The Edmonds Arts Festival Gallery Arts Co-Directors Janet Jensen and Cheryl Waale announced the jurors who are selecting art for the 2026 art exhibits in the Frances Anderson Center during this year’s Festival, June 19-21. The jurors will also award $12,000 in prizes prior to the Festival.
This year’s jurors are:
- Ron Stocke, Paintings and Drawings
- Judith Heim, Mixed-Media 2D, Printmaking, Miniatures, and Small Paintings
- Arnie Lund, Photography, and Digital Art
- Arunas Oslapas, Artisan Works, Sculpture, and Small Artisan Works
“Outstanding jurors are essential to the success of the Gallery Arts portion of the Festival, Jensen said. “We rely on their combined expertise in selecting the best local art from the more than a thousand entries we receive.”
According to Waale, the Festival’s Gallery Arts has a high standard to maintain that is 69 years in the making. “People who annually come to see and purchase the art consistently praise the quality of our three galleries: the Main Gallery, the Small Works Marketplace, and Photography and Digital Art Gallery.”
More About the Jurors
Ron Stocke is an award-winning watercolor artist, whose work is characterized by confidently connected shapes, pristine color, and bold value contrasts. He believes that the watercolor medium is honest, challenging and always new. This attitude has made Stocke a sought-after instructor, teaching workshops in North America and Europe. He is the author of En Plein Air, and holds Signature Memberships in the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, and Northwest Watercolor Society. He has been an American Ambassador for M. Graham Watercolors for more than 20 years. Learn more about Stocke at www.ronstocke.com.
Judith Heim describes herself as an interdisciplinary artist creating mixed media fine art. She was trained as a designer in the language of line, shape and dimension. As a fine artist, visual spontaneity and narrative are important to her. She is represented by Matzke Fine Art Gallery and Sculpture Park on Camano Island, as well as by two downtown Seattle galleries—Lynn Hanson Gallery in Pioneer Square and the Women Painters of Washington Gallery, where she served as president for four years. Learn more about Helm at www.judithheim.com.
Arnie Lund, a native to the Richmond Beach area, says that he fell in love with nature while hiking and sketching in the Cascades. His passion for photography began in the darkroom of Shoreline High School where images came alive. Prior to focusing on his art photography business, he was a professor of interactive media design at University of Washington. Currently, he is the president and executive director of the Edmonds Historical Museum and Society. His award-winning photographs have been shown in exhibitions through the Seattle area. Learn more about Lund at arnielund.com.
Arunas Oslapas taught industrial design at Western Washington University for 33 years and spent summers weaving metal baskets and creating metal quilts for his Red Rivet Studios art business. He says that his number one criterion for art is “does it move me? Does it resonate with my heart and soul? Secondly, I look for creative creative expression that treats a subject in a new way that makes me look twice.” Prior to teaching, Oslapas designed office furniture for Haworth, a Chicago-based architectural firm. Learn more about Oslapas at www.redrivetstudios.net.
The Edmonds Arts Festival is one of the longest running art festivals in the Northwest, drawing an estimated 30,000 visitors each year to see the 400 plus artists showcased by Gallery Arts. New artists and long-time artists alike can enter their art for consideration at www.edmondsartsfestival.com.
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