Forty-one local artists will open their studios for the Kirkland Art Studio Tour (KAST) during Mother’s Day weekend, May 11-12, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Among them will be three Redmond residents: printmaker and mixed media artist Kathy Bennett, ceramic artist Elaine Moore and printmaker E. Valentine DeWald II.
This is Bennett’s first year being featured in KAST. After attending the event for years and collecting local artwork, Bennett is ready to take the spotlight as part of the tour. Bennett has always been involved with creating art through various methods but recently discovered her niche about a year ago in printmaking.
“For me, it’s about feeling that connection and letting that express through the print,” she says.
Many times, Bennett does not have concrete plans for her designs — she simply allows the process to speak for itself. Using bright colors and shapes, she creates her abstract pieces with materials such as rubber bands, string, cut paper and more. Bennett will display nearly 100 prints in various sizes and formats at KAST.
Moore (left) will display many of her ceramic pieces. She does not use the wheel, but rather builds all of her pieces by hand. Moore enjoys designing and molding garden art. One product in particular is the “Slug Pub,” a colorful item designed for gardeners to capture slugs. The medium-sized dish is topped with a lid painted like a leaf with a ceramic slug on top. The gardener pours beer into the dish, which attracts slugs through holes on the side — to their ultimate demise.
Moore has been participating at KAST for several years.
“I really enjoy the whole process I’m doing. I’m in my element,” she says with a twinkle in her eye.
DeWald II (below) graduated from the University of South Dakota with a double major in photography and painting. In 2007, he discovered mezzotint printmaking and became intrigued with the process. This form of printmaking began in the 1650s and is mainly popular in Europe.
The process of mezzotint is tedious and time-consuming. Using tools such as a rocker and scraper, DeWald II engraves realist images into a metal plate. With patience and determination, he believes that any image can be created using the mezzotint form of printmaking.
After doing this event for a few years, DeWald II is looking forward to interacting with the community.
“I hang up my prints and talk to people about how exciting printmaking can be,” he says.
Bennett, Moore and DeWald II all agree the open studio concept is a different way to experience the artwork and witness the artists’ process. Moore notes that one feels the energy of the environment when watching the different artists demoing their methods.
“Everybody’s studios are so different, but it’s really an intimate feeling to be in someone’s working space,” Bennett says.
For more information, visit the event’s website at www.kirklandartiststudiotour.com.
Meredith Barrett is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.
