Judith Larsen’s portraits of “Frontline Heroes” honor female news correspondents whose lives were cut short in the line of duty. Larsen felt a growing sense of urgency to preserve the memories of these civilians—especially the women, whose deaths seemed to Larsen to be passed over by the news media. Her portrait series includes the first American female correspondent to be killed in a war zone (Dickey Chapelle, a National Geographic photojournalist who was killed during the Vietnam War), and covers deaths as recent as Marie Colville’s of CNN, who was killed in February 2012, covering the Syrian uprising. Some of her heroines are pop-culture icons, like 23-year old Shaima Rezayee, an Afghani veejay who often appeared on television with makeup on her face instead of a burqa, and who was assassinated in her home in 2005. Others are hard-hitting investigative journalists such as Anna Politkovskaya of Moscow, who openly opposed the Chechen conflict and was a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin; or Atwar Bahjat, an Iraqi television anchor who insisted on covering the story of a bombing on a Shia Mosque in Samarra despite the danger her gender would put her in. Bahjat was abducted mid-broadcast by three Sunni brothers, raped in a nearby alley and shot. Her cameraman and technician were also abducted and shot. Larsen’s devotion to these women shows in her beautiful and simple portraits.

The show is not to be missed during its run in the Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation Museum and Edmonds Arts Commission Display Case in the Frances Anderson Center. It will open Wednesday, Sept. 18 and run through Oct. 29. On Oct. 6, as a part of the Writers on the Sound Conference, the public is invited to join WOTS participants for a free presentation by Judith Larsen at 12:30 p.m.

Lloyd Johnson, retired Seattle surgeon and up-and-coming fiction writer, will be at Revelations Yogurt Sunday, Sept. 15 to present his novel “Living Stones.” From 4-7 p.m., come and talk with Lloyd about his inspiration and experience writing the novel, which centers on an American woman forced to confront her preconceptions of the Middle East while on the run from a Muslim hit man. Part thriller, part romance, part universal acceptance of the human condition, this novel is sure to have something everyone can relate to.

Put yourself on the front lines of art on the free, self-guided Edmonds Art Studio Tour. Sept. 21 and 22, some of our town’s most renowned artists are graciously opening their studios to the public. Forty-four local artists in 23 locations will be accepting visitors, showing works in progress, and selling finished artwork between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. next Saturday and Sunday. Download a map and list of artists from the Edmonds Art Studio Tour.

The Driftwood Players’ 55th season is about to begin! Agatha Christie’s “The Unexpected Guest” has been adapted for the stage and will open the 2013-14 season on Sept. 13, playing Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 a.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. until Sept. 29. Other shows this season include “The Fall of the House of Usher” (Oct. 10-13), Steel Magnolias (Feb. 14-March 2), and “Thugs: A Musical Manifesto” (April 18 – May 11), as well as musical family favorite “The Wizard of Oz” to play Nov. 22 – Dec. 15. Season tickets or tickets for individual shows are available at www.driftwoodplayers.com. The season ticket package is generous, offering 5 shows for $100, 20 percent off the face value of each ticket.

School is in full swing now, and the swingin’ cats in our district’s music programs need your help! Edmonds Music4Life is looking for donations of forgotten instruments in good playing condition to go to band and orchestra students who wouldn’t otherwise have access to instruments. For a list of instruments needed and a donation form, visit www.edmondsmusic4life.org. Donations are tax deductible and can be dropped off at Kennelly Keys or in the offices at Edmonds Center for the Arts. ECA celebrated on Aug. 28 as Edmonds School Superintendent Nick Brossoit accepted the first donation—an alto saxophone—from the program.

Another way to support the music programs in Edmonds schools is to buy an Entertainment Book for $25 from Edmonds-Woodway or Meadowdale band students or their families. Proceeds from the Entertainment Book sales go in part to each students’ individual music accounts, covering the cost of uniform rental and field trips, and in part to the Music Boosters fund. Entertainment Books are thick coupon books filled with excellent deals for all kinds of shopping experiences in our area—they practically pay for themselves!

– By Juliet Brewster

Artfully Edmonds columnist Juliet Brewster, an Edmonds native and Edmonds-Woodway High School graduate, has a degree in literature from Bennington College. To have your arts happening listed, email her at brewster.juliet@gmail.com.