Artisan Connections
Explore and experience thriving maker and art scenes shaping the Northwest’s cultural landscape
Written by Cathy Carroll
Live music takes the stage at Britt Festival Pavilion. photo: courtesy The Britt Music Arts Festival, Orchestra with Bruce Campbell, Jay Newman
The Northwest’s artistic identity, bold, experimental and independent yet collaborative, has given rise to thriving creative communities that are innovative while preserving heritage craft techniques. Experiencing a destination’s art and craft offers a window into its soul, and new spaces are emerging where visitors can engage with local artists and artisans, immersing themselves in the cultural fabric and gaining insight into history and traditions.
Studios, galleries and workshops once hidden from view now invite participation, allowing visitors to witness the creative process and learn from makers inspired by the region’s beauty and heritage.
Exploring maker culture transforms any trip, deepening the connection to place through its creative heartbeat. From hands-on Native American craft workshops to diverse markets, here are ways to pull back the veil on local creative culture.
Surel’s Place photo: Surel’s Place
The Common Well photo: The Common Well
Boise & Garden City
The Common Well
Head to The Common Well, in an old factory in Garden City, in the Boise metro area, to discover the locus of artists and entrepreneurs who share space, collaborate, network and play. Cofounder Katherine Shaughnessy (pictured above), a fine artist and entrepreneur with a master’s of fine arts from The Art Institute of Chicago, is one of several artists with a full-time studio there. Her mediums range from drawing and painting to sculpture and video, examining human-versus-nature issues, from global warming to migration.
Working alongside other artists and entrepreneurs is productive and fruitful as we share ideas, give critical feedback, network and collaborate,” she said. “We have created a dynamic yet casual working environment with a contemporary gallery.” Wander through the building to take in or buy works at the gallery, see artists at work, shop at Big Moon Barter, lounge in the common space or work remotely. See thecommonwellboise.com
Surel’s Place
This integral part of Idaho’s art community offers free or low-cost events each month, including workshops, readings, performances and exhibits. Artists-in-residence from around the United States and abroad range from emerging to established, and all are professional, working artists eager to share their work and processes with the public. They include painters, new-genre artists, sculptors, choreographers, writers and composers.
The space, formerly the home of artist Surel Lee Mitchell (pictured above), anchors Garden City’s Surel L. Mitchell Live-Work-Create District on the Boise River, which buzzes with artists, artisans and creative, artisanal businesses. They stay open into the evening each month for First Friday Art and Studio Stroll, when artist studios, restaurants and businesses feature art events. See surelsplace.org.
Portland
WildCraft Studio
The creative programming at WildCraft Studio focuses on craft, textiles, studio art, Native art and nature-based workshops at two studios in Portland as well as on farms, beaches and in forests. The aim is to awaken creativity and deepen an understanding of place through hands-on experiences, from carving wood, drawing and painting to making colorful tufted rugs, cozy felted wool slippers, ceramics and Native American baskets and jewelry.
Artist Brigette Scott-McConville (pictured) of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs shares basketry, beading and cattail weaving skills which she’s learned from elders, especially her grandmother. “I think it’s important to share our culture in a way that represents our people,” she said. “It also is an educational tool to bridge that gap between natives and non-natives.”
She’d received backlash from some tribal members who didn’t want her to share their traditional skills with non-natives, but Scott-McConville, a tribal cultural anthropologist with a master’s in archaeology, asserted its importance. “We all live in this world together and need to be good stewards to the land, to the people, to yourself.”
The act of making beautiful and functional objects by hand also carries holistic, therapeutic benefits, she said. “It’s also a blessing to get back down to earth and just be more one with nature, slowing down and not so fast in life.”
Scott-McConville also owns Salmon King Fisheries, a store in Warm Springs, where she welcomes groups of up to six for Bead and Breakfast, Weave and Breakfast and other experiences in which visitors sip good coffee and tea and savor her culinary creations—homemade biscuits, huckleberry jam, smoked salmon, charcuterie—while doing native crafts. See wildcraftstudioschool.com, salmonkingfisheries.com.
Saturday Market
This outdoor market of local artisans’ handmade products is the largest one of its kind in the United States, operating for the past 50 years. It happens every Saturday and Sunday from March through December at Waterfront Park and Ankeny Plaza in Portland’s historic Old Town. From intricate mosaic jewelry, hand-stitched adventure hip-packs, henna body art and hand-bound leather journals to goat milk soap, clothes, surreal art and home decor, the hands that sell every item are the ones that made it. Frequently those hands are in action, plying their craft right at their booths, too. See portlandsaturdaymarket.com.
WildCraft Studio photo: courtesy of WildCraft Studio School
Portland Saturday Market photo: Marcus Adams
Courtesy of Visit Central Oregon photo: Gritchelle Fallesgon
Bend
The Workhouse
A range of makers, crafting everything from metal works and home decor to fine art, express themselves within its old brick walls. The open, active work studios, a community work table and creative arts classes foster exchange between makers and aim to leverage the power of creativity to build a stronger community and sustainable economy.
A monthly Last Saturday Art Walk encompasses neighboring eclectic shops within the Old Iron Works artist district, with vintage clothing, furniture, home decor and Mud Lake ceramics studio. The area is home to 15 artist spaces and more than 30 cubby spaces for community members. Expect pop-ups, workshops, music, coffee, treats and fun. See theworkhousebend.com.