Inside a small blue tool shed tucked underneath a carport on Central Whidbey hang bits and pieces of an inspiring life: A picture of gulls is pasted next to a doorway; black and white photographs of jazz musicians stack up along a window; and an image of snow-covered berries dances in the light of a corner.

A garden-facing wall holds up a fishing pole; a table stretches above a saxophone; and a collection of Penn Cove moments lies with handwritten labels within the pages of a journal.

The space belongs to Don Wodjenski, a teacher, student, artist and explorer, who will participate for the first time in this year’s Summer Art Studio Tour sponsored by the Pacific NorthWest Art School.

Wodjenski has lived on Whidbey for more than 30 years and his personal and professional life both reflect his eagerness to change and evolve.

He owned and ran a furniture design business for 10 years, served as the director for the Island County Historical Museum for a stint, spent time on a construction crew and currently teaches art for the South Whidbey School District, where he’s been an employee for 17 years.

Wodjenski’s identity as an artist has morphed just as frequently throughout the years.

“I’d be noodling around as a little boy and asking mommy, ‘How do you draw this?’” Wodjenski said. “I owe my start to my mother.”

Though Wodjenski has dabbled in drawing, sculpting, painting, wax pieces and other disciplines, most of his work is done from behind the lens of a camera.

“I’ve been working with photography for years and years, and I’m stretching that as far as I can,” Wodjenski said.

In the beginning, Wodjenski’s focus was on gritty, black-andwhite urban scenes and jazz musicians but he later shifted to the environment and creating a sense of atmosphere.

“I went back to trying to capture the experience of what it was like to be in a place, whether it’s standing by a river or on the edge of the Grand Canyon,” Wodjenski said. “I wanted to capture the environment in a way a simple photograph couldn’t.”

Instead of relying on static images, Wodjenski said he picked up on the idea of post-visioning — deconstructing and reconstructing images into something new, deliberately invoking a certain mood and time.

Wodjenski has done many pieces where he’s literally woven together multiple photographs and created colorful photo montages. Recently he’s applied colored encaustic to laminated images and has suspended them on handmade papers so he can toy with different lighting.

Though he doesn’t limit himself to just one subject matter, Wodjenski said lately he’s been inspired by Northwest flora and fauna. He said he’ll often photograph plants in his own garden, and he’s presently in the middle of a one-year study of Penn Cove.

A sampling of Wodjenski’s wide spectrum of work will be on display and for sale during the studio tour on Saturday and Sunday, July 16 and 17. The tour spans from North to South Whidbey and showcases 28 artists spread among 19 locations. Visitors are invited to drive to each of the studios and speak with the artists and witness their processes.

Wodjenski will be stationed at the Crockett Barn in Coupeville with three painters. He said he encourages people to come out and learn from the artists and purchase some special pieces.

“The thing that makes artists alike is that they all remake the physical world in a way that makes sense to them,” Wodjenski said.

The studios will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. For details and a tour map, visit www.whidbeyworkingartists.com.