Ten artists will be celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Freeland Art Studios this Saturday in an event open to the public.

Visitors to the 7,000-square-foot collaborative studio space will be able to watch the artists in action and see what they have been working on since the pandemic began. Last year’s open house event at the studios was cancelled.

Freeland Art Studios initially began a decade ago with one-third of the space and only three artists: Lloyd Whannell, Woody Morris and Sue Taves.

Taves explained that over time artists have come and gone as the space expanded. The newest faces at the studios are Charles LaFond, who specializes in pottery, and Gail Liston, who paints.

Artists from Greenbank to Clinton are represented at Freeland Art Studios.

“It’s a great mix,” Taves said.

Working with other artists nearby, she said, allows them to have access to each other’s expertise and opinions, along with an extra pair of hands to help lift things. About half of the artists work with stone.

“Creating art can be really isolating, but when you work in a cooperative studio you don’t have to worry about that so much,” she said.

Other artists include Penelope Crittenden, Carol Rose Dean, Ben Medford, Matt Monforte and Lane Tompkins.

The open house runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday, June 5 and is located at 1660 Roberta Avenue in Freeland. The open space will allow for plenty of social distancing.

Most of the artists will be at Freeland Art Studios for the event and will have completed art for sale as well as new works in process.

“It’s great for people who want to see the process and work in progress,” Taves said.

Although the event only happens once a year, many of the artists are also part of the Whidbey Art Trail, a self-guided studio tour which runs year-round.

Freeland Art Studios will also be participating in the one-weekend Open Studio Tour event in August.

Artist Woody Morris works on the lettering of a stone memorial.