Artist Lineup Set for First Issaquah Open Studio Tour | News

Ten Issaquah artists, from emerging to established, have been selected for the first Issaquah Open Studio Tour occurring next month.

The artists’ home studios will open for free public tours Sept. 7 to expose the artists and their work while showing the public and budding artists what the Eastside city has to offer in the arts and culture scene.

Artists on the tour were selected by a panel of four jurists working in the arts.

Selected artists include a woodturner, storyteller, two painters, a musician, songwriter, glass and sculpture artist, clown, two visual artists, and a fiber artist. (Learn more about the artists here.) 

One of the artists on the tour, storyteller Divya Rajan, said art forms and their practice are meant to be shared and passed on.

“While artists can practice, create, and thrive in solitude, the art form itself cannot,” Rajan said in an email. “It will only live as long as the artist. The only way for art to live on is to practice it and make it a part of our life.”

Added Rajan, “While I have been practicing my art form, I haven’t quite been able to share my work in community as much as I would like to, particularly in the community where I live. I believe this tour would be a first step towards bridging that gap. But more than that, I’m hoping that witnessing the artistic process will inspire (folks) to recognize and embrace the everyday artist within themselves.”

Asked what the tour means to her, Rajan said there are two aspects to her practice as an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary performance artist: the final performance and the process of creating a performance.

“There is a performative quality to this creative process,” Rajan wrote. “While I have had the opportunity to present my performance, it is rare to be able to present the artistic process as a performance. I’m most excited for this opportunity to share a glimpse of my artistic process with the community.”

Tour participants who visit at least five studios and receive codes from each will be entered in a raffle for a chance to win a $500 gift certificate that can be used at an independent art/music supply store of their choice. The certificate can be used to buy materials needed to make art, including instruments, textiles, or other supplies.

The winner can make their case for what “materials” means, said Ali Marcus, who has helped organize and promote the tour, and is one of the jurists who selected the artists. Marcus also owns Happy Time Studio in Issaquah and is a songwriter and musician. 

When Marcus announced plans for the tour in April and put out a call for artists to apply, she cited her inspiration for the event. 

“I just think the timing is right to try to build a network for not just people who make art, but people who want to make art and they don’t know kind of who else does it or where to go, (and) for people who appreciate art, want to buy local art, want to get to know the local art market in ways kind of beyond what exists, which is sort of vendor-based market craft fairs, holiday-related things,” Marcus said. “And so I’m just trying to sort of play my part in what I can do to help support the work behind making art, and I think opening up a studio to see how it’s made and meet the artist on their home turf is one of the most powerful things that can happen for people who want to make art or engage with art — and so that’s kind of the purpose behind it.”