October is here, signaling the onset of a rainy, gray season on Vashon. But a vibrant array of art works will brighten up the night on Friday, when local galleries and shops open their doors for an art walk. Most openings take place from 6 to 9 p.m.

Blue Heron Gallery will be the scene of a long-awaited show “Imagine Tile” by the Vashon Tile Guild.

The exhibit will showcase new work by the 10-member group and also present Islanders with a preview of the Guild’s ambitious plans to transform the appearance of Vashon with a series of tile installations at visible spots around town.

Guild members — Mary Lynn Buss, Clare Dohna, Nadine Edelstein, Irene Otis, Steve Roache, Mary Robinson, Jack Strubbe, Elaine Summers, Mary Taitano and Cory Winn — are tile and mosaic makers, designers and installers.

The show will include South American iconographic works, mosaics, tiles with heartfelt messages, several sculptural 3-D pieces and more. The guild’s goal is to create public tile art on Vashon. The group has surveyed the Island and identified places that its members want to tile — beginning with Clare Dohna’s tiling of Bob’s Bakery, a project that is already in progress.

Café Luna will be the site of Day of the Dead-themed, handmade art from all around the world, collected in a mail art exchange hosted by MotherHenna.com. All sales will benefit the Vashon-Maury Island Community Food Bank. Halloween lanterns made by students at Carpe Diem will also be exhibited at the café. Undecorated sugar skulls will be for sale.

Giraffe will host an exhibit of photographs created by middle-school students in El Salvador. The Vashon High School Amnesty Club, a 35-member group, sent disposable cameras to the Central American students so that they could document their lives. The project was made possible by Char Skeffingham, an Islander who is currently working in the Peace Corps in El Salvador, and Vashon businesses, which donated money to purchase the disposable cameras. All sales will go to a fund that will help the students in El Salvador pay for bus transporation that is necessary for them to go to high school. The club also works on anmesty issues worldwide, including writing letters to free prisoners of conscience and raise awareness of civil rights violations.

The Hardware Store Restaurant will present “Amongst Big Trees: Working with Native Woods,” a group exhibit organized by David Warren and Ralph Moore. The show brings together more than 30 Island woodworkers and craftspeople and will focus on the beauty and utility of native woods from the region and Vashon. A variety of forms will be on display, including furniture, art, native carvings, bowls, spoons, birdhouses and brooms.

VALISE’s October show, “re:source,” will feature work by Tracy Linder, an artist from Montana, and Carol Schwennesen, a VALISE member.

Linder is a sculptural installation artist whose work is in public collections, including the Yellowstone Art Museum and Montana State University; she has shown at OK Harris in New York, the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming and many venues throughout the United States. Schwennesen, a painter, has works in collections from England and Italy to the United States and Japan.

More First Friday art stops

Blooms & Things will show new landscapes of Vashon and the Skagit River area by painter Jerry Balcom.

Books by the Way will present Picasso-inspired works by students in Mary Heath’s fourth-grade classroom at Chautauqua Elementary.

Duet will present Lenard Yen’s exhibit, “Portrait Party,” a show of acrylic on panel portrait paintings.

Heron’s Nest will show linoleum cuts by Christopher Edward Reeves, new ceramics by Jeff and Donna Tousley and new artwork by Brian Fisher.

Silverwood Gallery will continue to show works by Ted Kutscher and Ivonne Escobar de Kommer.

Spice Route will present Mark Grabsky’s photographs of Tibet and Habeyondo’s collection of silk screens.

Vashon Bookshop will show travel photography by Mary Beba and Sandy Smith and also present live music by The Geezers and Mindy Little.

Vashon Tea Shop will exhibit of Debbie Paulson’s photography show, “Underneath the Western Skies.”