelly-Austin Photography — photographic prints, at 21820 Vashon Hwy SW.
S. Marotta Pottery — Wheel and hand-built pottery to enjoy every day, at 13710 SW 220th St.
La Biondo Farm — ceramics, herbs, soaps, and textiles, at 20602 111th Ave SW.
The Willingham Weavery — 12 artists offering weaving and other arts, at 10315 SW 204th.
Lavender Cat Studio — watercolor paintings, hand-dryer silks and origami, at 20733 87th Ave SW.
Vashon Center for the Arts — Eric Heffelfinger fine jewelry and annual Miniatures Show, at 19600 Vashon Hwy SW.
Kassana Holden Studio — acrylic painting, greeting cards and wrapping paper, at 20103 Vashon Hwy SW, #D.
Roots & Dreams Studio — Renée Marceau’s assemblages, and Estevan Roaché’s ceramics, at 12028 SW Cemetery Rd.
3 Potters Studio — earthenware, stoneware and porcelain, at 12714 SW Cemetery Rd.
Garbanzo Glass — stained glass combined with wood and metal, at 13549 SW 186th St.
Outstanding in its Field Gallery — eight artists showing jewelry, ceramics, pastels, and monoprints, at 10524 SW 188th St.
Pam Ingalls at Dig Deep Gardens — oil paintings, at 19028 Vashon Hwy SW.
Stray Cat Wood Works — hand-turned wood, at 18527 Beal Rd. SW
Quartermaster Press — etchings, linocuts, monoprints, collages and cards, at 18531 Beall Rd. SW.
Jennifer Hawke Studios — works by Jennifer Hawke, Rachel LordKenaga, Mary McGinnis and Monica Gripman include holiday wreaths, watercolors, tarot cards, assemblages, miniatures, sculptures, ceramics and oil paintings, at 18531 Beall Rd. SW.
WabiSabi Studios — reduction woodcuts prints and concrete sculptures, at 17913 McLean Rd. SW.
Lee Hendrickson Studio — photography, at 17816 Vashon Hwy SW.
Valise Gallery — “One Body, 12 Hearts,” works in acrylic, oil and encaustic, at 17633 Vashon Hwy SW.
Swiftwater Gallery — 2D and 3D art, pottery, fiber arts and jewelry, at 17600 Vashon Hwy SW.
Studio V — Artisan-designed and refashioned clothing/accessories, at 17600 Vashon Hwy SW, on the back deck.
Frog Holler Studios — paintings, drawings, printmaking and hand-made books, at 11325 SW Cove Rd.
John Woodard’s Studio — works in oil, pastel, and pen and ink, at 11619 SW Cove Rd.
Barnworks (S. Munger and Z. Cherokee) — pottery, alcohol ink paintings, cards, pebble art, at 12122 SW Cove Rd.
Glass Heart — sandblasted glass, at 15631 Westside Hwy SW.
Ravensong Farm Studio — drypoint prints, beeswax candles, and art cards, at 12202 SW 153rd St.
Brenno Studio — blown glass, ceramics, and art from recycled materials, at 9850 SW 148th St.
Charlotte Masi Studio — sculpture, paintings, gourds, and ornaments, at 10311 SW 116th Pl.
Craig’s Crossing — woodwork, soaps, textiles, jewelry and stonework, at 13303 98th Ave SW.
Morgan Brig Studio — mixed media sculptures, at 11509 103rd Ave SW.
Handmade on Vashon — 15-plus artists in many mediums, at 10744 SW 110th St.
For more information and an interactive tour map, visit vivartists.org.
