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From L.A. to Denison: Randy Carrillo Helps Lead First-Ever West Iowa Art Tour Saturday, April 26th

Here’s your opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at studios of local artists on Saturday, April 26, 2025 from 10am to 4pm. Featuring 11 artists in six different locations, the very first West Iowa Art Tour is taking place from Denison to Carroll, and will allow visitors to not only visit working studios, but also see recent artwork, talk with the artists, and see works in progress. The event is free and open to the public.

Carroll will feature Sasha Backhaus Foley’s home studio, along with Cecelia Comito and Laura Comito in their downtown Artworks Studio. Haley McAndrews will be showing work along with Lee Shiney in his studio in Arcadia at the old Ar-We-Va school, and between Westside and Manning will be Mary Phillips at her farm studio southwest of the Five Mile House. Denison includes Denice Peters’ home studio, plus Randy Carrillo, Luis Guzman Montano, Ted Mallory, and Justin Tedford will all be at Carrillo’s studio upstairs in the Donna Reed Theatre.

The idea for a tour of art studios began in December with Denison artists Haley McAndrews and Randy Carrillo chatting with Lee Shiney at his art show at The Old Fashioned in Denison. They wondered how they might make more connections with other local artists and also better connect with the public. That discussion resulted in their brainstorming a studio tour event.

“This is about sharing the process of creation. Local artists are all around us in their studios working” Shiney said. “and from there they follow different paths. Some are visible with storefronts, some are selling online, some are creating the next body of work for a gallery show, and some enjoy sharing their work with family and friends. The common denominator here is they all are working and communicating in their own ways and it results, I think, in a positive energy that benefits the local community.”

"I'm so excited about this first year, so far we have had a great response!" said McAndrews. "We have so many artists in our area, so why not get together for a studio tour to showcase and share, and let the public know about our talented community members!"

Plan your tour visits with the group’s website at westiaart.com. There you will find descriptions of all the artists, links to their own websites, examples of their work, along with printable and interactive maps to all the locations.

Lee Shiney is a transplant from Wichita, Kansas and a veteran of 20 solo exhibitions, over 40 group shows and events, and an arts educator. In 2016 he and his wife Lajean, a Crawford County native, bought and moved permanently into the old Ar-We-Va school in Arcadia, converting it into living and working spaces.

Last year Haley McAndrews painted a Herky sculpture for Iowa City, a large train mural in Kiron, and a second lighthouse in Storm Lake. She is also known locally as an author/illustrator, with multiple published children’s books.

Randy Carrillo was born and raised in Los Angeles, and now makes his professional studio space above the historic Donna Reed Theatre in Denison, creating content, producing high-quality films, promotional pieces, and visual art. He currently has an art exhibition of recent work at The Old Fashioned in Denison, Iowa through April.