Eleven years ago the building where I had my studio—me and about a hundred other artists—was condemned for a highway tunnel. This caused a lot of media hysteria rife with stereotypes of starving, flaky artists; however, for me it led to a hasty construction project, a beautiful studio in a new artists’ community called ’57 Biscayne, a lot of thinking about that myth of the artist and a Ted talk about same, and, eventually, to co-ownership of the Good Arts Building, creating stability and permanence for myself and other artists.

Last year we intended to celebrate the tenth anniversary of ’57 Biscayne, but the pesky Delta variant got in the way & we had to cancel. But this year we’re taking it to ELEVEN for our eleventh. Next Thursday, October 6, my neighbors and I will host our first public open studio event in three years. And boy am I ready. It will be a big party, 5-9 PM with live music and an exhibit of work by resident artists and a whole bunch of the guest artists who have been part of the community. Other building tenants will also be open to celebrate our recent partnership with Historic Seattle.

I’m now in the midst of the familiar frantic rush to turn a messy work space into something presentable and guest-worthy. Since I’ve completely changed my medium in the past three years there is a lot more stuff to pack into corners. But I’m trying to enjoy the process, and really take the time to tell the story of the changes in my work over the past two years, and where I want to go next, with what I hang on the walls. I’m really looking forward to seeing a lot of old friends.

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