10 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
CLOSE TO
THE ART
JAMES REYLAND ANDERSON PHOTO
Robert Paulmenn paints en plein air at the Astoria Column.
Peak inside local artists’
studios during the
Astoria Open Studios
Tour on July 28-29
By MARIANNE MONSON
FOR COAST WEEKEND
S
arah Bolerjack leans over the copper plate,
wielding a dental tool as an etching instru-
ment, as she carves a design into place line
by line. On the metal canvas before her, a girl
reaches up to grasp the limb of a sinuous tree,
whose leaves dissolve into stars stretched across
a night sky. The moon, large and luminous, rises
in the background.
Bolerjack is one of 50 local artists participat-
ing in the eighth annual Open Studios Tour, held
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 28
and 29, in 28 locations throughout the Astoria
area, from Lewis and Clark to Svensen.
Finished artwork hanging on the wall of a
gallery often seems intimidating and impossible
to fashion step by step. Astoria’s Open Studios
Tour allows art students, patrons and aficionados
to go behind the scenes with real working artists
for a more intimate look at the messy and imper-
fect steps involved in bringing a masterpiece to
life, line by line, piece by piece.
The tour is free, self-guided and open to all
ages. A map with the complete list of locations
can be found online or in galleries and coffee
shops in the Astoria area.
Bolerjack will be working on Glasgow
Avenue, not far from woodblock print artist
Karina Andrews and oil painter Roger Hayes on
Astoria’s south slope. Christine Trexel will be
demonstrating her techniques in handmade paper
and book art up on the hill.
COLIN MURPHEY PHOTO
Sarah Bolerjack prepares to take a look at a freshly
pressed print in her studio.