STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Tom Clark and Jed McDonald took a day off from gardening at the Ee Da How Ranch to crochet winter beanies made from alpaca and other soft animal fibers.

Lee Higman showed off her new tiny microscope that allows her to tune into the fine points of a tiny violet. And Gordon Webster reminisced about 50 years of creating pottery, beginning in Vancouver, B.C.

These were among 18 Bellevue artists who are opening their studios to the public during the fourth annual Bellevue Artist Alliance Open Studios tour this weekend.

The free tour will continue today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

It gives the public a chance to see artists at work—from EJ Harpham, who crafts beautiful platters and tiles that are turned into giant outdoor murals, to Jack Sept who tools leather for saddles and billfolds in the workshop above his garage.

“I had a lovely couple from Los Angeles stop in who were very interested in the tour and the artists in this area,” said Photographer Kirsten Shultz.

Free tour maps are available at Silver Creek Hotel, Sun Valley Garden Center, Mahoney’s Bar and Grill and on the BAA website at www.bellevueartistalliance.com