Voice Of Vashon

Liz Shepherd is an award-winning reporter and editor for The Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber, currently working part-time on the paper. Her work as an arts reporter includes interviewing Island creatives, but in this interview, we turn the table and talk with Liz about her creative life and her views about creative living on Vashon. Liz has won 26 awards […]

Nancy Wing and Ray Pfortner are a dynamic husband-and-wife creative team who have dedicated their lives to making original art while fostering each other’s creative pursuits. Ray is an accomplished photographer, and Nancy is a product photo stylist who ensures that every detail of a shoot is picture-perfect. Together, they exemplify a partnership where mutual respect and […]

Cate O’Kane and Chris Boscia, activist actors, are collaborating with Peter Serko on Vashon World AIDS Day, taking place the weekend of December 7th and 8th. In our conversation, they share their commitment to activism, the importance of addressing AIDS, and how the arts can serve as a powerful tool for social change. As part of […]

Gale Lurie is an accomplished potter, celebrated for her mastery of the Raku tradition—a dynamic and demanding art form that thrives on embracing uncertainty. Currently serving as the President of VIVA (Vashon Island Visual Artists), Gale has been a vital force in fostering artistic community and collaboration on the island. Her inspiring journey from schoolteacher to artist […]

Peter Serko is an activist artist and founder of Vashon World AIDS Day, scheduled on the Island for December 7th and 8th. The event was created to keep alive awareness of the AIDS epidemic—both its history and its ongoing impact. As a writer, photographer, and creator of the David Serko Project, Peter honors the early AIDS epidemic’s history and the legacy […]

Cathy Sarkowsky is a Vashon-based painter and printmaker whose expressive, non-representational work has been exhibited widely across the Northwest over her thirty-year career. Her art explores the balance between control and spontaneity, blending vibrant color and rich textures inspired by nature and personal experiences. Cathy holds a BA from Pomona College and MA degrees from both Antioch […]

Meet Jane Howard, known to many on Vashon as “Island Jane.” With a lifelong love for nature, Jane has worn many hats: naturalist, teacher, traveler, tour leader, entrepreneur, and artist. In 2018, her Hawaiian home was lost beneath 40 feet of lava during the Kilauea eruption. This profound experience called Jane to rebuild her life […]

Annie Brulé has been creating since she got her artistic start as a student on Vashon Island three decades ago—and never stopped. We talk about her awe-filled approach to art, nature—and motherhood. Today, Annie’s plate is full as a naturalist illustrator for books, an educator, and the co-founder of the publishing and arts company Chatwin Books, established in 2014, where […]

On October 29th, at 7 pm, the Vashon Theatre will screen the award-winning documentary My Childhood, My Country: Twenty Years in Afghanistan by British director/producer Phil Grabsky—followed by a Q and A. In this first episode of a two-part interview, Phil speaks about the state of independent documentaries and the challenges of following the life of a boy and […]

On October 29th, at 7:30 pm, the Vashon Theatre will screen the award-winning documentary My Childhood, My Country: Twenty Years in Afghanistan by British director/producer Phil Grabsky—followed by a Q and A. In this first episode of a two-part interview, Phil speaks about the state of independent documentaries and the challenges of following the life of a boy and […]