Art tour gives a glimpse into creative minds

Studios opened to public during two-day tour

Susan Schell

of the Gateway

The open studio art tour last weekend in Gig Harbor, Fox Island and the Key Peninsula was a study in variety.

The artists who opened their homes to the public offered a unique blend of experience, talent and longevity to visitors who not only had a chance to see and purchase the artists’ work, they got to catch a glimpse inside creative minds.

Artists on the tour shared their stories about how their work was generated, where they gleaned their inspiration and the patience, plus materials and space needed to create the product.

“It’s kind of like a garden tour, except with art,” painter Sharon Carr said. “It gives people a chance to come through and get to know things.”

“People we’ve seen who said they’ve been on other art tours said this was the friendliest tour,” glass sculptor Doug Fillbach said.

Fillbach’s Raft Island studio houses creations backed by 30 years of experience. Fillbach designs fine art glass and metal for homes, commercial entities and corporate environments. His work has been featured in magazines such as “Luxury Homes,” “Showboats International” and “Professional Builder.”

Fillbach said his designs are derived from a mixture of his clients and their personality and tastes.

“We go through a portfolio and I show them a variety of work,” he said. “Then we look at what’s appropriate for their home and their taste. It all depends on what the space is I’m designing for and what it will be used for. Site-specific artwork needs to be designed like it was meant to be in the space it occupies.”

He described etched glass as “elegant and timeless.”

An etched design in a set of glass doors can totally transform an entryway. Fillbach said the value of an open studio tour is being able to show his work firsthand.

“Glass is something you can’t really capture in a photograph,” he said.

The public was given a chance to see behind-the-scenes wizardry that it takes to fashion some of his designs. Glass sculptures, Fillbach said, also involve engineering work, because giant, heavy pieces of work have to be designed with safety in mind.

“There are structural considerations involving weight,” he said. “There is a certain amount of engineering involved. A lot of it is having the desire to be creative and the mind to follow it through.”

Mixed media artist Arvid Anderson demonstrated how to create “monotypes” while a crowd gathered around his worktable. The artist specializes in strong colors and landscapes.

He blended Southwest sunset colors like brown, orange and yellow with paint on handmade paper and pressed cutout characters like crows and cactus to create a colorful abstract design.

Artist Ron Clark works in porcelain and makes decorative items — much of which have a strong Pacific Rim influence.

“A lot of my work pulls from two different cultures,” he said. “The ancient Chinese used a lot of these bell-shaped designs, but my work has expanded to the Yucatan.”

Clark uses molten metal glazes and likes to experiment with glazes that mimic the natural discoloration that metals like bronze and copper experience over time.

“I try to see how bronze ages,” he said. “The glaze can age the same way, but how it discolors depends on the thickness and the specific properties of the glaze. It’s a celebration of what happens to metallic glazes over time.”

Reach reporter Susan Schell at 253-853-9240 or by e-mail at susan.schell@gateline.com.