Guest Column: San Juan Islands’ Style?

By Teddy Deane

Calling all artists! And by that I mean ALL artistic disciplines, from textiles to text-tiles. We have a lot of artists here in San Juan County. I have no statistics, but I seem to run into visual artists, actors, musicians, dancers, authors and people doing artistic projects at every turn. I would venture to say that the proportion of people engaged in artistic activities is greater here than most counties.What is there about this place that we live that inspires us to create here and what is it that makes our art unique? Or is it?

For me, our islands are a gorgeous place where one can enjoy life to its fullest every day. Life here is community-based, but full of individualism – and amazingly it is mostly without the stress that is so prevalent on the mainland (even if I always have way too many things to do and too many events to attend). As a songwriter/ musician I find it conducive to composing, writing and playing.

I know that there is something about where I live that colors my style, my outlook, my philosophy. I reflect my surroundings, as we all do, and I wonder if in some way all county artists are connected by place to something that might be called a “San Juan Islandsʼ Style.”

Perhaps it is also about time; the slower speed at which we travel or just the quiet in which to think and dream. Our level of patience and planning in taking a boat just to get here requires us to slow down.

What effect do the colors we see everyday in the sky, hills, trees, and ever-changing bodies of water, have on our artistic senses and our psyche? Those of us who continue to live here after a good many years, (and still are happy to call it home), have some common perspectives that come from living here.

Iʼd like to know who we are (artistically speaking, of course). Is there an identifiable connecting thread that we can call “San Juans Style”?

If you have any thoughts about this, please e-mail, and even if youʼre not an artist, if youʼve noticed some artistic thread passing through your observations, please share it with us all. info@sjcartscouncil.org

Teddy Deane is President of the San Juan County Arts Council.