The public will soon have a chance to observe the processes of the art community.
Freeland Art Studios, located at 1660 Roberta Ave., is hosting its annual open house event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday, June 18.
The open house gives the 12 artists who create in the collaborative work space a yearly excuse to dust off their studios and welcome the company of curious minds.
“This is the one event a year where the majority of us clean up our studios and make them accessible,” sculptor Sue Taves said.
Taves co-owns the 7,000 square-foot building – which is divided into three sections – with Lloyd Whannell, a founding member of the Freeland Art Studios. The pair formed a business partnership a few years ago when the building was for sale and currently rent out space to other creatives.
With 12 artists in residence, the building is bursting at the seams. Luckily, many of the stone carvers can opt to work outdoors with ample room to create.
“We’d like to figure out how to expand and create more artisan spaces, especially with everybody getting priced out of where they’re living,” Taves said. “We don’t want the artists to all have to move off the island.”
New faces Alexandra Morosco, Ken Barnes and Benjamin Mefford joined the studio this year, bringing additional talent and more than a few tons of stone. Morosco is known for her bronze and stone sculptures, Barnes for his abstract pieces in stone and Mefford for his large-scale stone creations.
Besides Taves and Whannell, other artists include Penelope Crittenden, Carol Rose Dean, Charles LaFond, Tom Lindsay, Matt Monforte, Woody Morris and Lane Tompkins.
“That’s one of the advantages of working in a group studio, having other people around, especially when you’re a stone sculptor and things are really heavy or you need a second pair of hands when you have the forklift out,” Taves said.
Besides stone carving, artists also specialize in clay tile, pottery, oil and acrylic painting, cast glass, lamp work glass, resin paintings and mixed media.
“It’s fun to see what everybody’s working on,” said Matt Monforte, who paints and works with wood but is someday looking forward to dabbling in stone carving and learning from some of the others in the studio space.
During Saturday’s open house, visitors will be able to see artists in action.
“If people are interested in seeing how art is made, this is a great opportunity to do that,” Taves said. “Most of the artists will be here and you get to actually see the tools and see things in process.”
Finished pieces are all around Freeland Art Studios, including these busts by Lane Tompkins.
Photo by Kira Erickson/South Whidbey Record Sue Taves carves an enormous chunk of basalt.
Photo by Kira Erickson/South Whidbey Record Sue Taves sands a block of marble.
