Artists in the San Juans

Fine Art may stimulate a conversation about social experiences, it may enhance our awareness of the beauty of the natural world and, at its best, provokes considerations that deepen our appreciation for life. 

Orcas Island has a rich cultural life. The organizations and galleries that help support and promote the Arts engage audiences and artists alike.  Enjoy their online and live galleries and programs activities year round.

Public Art helps define a place and celebrate its characteristics. On Orcas, Public Art may dangle in a tree, line a village stroll, be tucked in a park, or serve as an endearing landmark.

Sharon Ho    Fine art ceramics, printmaking and sculptural forms. Studio in Eastsound: Felt+Cermaics

Mary Jane Elgin    Incised and relief ceramic pieces. Exhibits at Orcas Island Art Works in Olga, Felt+Ceramics in Eastsound.

 Artists may respond to the natural environment, a human experience, or a provocative idea - from BIG thoughts to minute details, as small as the microscopic.

San Juan  is the most populated of the islands and hosts an Art Museum, Theater, Scuplture Garden, multiple galleries, and is home to the San Juan County Arts Council.

 Public Art tells a story, of a place, of a people, to commemorate an event, or can challenge the viewer and tickle our curiosity.

What IS that? Art? What does it mean? 

Kristy Gjeme    Arcylic, oil and watercolor paintings that feature landscapes of the San Juan Islands.

 Maria Michaelson's life sized figurative work is about reaching into her own mythology, and uncovering something that is intrinsic to being alive on this earth. 

 Meet the artists on Lopez working in diverse media. The rural setting, with the sea always nearby, and farms dotting the landscape are all potent images for fertile artistic imagination.

Lopez has a thriving Community Cultural Center, an artists coop going strong for over 25 years,  an Artist Guild, and arts organizations that showcase locally made works. 

The Salish Sea region is home to historic, contemporary and First Nation arts that all influence one another across styles, materials, and cultures. Art speaks!

 Raven Skywalker, born on Lopez, is a reknowned glass artist creating works inspired by marine life, from individual creatures to mural scale undersea imagery, the pieces remind us of the power and majesty of the sea.

Molly Preston paints landscapes of Summers in the San Juans: muted colors, the constantly agitated Salish sea, light at the end of the evergreen tunnel to the beach, crisp dry fields, driftwood thrown like pick-up sticks.