CAMANO
ARTS
ASSOCIATION
ABOUT
Our Roots
Camano Arts Association, or CAA, began in 1999, as the brainstorm of island artists seeking a venue in which to showcase their work. Decades later, the success of that first art studio tour, has created a mecca of talented fine artists, living and working on the island. On beautiful, bucolic Camano Island, Washington, CAA artists are inspired every day to make art, while also providing arts advocacy, art education, and holding the successful annual art studio tour, drawing thousands of visitors. Welcome!
OUR COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
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ADVOCACY
Helping The Community
At CAA, we are dedicated to efforts in helping our community connect with art. We promote art and art making by engaging with the community through myriad channels including: sponsoring a major, free studio tour each year; placing art in public places; mentoring art students at the local high school; working with other local arts organizations and private for-profit arts businesses; and working with private businesses to create economic opportunities associated with art events. Read more here.
SUPPORT
Reinforcing our Commitment
CAA believes that the Arts are vital to an enriched, healthy life, and a strong community. A major goal of CAA is to fiscally support and strengthen the art community to make it sustainable; thereby ensuring we make a lasting and positive impact on our community. We are proud to promote great opportunities for those in need. With access to the right resources, people can become empowered by their own abilities and gain the confidence to fulfill their potential. Learn more about our work by getting in touch with our team today.
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EDUCATION
One Step at a Time
With our organization’s mission always in mind, we strive on implementing outreach to our community through art education. Education is something that we take seriously, and our team is working each and every day to make a positive impact.
CAA's Scholarship Funds are awarded to graduating senior art students attending colleges and universities, to pursue higher education in art. Read more about our programs here.
A work is finished when an artist realizes his intentions.
Rembrandt
FEATURED ARTIST
Get to Know Our Artists
MARILYN CRANDALL
Watercolor Painter
Marilyn is known for her plein-air ( painting outdoors ) watercolors. She often creates paintings of landscapes and country scenes with free and loose strokes that emphasize strong patterns of light.
The joy in these paintings come not from exact reproduction but from brilliantly capturing the mood of a place. You can't so much imagine yourself in the place as you can imagine how you might feel in the place.
Marilyn is a registered architect and made her career in that field. She has always loved drawing, she says, and was able to just intuitively capture the perspective of scenes even as a young child. But, she didn't think of art or drawing as a career path. Her dad was an engineer working on dam projects across the West, she excelled in math in high school, and entered college thinking she might follow his footsteps. But seeing the drawings at the University of Washington College of Architecture during her first year opened her eyes. She enrolled for architecture classes that year and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Parsons, The New School for Design, in New York City. Read more about Marilyn here
SALLY CHANG
Ceramic Artist
Sally Chang is our second featured artist. “I‘ve always been a maker—30 years ago I began working in ceramics. Since then I’ve earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Idaho, a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Washington, and shaped thousands of pounds of clay.” With this background you might wonder why she chose clay. “Clay is a miracle medium: infinitely malleable, separable, and still cohesive. Humanity has worked with it in a myriad of ways for thousands of years. I am drawn to it because it is simple, earthy, and comes ready to work,” she says.
Sally works with slabs of clay rather than throwing on a wheel. “When first learning to use clay, I was captivated, as are many, by shaping clay on a pottery wheel. It seemed so magical. Magical and messy. When it came time to set up her own studio, she decided that working with slabs of clay “gave her more alternatives and greater freedom.” Read more about Sally here