Where creativity finds a home: New Oak Harbor atelier fosters community
Published 1:30 am Friday, July 10, 2026
Stepping into the Whidbey Island Atelier feels less like entering a gallery and more like being welcomed into a creative sanctuary. Natural light spills across canvases, paintings line the walls and visitors are invited not only to admire the artwork but to create their own.
Local artists Deborah Brawner and Satya Ma Teasley recently celebrated the ribbon cutting of the working studio and gallery in Oak Harbor, hoping it will become a gathering place for artists and anyone seeking a welcoming creative space.
“There were so many people who came,” Teasley said. “We were so supported and people seemed really enthusiastic about this space and about what we’re doing. And it was just kind of like a love fest.”
The idea grew after the two artists met at the Coupeville Plein Air Festival and later discovered they were neighbors. Conversations about needing more studio space eventually led them to lease a commercial storefront together.
Rather than opening in one of Whidbey Island’s established arts destinations in Langley or Coupeville, they intentionally chose Oak Harbor. The reason, they said, is that they wanted to make art more accessible where they lived.
“I think Oak Harbor might be a little pregnant with sort of a desire, a place. People want someplace to go that’s quiet and safe and loving to just be together without having to sort of even be social,” Teasley said.
The space is intended for more than a gallery. Visitors stop by to admire artwork, chat with the artists or spend time creating during the weekly sketch nights from 4-6 p.m. on Wednesdays, where participants are free to bring any artistic medium. The space provides opportunities for people to paint, crochet or even meditate.
“It’s really a place for people to come who have that artistic heart,” Teasley said. “It’s just a space where we can be together.”
That sense of belonging is central to the Whidbey Island Atelier’s mission.
According to the atelier’s website, the gallery and working studio is where “traditional fine art practice meets contemporary exploration,” featuring original artwork by its two resident artists alongside workshops and community events designed to encourage dialogue and creative discovery.
For Brawner’s oil and cold wax, she swaps a paintbrush for a scraper and paints eight to ten layers onto a canvas, peeling back different parts of the painting to reveal the vibrant colors and textures underneath. Her style ranges from abstract to impressionistic. Some of her work draw inspiration from the Pacific Northwest’s landscapes and coastlines, exploring texture, light and memory.
As a retired U.S. Navy chief who recently returned to Whidbey Island after retirement, Brawner hopes the studio helps make fine art feel more approachable.
“The fine arts community can be intimidating, in a sense, but then you find a place where you can just be yourself,” she said.
Teasley’s oil paintings range from portraits to still-lifes of angels, sages and symbolic figures that reflect universal themes that illuminate “that essential human truth,” she said. Teasley shares her heart through each unique piece, showing the viewer a “transcendent” quality she believes is apparent in everything.
“I know for me, art is an act of love, and thanksgiving, and gratitude,” Teasley said. “It’s still vulnerable to say, I made this, would you have a taste?”
The new atelier is part of the Whidbey Island Art Trail and the Whidbey Island Arts Council.
Open studio hours are from 1-5 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturday. Find the Whidbey Island Atelier at 715 SE Fidalgo Avenue, Oak Harbor.
Learn more at https://whidbeyislandatelier.com.
