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forms of studios, includ-
ing those based in artists’
home and standalone work-
ing studios. Additionally,
the Astoria Studio Collec-
tive will host seven artists
and 12 will be at the Astoria
Art Loft.
Many of the participat-
ing artists also have work
in AVA’s current gallery
show, which opened during
the Second Saturday Art
Walk on July 13. Accord-
ing to Eskelin, the organi-
zation has long wanted to
coordinate an exhibit, and
their physical headquarters
downtown – opened ear-
lier this year – makes that
possible.
Illuminating local
artists
The tour features a
diverse array of established
and emerging visual artists.
Beyond shining a light
on their professional work
and creative process, the
tour also supports them
through professional devel-
opment, networking and
building contacts, Eskelin
said.
For artists Lâm Quảng
and Kestrel Gates, the duo
behind HiiH Lights, partic-
ipating in the event for the
past few years has helped
“keep people aware of us up
there,” Quảng said, refer-
ring to their studio-gallery,
located in a barn on their
countryside property off
Lewis and Clark Road.
Although HiiH Lights’
handmade paper lights
– custom designed and
sculpted by Quảng and
painted by Gates – are fea-
tured at Imogen Gallery, the
tour brings “a good amount
of people out to our place,”
Quảng said, adding, “The
more, the merrier.”
Additionally, he said,
it’s by chance regular visi-
tors get to observe the paper
light-creation process in
various stages, so “the more
time you spend there, the
more you get to see.”
Andrews, who is partic-
ipating for the third year,
also enjoys giving the pub-
lic a glimpse into the slow
and meticulous yet med-
itative procedures and
techniques of woodblock
printing.
“It’s really nice to have
people see the background,
rather than just seeing the
print in the final form,” she
said. “I definitely enjoy
exposing people to the pro-
cess, because it’s not a pro-
cess many people are famil-
iar with.”
‘The courage to fail’
John Wesley Willis, who
paints with oils on panels,
is one of several new addi-
tions to the Astoria tour
this year. Although invit-
ing people into his private
workspace will be a unique
experience, “everything is
unique because this is the
first year that I’ve made art
for a living,” he said.
Willis’ foray into life as
a professional painter was
mobilized by an acute sense
of determination and disci-
pline. Although he painted
a little in his teens and 30s,
it wasn’t until about three
years ago that he commit-
ted to completing 100 paint-
ings in a year. This strategy
helped him overcome a dis-
satisfaction fed by an ini-
tial inability to accurately or
adequately translate a men-
tal image or message into
a finished product, which
commonly poses an obsta-
cle for emerging artists.
“It’s frustrating because
you have a vision, and if
you can’t quite execute it, it
slows you down,” he said.
Setting a lofty goal
forced him to push through
that stage, be experimen-
tal, and discover his visual
language. In Willis’ opin-
ion, people often misper-
ceive or misidentify creative
talent as “a gift that just
arrives one day in a shiny
package.” In reality, he said,
“It’s an area in your life in
which you have the courage
to fail.”
“If you have the courage
to fail, what happens is, you
do a lot of experimenting
and you get better at what-
ever you’re doing,” he said.
Since moving to the area,
he has found ample inspira-
tion in Astoria’s cityscapes,
which capture a pleas-
ing interaction between the
urban and rural, natural ele-
ments and those that are
manmade.
When he paints city-
scapes, his objective is to
instill “a sense of place”
into each rendering, focus-
ing on the essence, rather
than the details.
“I want it to look like
what it feels like to be in this
special place,” he said. CW
J-Redland-Anderson
Artist Sarah Bolerjack painting.
J-Redland-Anderson
Artist Noel Thomas paints near the water.
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Iris Sullivan-Daire
Artist Iris Sullivan-Daire works in her studio.