Events

"Postcards from the Coast" runs March 1st to April 30th, 2025 at one of the artist's favorite spots, Blackbird Bakery located at 210 Winslow Way East.

Fifteen percent (15%) of all proceeds from art sales directly support Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Partners (KIAP). KIAP strengthens the lives of Kitsap County immigrants by offering vital resources, legal assistance and community connections all working to help keep our region strong.

Thank you for enjoying and support supporting the visual arts and our community.

Painter and paper marbler Len Eisenhood will exhibit a group of his marbled paper paintings at Jeffrey Moose Gallery on Bainbridge Island for the months of March and April. A reception will be held on First Friday, March 7th from 6 to 8 PM. A Facebook Livestream will be broadcast from approximately 5:20 to 5:40 with the artist providing a walk-through commentary on works in the show. A second reception, with a paper marbeling demo, will happen First Friday, April 4th, 6-8 PM.

While Mr. Eisenhood studied briefly with artist Wayne Thiebaud in college, it was not until his exposure to paper marbling by local legend Don Guyot in 1980 that a fire started to burn and he began art-making seriously. This show consists of acrylic paintings on marbled paper with collage several of which were made as part of Eisenhood’s “Blue Therapy” series, created from Plein Air sessions on Fay Bainbridge Park last fall/winter when the artist and his wife bundled themselves into sleeping bags to sit and work at the frigid waterfront. Others were created last spring and summer at Bloedel Reserve, where Eisenhood did a residency in 2023.

Marbled paper has a long history in both Asia and Europe. In the words of Mr. Eisenhood: “The traditional technique involves the preparation of a gelatinous bath of size onto which water colors, mixed with ox gall, are sprinkled or dropped. A stylus or comb are drawn through the colors until a desired pattern is achieved. Then paper, sprayed with a solution of water and alum salts, is laid on the surface of the bath and carefully drawn off. A thin layer of the gelatinous size will cling to the paper and must be washed off. Because the paper was made mordant with an alum solution the colors adhere, giving a marbled or veined effect."

Mr. Eisenhood was raised in an apple orchard in California, has worked as an orchardist and studied horticulture and international agriculture development at University of California, Davis. His early career was spent in the Peace Corps as both a volunteer and, later, as a trainer. Education became a later career focus and Mr. Eisenhood received a Master’s in Education from the University of Massachusetts in 1972. He has primarily worked as a kindergarten and elementary school instructor since then. In the late 90’s he studied Scientific Illustration in a Certificate program at the University of Washington, where he studied with Tony Angell, Kathy Barker and Chuck Wood. Besides Mr. Guyot, Eisenhood has also studied with well-known paper marbler Pietro Accardi.

Welcome Wednesday

You are welcome here!

Visit our timed ticket page to book your ticket for Welcome Wednesday.

Join us on the first Wednesday of each month for a pay-what-you-wish community day at Bloedel Reserve. All are welcome to explore our trails and gardens and experience the transformative power of nature. No matter the season (or the weather), there’s always something new just around the corner.

We gratefully accept donations of any amount to help support the mission and operations of Bloedel Reserve.

More details:

Timed Tickets are recommended be reserved in advance of your visit
Donations of any amount may be added to your ticket reservation and are invested to support the mission and operations of the Reserve

Each month we will highlight different art styles where kids can explore new techniques and projects to express their creativity.

The Artist’s View: Two Days of Spring Eco Sketching

Join visiting Nature Illustrator, Zebith Thalden for this special immersive opportunity. This two-day spring workshop invites us to become witness to the transformation of a single location over a 6-month period, a small slice of evolution. A second two-day autumn workshop will be offered as well. During the spring session, we will look through our artists’ eyes as leaves unfurl in chartreuse splendor, flowers dot the gardens like gemstones, songs fill the air, and the smallest of creatures emerge to begin their lives.

With sketchbooks and art materials in hand, we will begin with a mindful meander to a peek location within the landscape. We will notice and then study individual species allowing our curiosity to heighten detailed observations of this incredible vernal transformation. With a closer look, we will find the subjects for our artwork begin to emerge from this visual abundance.

Our inspiration for eco sketches will focus on the beauty, anatomy, interactions, challenges, and stage of growth within this intimate landscape. Individual instruction will offer techniques for advancing artistic abilities through creative compositions. The resulting artwork will celebrate and document the seasonal flora, fauna, and environment at this special Reserve, on Bainbridge Island, within the estuary of Puget Sound.

All skill levels are welcome. Spring and Autumn are separate offerings and must be registered for separately. The registration link for the Autumn session will be available later in the year.

Zebith Thalden is a nature illustrator, environmental educator, and author. She encourages a deep engagement with the natural world, courageous creativity, and connection through shared wonderment. She received an MFA from Goddard College and a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her book, The Insect Artist: How to Observe, Draw, and Paint Butterflies, Bees, and More was released in March 2024 (Timber Press). ZebithThalden.com

WHERE

Meet at the Arrival Garden

WHEN

April 3 & 4, Noon – 4:00 PM both days

COST

$265 Members

$305 Non-members (includes admission to the Reserve)

DogEar is BIMA’s festival of all things related to artists’ books and printmaking, and a joyous celebration of our major artist’s books exhibition, Power of the Presses.

This three-day festival will feature:

Presentations by Elizabeth Ajunwa, Mare Blocker, Jenie Gao, and more!
Bushwick Book Club Concert
BIMA's 2nd Edible Book Competition
Letterpress Printing with Amos Kennedy
[BIMA STORE SALE]
Storytime with Mare
Drop-in Art Projects
St. Rita’s Traveling Bookmobile
Black Box Video Room: "What is an Artist's Book?"
Self-serve Typewriter Poetry
Film
Music
AND MORE!

Accompanying Triennial Book Arts Exhibition:

The power of the press is a power considered sacred by many. The printing press is a tool of revolution, long associated with democracy, freedom of speech, and the ability to reach the masses to exchange ideas and ideals. The printed word or image can unite or divide, heal or hurt, educate or misinform. Artists, as adaptive creative agents, have long embraced the printing press. Power of the Presses, the large-scale artists’ books, broadsides, and print exhibition at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA) displays the full creative potency of this hallowed art form. For the duration of the exhibit, a printing press will take center stage and be put to work on-site by visitors and special guests.

The artists in this exhibit speak to us through beautiful imagery, elegant design, and messages that go straight to our hearts. The works in this exhibit speak to concern and care for self and community, teach us about our past, and print a path toward a better future. The strength of these works speaks to our ability to bring people together, and to heal, learn, and grow through art. Highlighted in the Feferman Gallery are Mare Blocker, Eileen Jimenez, Kitty Koppelman, Paige Pettibon, and Seattle non-profit Partners in Print (PiP).

Power of the Presses extends across the entire second floor of BIMA, from the Beacon Gallery at the top of the stairs, across the Feferman Gallery, and into the warm intimacy of the Sherry Grover Gallery. Crossing this vast space with printwork allows for a broad demonstration of how printing — through broadsides, prints, and artists’ books — is changing us and changing the world. Each artist’s work offers us an invitation to community, a choice to engage, a chance to wonder, and to feel uplifted.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Partners in Print
Suquamish Language Program
Bainbridge History Museum
The Bushwick Book Club Seattle
Vera Project

WITH SUPPORT FROM:
BIMA PRISM
COBI (City of Bainbridge Island)
Kitsap County Washington

This April, celebrate springtime with us at Bainbridge Arts & Crafts, where the April exhibition, Gardens & Gadgets, is inspired by the season. Seeds, plants, gloves and tools: You can’t plant a garden without these items...unless, of course, you’re an artist, in which case you reach for paint, ink, clay, or glass to create your unique gardens. Come to BAC this April and experience the beauty and charm of springtime. Featuring artworks by local and regional artists including Erica Applewhite, Dan Barnett, Jeanne Marie Ferraro, Lee Campbell, Liz Gamberg, Katy Gilmore, Diane Haddon, Ernie Hilsenberg, Jan Hurd, Leigh Knowles, Beth Moga, and Chris Witkowski.
Community members are invited to celebrate this exhibition’s opening on First Friday, April 4 from 6–8 p.m. at the gallery.

BAC joins eight other regional galleries in celebrating National Poetry Month by hosting an Ars Poetica exhibition. Ars Poetica invites regional galleries to exhibit art pieces created by their artists in response to poems by local poets.

Now in its 12th year, Ars Poetica was founded by long-time Bainbridge Island poet Nancy Rekow, who passed away in 2023. It is now coordinated by Bainbridge poet Tamarah Rockwood. BAC’s Ars Poetica exhibition is co-sponsored by the Bainbridge Island Poet Laureate Program.

Meet the BAC artists and poets at a reception and poetry reading on: Saturday, April 5, from 2:30 - 4 p.m.  Stop in at JG Art, across the street for its Ars Poetica reception that same day from 1 - 2:30pm.

The Ars Poetica exhibitions run from April 1 - 30. For more information about Ars Poetica, go to: https://www.arspoeticawa.com/

Saxophonist and flutist Mark Lewis has enlivened jazz scenes from Seattle and San Francisco to Rotterdam and Paris, and has created a vast and intensely stimulating body of music over the past four decades, including more than 1,700 compositions. Recent awards include Cadence Magazine Top Ten Critics Poll for 2021 for his album Naked Animals and #2 on alto sax and #3 on flute in the 39th Annual Jazz Station Awards for his album The New York Session, a collaboration with piano legend George Cables, bassist Essiet Essiet, and drummer Victor Lewis.

“A distinctive original” – Paul de Barros

“A Northwest treasure” – Jim Wilke, Jazz Northwest on KNKX, Seattle 

Randy Halberstadt has been a major figure on the Pacific Northwest jazz scene for many years. A multi-dimensional pianist, he has performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and with the Seattle Symphony. He’s the pianist for the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra and first-call accompanist for jazz vocalists. He has performed with Herb Ellis, Terry Gibbs, Buddy de Franco, Bobby Shew, Mel Brown, Jay Clayton, Ernestine Anderson and many others. Randy is a full professor at the prestigious Cornish College of the Arts and teaches annually at the Blaine Jazz Festival and at Jazz Port Townsend.

Clipper Anderson, bassist, has enjoyed a distinguished career as a composer, studio musician, performer, vocalist and educator. He plays at jazz festivals throughout the Unites States and Canada and has appeared on numerous recordings. Clipper has had the pleasure of working with some of the biggest names in contemporary jazz including Michael Brecker, Arturo Sandoval, Tamir Hendleman and Buddy De Franco. Clipper is an annual guest artist at the Buddy DeFranco/University of Montana Jazz Festival and the Blaine Jazz Festival. He is currently on the jazz faculty at Pacific Lutheran University.

Bob Merrihew studied music at North Seattle College and privately with Brian Kirk, Bill Kotick and Otis ‘Candy’ Finch. Since then he has worked in a variety of musical settings including a 7-year run as house drummer at the Pioneer Square Theater for the longest sold out run of a musical in Seattle history, “Angry Housewives” and a European tour with Mark Lewis. Bob was in the original Mark Lewis Quartet and their long association is obvious when you hear them perform together. “plays with such taste and support, never overriding the sound” – Chris Lunn, Ancient Victorys News.

The concert series is proudly presented by the Bainbridge Community Piano Association & First Sundays Concerts, a monthly musical performance series featuring world-class classical and jazz musicians. Bainbridge Community Piano Association is supported in part by True Sound Piano Service, Bainbridge Community Foundation, Umpqua Bank & Amy McFarland, Compass Real Estate.

Concert Format:
Approximately 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes performance with no intermission.

The concert takes place at Waterfront Park Community Center - 370 Brien Drive, Bainbridge Island at 4:00. For more information www.firstsundaysconcerts.org

Dan Myrick, along with SKYMAN lead actors, Michael Seele and Nicole Sweeney, will intro the film and curate a post screening discussion. Joining them will be local UFO expert Michael Brein. SKYMAN is the story of Carl Meriweather who claims to have been visited by a non-human when he was ten. Thirty years later he believes he is being called back for a reunion. Tickets are on-sale now.

Stories, songs, rhymes, and full-body movements designed to build early literacy skills and encourage social and emotional development. Ages 18 months-3 years.

Spring Break is the perfect time for a fun exploration of the wonders of pollinators and how they do it on the Reserve. Led by Certified Teacher and Bloedel Reserve Horticulturist Ann Mackey, parents and caregivers may accompany their child or enjoy a walk on their own while Ann leads this special Next Generation Science Standards aligned nature and science tour for 2nd-4th graders (ages 9-11).

WHERE
Meet at the Arrival Garden

WHEN
April 9, 10:30 – Noon

COST
$15 Members, good for 1 adult and up to 2 children
$20 Non-members, plus the price of 1 adult admission, good for 1 adult and up to 2 children

Stories, songs, rhymes, and full-body movements designed to build early literacy skills and encourage social and emotional development. Ages 3-5 years

Kids get to participate in a building challenge, or let their inner engineer design something straight out of their imagination at the library. All materials provided by the library.

The Island Film Group meets on the second Wednesday of the month to watch a movie followed by an informal discussion.

Join us this month for Rob Reiner’s thrilling adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery--which earned one of its cast an Academy Award.

Misery (1990). R. 107 minutes.

Directed by: Rob Reiner

Starring: Kathy Bates, James Caan

When bestselling author Paul Sheldon crashes his car during a snowstorm, a good Samaritan offers him shelter and turns out to be his worst nightmare.

Take a break from books and computers and try your hand at some old-fashioned games, ranging from board games to tabletop games. Bring your friends or make some new ones! For kids between 7-12 years of age.

Join us April 10th to learn about one of Bainbridge Island's earliest Japanese settlements and its ongoing archaeological research.

With guest speaker Professor Caroline Hartse from Olympic College, an anthropology faculty member in the Social Sciences & Humanities Division. She will be speaking on the Yama site and archaeological dig.

This program is FREE so come and join us for snacks and libations. Space is limited so RSVP today!

For one night only at the Bainbridge Performing Arts Center, Actor and playwright Annie Lareau combines humor and compassion to reflect on her experience surrounding the Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. Meant to be on the flight with 35 Syracuse University classmates, she was left behind in London. Her narrative weaves the lives of young artists with the voices of Lockerbie locals who responded to the tragedy, set against the backdrop of prophetic nightmares and a terrorist plot. Through grief, media scrutiny, and self-punishment, Lareau’s journey becomes a poignant tribute to treasuring relationships in an unpredictable world.

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the world’s largest arts festival, is a beacon for performers, showcasing thousands of shows across genres—from comedy and theater to music and dance. Held every August in Scotland’s capital, it offers unparalleled exposure for artists and the chance to be discovered by critics, agents, and global audiences. The Fringe can be a launchpad for projects and careers as it is known as a hub of artistic innovation.

However, the Fringe comes with steep costs for performers. Venue hire, accommodation during the peak tourist season, travel, and marketing add up to tens of thousands of dollars. The Fuselage team are working to raise $50,000 to support the production.

Written and performed by acclaimed actor and playwright Annie Lareau, Fuselage is a striking blend of humor and compassion that reflects on her own experience surrounding the tragic 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Lareau was meant to be on the flight with 35 of her Syracuse University classmates, friends, and flatmates—but was left behind in London. Her narrative interweaves the lives of young artists with the voices of Lockerbie locals who responded to the tragedy, all set against a chilling backdrop of prophetic nightmares and an unfolding terrorist plot. Through themes of grief, media scrutiny, and self-exploration, Fuselage is ultimately a poignant tribute to the importance of human connection in an unpredictable world.

This exclusive performance is directed by Makaela Milburn and features an exceptional cast, including Annie Lareau, Brenda Joyner, and Peter Dylan O’Connor (grew up on Bainbridge). The production design is crafted by Ahren Buhmann, Peter Dylan O’Connor, and Rob Witmer, bringing the story to life with evocative visuals and soundscapes.

The evening serves not only as a moving theatrical experience but also as an opportunity for audiences to support the show’s journey to Edinburgh Fringe, where it will share this powerful story with international audiences. Join us in helping Fuselage take flight!

Walk with a Horticulturist
Join Andy Moss, Gardens East Manager, to learn about spring favorites on this guided tour.

WHERE
Meet at the Arrival Garden

WHEN
April 11, 10:45 – 11:45AM

COST
$10 Members
$15 Non-members, plus the price of admission

Join us for free admission at the Suquamish Museum the Second Saturday of every month!