Artist Profiles

Roger Cocke & Helen Lueken | Mona Flatray

Art by the Bay Featured Artists:
Roger Cocke and Helen Lueken

Camano Island resident Roger Cocke (pronounced "coke") began his ceramics career studying with Susan Peterson at the University of Southern California in the early 60's where he earned a solid education in the basics of pottery making. He also studied at what is now the California Institute of the Arts, as well as Pasadena City College. Outside of ceramics, Roger pursued a very successful thirty-five year career in architecture, in which he co-founded and was president of The Cocke & Gonzalez Partnership, an award winning architectural design firm in Pasadena CA. In 1995, Roger re-entered the ceramic arts, and the next year was offered a position as an instructor at the Foothill Creative Arts Group in Sierra Madre, CA where he taught until 2001. From 1995 to 2001 he maintained a studio in Pasadena and exhibited and sold pottery throughout Southern California. Currently, Roger operates Camano Island Pottery out of his home on the island. Roger's ceramic urn (shown to the right) won the internal competition sponsored by the Stanwood-Camano Arts Guild as a memorial to the late Mona Flatray, one of the founders of the Guild. Roger’s extensive list of shows and exhibitions includes two years showing at Art by the Bay.

Arlington’s Helen Lueken is on a roll. Her painting, “High and Dry,” (shown below) was selected as the poster image for Art by the Bay 2004. Plus, Helen’s painting of a vase full of tulips was chosen as the featured postcard image for this year’s “Art in a Pickle Barn,” a Skagit Valley tradition. Helen has been painting for over four decades. She paints in a representational style using oils and watercolors, and has won numerous awards. She is a member of the Stanwood-Camano Arts Guild, the Northwest Watercolor Society, and The Skagit Art Association. Having studied under Carol Orr, Teresa Saia, Ned Mueller and Eric Wiegardt, Helen is herself a teacher. Helen's Southwest upbringing and Latin heritage are reflected in her work through the rich use of color. She has lived in the Pacific Northwest for twenty years and exhibits that influence in her work, especially her plein air painting. Helen’s work will be on display at this year’s Art by the Bay, In addition, a framed print of her winning poster art will be raffled off at the event.

In Memory of Guild Co-Founder
Mona Flatray

In a friendly competition held by the members of The Stanwood-Camano Arts Guild, a stately ceramic jar created by Camano Island potter Roger Cocke won the purchase award. The competition, which is the first of its kind ever held by The Arts Guild, was created to select a piece of Guild member artwork for purchase by The Arts Guild as a memorial to the late Mona Flatray. The competition was open to all media. The winning piece will be on display at the new Stanwood Senior Center annex starting in June. In addition, entries by the winner and all five finalists will be on display at the Guild-sponsored festival, Art by the Bay, on July 17 & 18.

Mona Flatray was a founding member of The Arts Guild some 17 years ago. A tireless champion of art and the art community, she held the position of president (and other offices) numerous times. A highly successful clay artist, Mona was a patient, supportive teacher. She was unfailingly positive, being generous with her personal techniques and extremely inventive and resourceful at solving problems. Her work has been in many juried shows, often earning awards as well as shown in numerous galleries.

The five finalists in the Mona Flatray Memorial competition entries are listed below.