The Open Studio Tour Will Let You Glimpse Our Artists' Psyches
BY GLEN STARKEY
There's something marvelous about visiting artists' studios. Their spaces can be so telling. Does their art rise from organization or disorganization? What do they choose to surround themselves with? What do the works-in-progress look like?
Oftentimes pictures of Picasso in his cluttered studio are more fascinating than his art. His space was filled with such incredible things: African masks, old bicycles, books, stacks and stacks of paintings.
Photographs of Francis Bacon in his horribly dirty studio, too, seem to give insight into the man. The space's disorganization seemed to represent so well Bacon's tortured mind, just as Jackson Pollock's small, austere, cigarette butt-strewn barn represented his seething-under-the-surface anger–how did he create such expansive paintings in so small a space?
Studios really do seem to mirror artists' personalities, and when you're in an artist's studio you get to view art at its origin.
This month dozens of local artists will open their studios when the SLO County Arts Council presents the first annual Open Studio Tour, a three-day event that begins with an artists' reception at the SLO Art Center and continues through two days of self-guided touring.
Featuring more than 70 participating artists from throughout the county, the tour will give art patrons a chance to decide which studios to visit and show them how to get there. During the opening reception, each artist will display one piece of work, offering art lovers a taste of what's to come.
Which artists' studios to visit is left to the discretion of ticket buyers–you can visit as many or as few studios as you want, customizing your tour to meet your tastes.
You may want to begin your tour in Cambria, perhaps in the studio of watercolorist Jacqueline Brackett. Her oversized studio windows overlook the seashore, a frequent subject in her work.
Tracy Di Vita Baas is an unusual portraitist. She doesn't paint people; rather, she paints their pets. No doubt her own Labradors will greet you when you visit her Atascadero studio. And she promises to have some works in progress to give visitors an opportunity to see her process.
Naturally there's more than 2-D artists on the tour. Pismo Beach craft artist Bob Pierce will open his large, airy studio to the public. Using his in-studio kiln, he makes one-of-a-kind fused glass necklaces, pins, and earrings.
Rosey Rosenthal of Los Osos plans to open his painting and printmaking studio, revealing to the public the mysterious process of intaglio printing. Rosenthal is truly a master of his craft; combining excellent drafting skills with technical prowess, he's built an international reputation.
One of the most beautiful studios on the tour belongs to representational painter Mel Wysock, whose Cayucos studio looks like a well-appointed den. Wysock, a former professional illustrator, uses traditional brushes and airbrushes to achieve his hyperrealist works–cars, planes, boats, seascapes, and landscapes.
In addition to well-established artists, some emerging talents are also scheduled for the tour. San Luis Obispan Jeff Claassen is only 21, but he's won awards two years running in the annual juried Cuesta College Student Show. He mixes silk-screening à la Andy Warhol to create sociopolitical paintings.
His studio is the living room of his small apartment, but he manages to make colorful, thought-provoking, large-scale paintings despite the space limitations.
Photographer-painter Carol Astaire's studio is a converted house in the old-town section of San Luis Obispo. A traditionalist at heart, Astaire focuses mainly on paintings and photographs of female dancers, though she also makes beautiful watercolor landscapes.
"At a time when it may be popular to create art for social or temporal issues, I find myself continually drawn to the classic use of the human figure and landscape to express my own concept of mankind's interconnectedness with his universe," said Astaire.
Sculptor Lindsay Wilcox likes to work outdoors. Her studio is actually the patio behind her small house in old-town San Luis. Working in various kinds of clay and plaster, Wilcox creates static works that nonetheless seem to move–there's a real sense of dynamic motion at work.
Just a block off the ocean in Shell Beach, Donna Shook creates watercolors in her quaint California bungalow. You enter her studio through French doors, which open onto a deck where Shook can often be found painting. Her studio doubles as a dining room when entertaining large groups.
Each artist is different, each studio a revelation into the artist's personality and process. Not only will you be able to see each artist's work space, but you'll also have a chance to pick up some of their artwork, often well below gallery prices.
Don't miss this chance to see inside the creativity of SLO County's many talented artists. Æ
Glen Starkey is also opening his SLO Town studio to the public–enter if you dare!