Vashon’s venerable Spring Studio Tour has a new twist this year. In addition to
the many artist studios open to the public the first two weekends in May, a number of
private homes will be opened up for a special add-on tour showcasing the work in situ of
Vashon’s tile artists (makers, designers, installers). What better way to appreciate tile are
than to view it in place in real bathrooms, kitchens, floors, and gardens.
The Tile Tour takes place only the first weekend of the Studio Tour, May 2 and 3 and it requires a purchased ticket for entry. Five homes are on the ticketed tour but two “bonus” houses are open free to all. Tilemakers Cory Winn and Irene Otis will have open studios both weekends but during the Tile Tour weekend they will also open other parts of their homes. Many islanders are familiar with their work and work spaces from previous Studio Tours, but how many have seen the tiled fire wall behind the woodstove in Cory’s kitchen or arched tiled ceiling in her elegant period bathroom? And how many have seen what Irene is capable of when she lets loose and goes for broke with her indescribable fireplace? Gaudi would be proud!
“The bonus houses are teasers.” says Nadine Edelstein, spokesperson for the Vashon Tile Guild, the group behind the Tile Tour. “We hope that people who see the bonus houses will be intrigued enough to buy a ticket on the spot and go on to visit all of the homes on the Tile Tour.”
Have you wondered what tile artists install in their own homes and gardens? This is the opportunity to find out. In addition to the bonus houses, three of the five houses on the tour are the homes of tile artists.
The home of Ron Simons and Mary Lynn Buss has her signature tiles installed all around the house and garden. Her iris backsplash in the kitchen required 48 hand carved molds to produce a non-repeating pattern. Her “Poodha Memorial Wall” in the garden is a work in continuous progress. “When I die, I’m going to leave the wall to VIPP”, Mary Lynn laughs, “and they can put memorial tiles commemorating beloved pets on the wall for a fee as a fund raiser.” Mary Lynn is also something of a tile collector and display shelves of her historic and contemporary tiles encircle the walls of her studio.
Clare Dohna’s very colorful and whimsical tile work is familiar to many of you. You may be lucky and have one of her amazing birdbaths or tile or mosaic pieces or you may have seen one of the many articles about her in Sunset magazine and the Seattle Times. Clare and her husband Eric’s house and garden are ablaze with color from the deer mosaic and snake path in the garden to the greeting lady at the front door through into the hallways, kitchen and bath. Prepare to be awed.
Steve Roache is the owner of Aruba Tileworks and Pottery located in the Beall Greenhouse complex. His Aruba tiles are a modern take on the complex interlocking Islamic tiles of North Africa and Spain. Steve is a master of glaze mixing and the combination of his glazes and his handmade patterned tiles is unmatched in beauty and complexity. The other major side of Steve’s tile career has been his intense involvement with public works projects which all started with the production and installation of 14,000 tiles in the Peace Garden in Tajikistan as Seattle’s gift to its’ sister city. Steve and his wife Renee Marceau have tiled many spaces in their home in the Vashon Cohousing Community.
The other two homes on the tour are the homes of Matt and Becky Bergman and the gardens of Stephen and Cindy Stockett. The Stockett’s garden has previously been in the Vashon Garden Tour and has been recently featured in the Pacific Northwest Magazine of The Seattle Times. Stephen and Cindy enlisted tile artist David Blad to create extensive stone garden beds, fountains and pathways for their fantastic landscape. With a new kiln, David is fired up and will also be displaying his new handmade and hand painted tiles, many inspired by his travels down under.
Matt and Becky Bergman’s home on Maury Island is modern and light-filled. They were intrigued by Nadine Edelstein’s use of slate as a mosaic medium and commissioned her to create an entryway medallion that would appropriately welcome their guests. Nadine created a large mosaic made entirely of cut strips of slate that is so interesting to look at that it is hard to actually make it into the house.