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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

West Spokane artists’ studio tour set for

jlarue99@hotmail.com

On Saturday, during the sixth annual Slightly West of Spokane Artists Studio Tour, more than a dozen artists will be hoping that Small Business Saturday is catching on, since you can’t get much smaller than an artist’s studio.

This year there are seven stops on the self-guided tour, where visitors will be welcomed into converted barns and garages to learn about different mediums and visit with artists. The painters, photographers and sculptors are in the Medical Lake and Cheney area; small towns just a stone’s throw from Spokane.

One of the participating artists, wood turner Lowell Simonsen, enjoys small-town living. A resident of Cheney, he will soon be retiring from his job at Eastern Washington University’s bookstore and moving into a rustic A-frame home on 40 acres in Ione, Idaho.

“We’ll have to go to town for Internet service,” he said, but he doesn’t mind. His hobbies include enjoying the scenery, taking photographs and wood turning, something he began doing when he received a lathe as a gift 20 years ago.

He has created more than a thousand pieces, each one signed and dated. In his artist statement, he writes, “I discovered that I could take a tree branch and visualize the bowl, vase, or art piece that is within, just waiting for the lathe to turn away the excess wood surrounding it. I use nature’s unique markings, what some would call flaws, as artistic elements to create exquisite pieces that are typical of my work. Simply put, the wood speaks to me.” He has a 20-foot U-Haul filled with drying wood.

Simonsen grew up in Southern Idaho where he was inspired by his father, a craftsman and painter whose hands were never idle. A self-proclaimed jack-of-all-trades, Simonsen has delivered and designed flower arrangements, worked in a church furniture plant and a cedar mill, and took care of a cemetery in Bonners Ferry for 18 years.

“Working there, I saw so many people who waited too long,” he said. “There’s no better time than the present to do what you love.”

Simonsen has followed a meandering path, learning along the way, accepting challenges, enjoying life and conversing with nature.

This is Simonsen’s third year participating in the Slightly West of Spokane artists’ tour. He is at stop No. 5 on the map, Janet Wilbanks’ studio. Wilbanks is one of the founders of the event and will be offering large and miniature paintings and greeting cards alongside Simonsen’s turned-wood pieces.

“This event has really brought artists in the area together,” Wilbanks said. “Participants and visitors really look forward to it. Oh, and our refreshments are good, too; by the time you’ve hit every stop, you’ll be full.”