HeART Fest 2025

February 8th - Lacamas Lake Lodge, 10am-5pm

227 NE Lake Rd, Camas, WA

Artisans’ Guild of Camas to Host 2nd Annual HeART Fest Fine Art Market in Time for Valentine’s Day 

The Artisans’ Guild of Camas (AGC) is delighted to announce its 2nd annual HeART Fest Fine Art Market, scheduled for Saturday, February 8, 2025, at the scenic Lacamas Lake Lodge, located at 227 NE Lake Road, Camas WA. The event will run from 10 am to 5 pm. 

Following the very successful inauguration of HeART Fest in 2024, the Artisans' Guild of Camas is once again excited to showcase the creativity and diverse array of artistic expressions of our local guild members. Shoppers and art enthusiasts attending the event will be delighted by a curated selection of glass, textiles, jewelry, acrylics, ceramics, multimedia art, and photography. HeART Fest is the perfect place to find that unique gift for Valentine's Day. 

"This is a rare opportunity for the community to witness the talent of nearly 25 local artists  gathered in one place," said Sandy Moore, of the Artisans’ Guild of Camas. "Our members are excited to share their unique creations and engage  with the community in this vibrant celebration of art." 

The Artisans’ Guild of Camas, established in January 2022, serves as a hub for artists,  artisans, and art enthusiasts in the greater Clark County area. As an unincorporated association or "club," AGC is dedicated to inspiring enthusiasm for the visual arts and crafts through education and exhibition opportunities. 

Don't miss this exceptional event that promises to be a feast for the eyes and a celebration of local artistic talent. Join us at Lacamas Lake Lodge on February 8th from 10 am to 5 pm to explore, appreciate, and support the thriving art community of Camas.

General Meeting - Wednesday January 15, 2025 6-8pm

Happy New Year Camas! Let's Art!

We are so excited to announce guild meetings will now be every third Wednesday of the month, at the Camas Public Library, second floor meeting room. 625 NE 4th Ave, Camas

Join us for a lovely evening of art chat covering upcoming events and a presentation from our featured guest. You don't need to be a member to check out our group - come see what its all about! This month, we're welcoming Tamara Dinius of https://www.womenwineandwords.com/.

Tamara Dinius - Women, Wine, and Words

By Blythe Ayne

It's easy to picture Tammy in a peasant skirt, boots, and blonde hair swinging, as she describes herself in the past when first attending the University of Washington taking art and creative writing classes, given her present youthful demeanor and contagious joie de vivre. 

She was determined, she says, to become an artist and writer. She took life drawing classes, pottery classes, and writing workshops.

Tamara Dinius in the studio

Inspiration

Tammy is inspired by bright, intense, and rich colors, and drawn to the textures of paints, molding paste, sand, and other textured materials, preferring to paint with her fingers. The textures themselves create shadows and highlights, adding dimension to her work.

Words are equally important to her creations. It is meaningful to her when her work is shared and inspires others. She finds inspiration in women who have found success without compromising who they are. She wisely notes, “(Women) often times worry more about being liked than we do about liking what we do.” 

She further observes that in the arts community women with a strong point of view work to quiet their inner critic, and let their creative soul emerge.

Artistic Process

Tamara starts her paintings using graphite, charcoal and water soluble crayons to create script and marks. She then adds watered-down watercolors that cause the colors to run into one another creating shapes and patterns, which she continues for two or three layers.

When the water colors are completely dry she adds acrylic paint and textural mediums, and will, by completion, have as many as 20 layers of marks, watercolors, acrylic paint, and textural mediums in the art piece.

She is fascinated by the mind-body connection during the act of creating. As she works, messages sometimes present themselves as a humorous or meaningful comment which she may embed in the work’s layers.

Artistic Success

When Tammy began to seriously pursue her arts career, her first sayings reflected her new-found freedom. In 2014, she’d launched Women, Wine, and Words – Art that Says Something, soon selling her art across the Pacific Northwest through nine sales reps.

A couple of her favorite and best selling quotes from that time, are:

“She chose freedom and never looked back.” 

“She learned to fly, so she started wearing her wings everywhere she went.” 

Artisans’ Guild of Camas

Tammy joined Artisans’ Guild of Camas in the beginning when Angela Swanson (who sadly passed away in 2023) asked her to serve as treasurer. Deborah Nagano, India Delanda, Tony McCarty, and Angela were among the founding artists.

“The Guild,” Tammy said, “is an incredible resource for everyone, whether you're new to art, an experienced artist, a hobbyist, or someone who simply enjoys being part of an art community. I love how inclusive it is.

“I was fortunate to find financial success early in my art career and genuinely enjoy sharing my knowledge with others, hoping they can also profit from their creativity. Being a part of this community is deeply fulfilling.

“Camas and Washougal have a thriving artisan community with a strong appreciation for the arts, beautifully showcased in the Washougal Studio Artists’ Tours.”

A Note of Levity

Tammy notes that among the things she doesn't like are her toes, while at the same time one of her favorite things is going barefoot. Hmm, artistic conflict … perhaps presenting an opportunity for her inner critic to become contemplative enjoying her lovely toes!

Tammy will be the featured speaker at the Artisans’ Guild of Camas first 2025 meeting:

Wednesday, January 15 at 6:00 pm 

Camas Public Library

625 NE 4th Ave.

Camas, WA

Questions, Comments?

Please drop us a note on our contact page.

Don't miss out

We would love to see you at the first meeting of the year January 15th. Don't miss out on the fun of this local inspiring group of artists.

November General Meeting 11/19/24

Join us for an evening of fun, whether or not you're a member. If you are thinking about becoming a member, we encourage you to attend a meeting to see what we're all about.

It is with great pleasure we welcome Shirley Bishop this November for a presentation of her work:

Shirley Bishop Studio 13 Glass Art presentation

Shirley's fascination with glass began at a very young age. In high school she took stained glass as a senior year elective. Life took over and didn't really take center stage until 2013 when she discovered the art of glass fusing.

What started as a hobby soon evolved into a passionate pursuit, leading Shirley to establish a small business that now occupies all her time in retirement. Started in a corner of her husband's shop, once they moved to their forever home, it now has pride of place, and this is where she grew her love of glass. She now has both a schedule of classes and new glass pieces that are showing in the new Red Door Gallery in downtown Camas.

https://www.studio13glassart.com/

We hope you'll join us at the usual time and place for this month's meeting!

Camas Library 2nd Floor, Tuesday November 19 from 6-8pm.