Emily Bishton
Musician, Artist, Writer


​       Emily discovered Arivaca in 1994 during a birding trip with her husband, Uno, and they both immediately felt a connection with the town and the beauty that surrounds it. They visited many times in the years that followed, but it took until 2016 for the"perfect" place for them to come along, and they both retired and became Arivacans.

Emily's favorite three things here are the peace and quiet, the community spirit, and the wildlife. After 40 years of living and working in Seattle and watching it grow from a small city to a major metropolis, she says, "I was ready for a different kind of life, and to get back to spending much more time with my first loves of art and music.

Being an artist and musician in 1970's Seattle meant needing to have a "real job", which for her was 17 years of remodeling and restoring older homes when not rehearsing or performing. As a lifelong gardener and nature-lover, fate also led her to volunteer in a friend's first grade classroom, a "light bulb moment" which resulted in a 22 year career as a teacher and naturalist, writer, garden consultant, and designer. My, how time flies when you're having fun!

Her art has also had multiple changes over the past 45 years, but painting has always been at its center. In the mid 1980's, painting three dimensional objects became her passion, from mannequin heads and full bodies to furniture, potter, and more. Now that she finally has a studio again that is dedicated only to making art and writing, who knows what will happen next...

Since age 16, Emily has also loved singing all kinds of music: folk, soul, rock, country, jazz standards, blues, and more. After performing live and on records with multiple northwest bands over the years, her album, The Road, Vol.1 was recorded in the fall of 2017. It was also the last recording project done at Uno's famed Egg Studios in Seattle. Soon after its release in spring 2018, Emily and Uno decided to release Hankin' her tribute to Hank Williams, also recoreded at Egg Studios in 1996. She can usually be found at Arivaca's weekly jam sessions, and both of her CD's are available at the Artists' Co-op. Come by and have a listen!