Photograph by George Sakkestad
Mariko Suzuki is one of the artists participating in Open Studios of South Bay Artists on the weekend of April 24-25.
Artists prepare for annual open studios
Saratoga portion will take place on April 24-25
By Shari Kaplan
The South Bay has many harbingers of spring--among them showy blossoms of flowering plum, cherry and apricot trees; the boisterous return of local songbirds and a slow but steady warming trend. Another traditional harbinger, at least for the past 12 years, is Open Studios of South Bay Artists.
Formerly called Open Studios of Santa Clara County, the annual event, which features self-guided public tours and visits with local artists, changed names last year to encompass participants in South County cities such as Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy as well as artists in adjacent San Benito and San Mateo Counties. San Benito County joined Open Studios last year, thanks to a joint effort by the Santa Clara and San Benito County Arts councils. In this 13th year, San Mateo County has joined the exhibit. Open Studios now includes more than 325 artists exhibiting at more than 200 sites.
For three consecutive weekends--April 17-18 to May 1-2--painters, sculptors, potters, stonemasons, photographers, printer-makers, fiber artists, glass-blowers, jewelers and artisans working in metal and wood will showcase their works and techniques as visitors filter through the artisans' studios, which often are in their homes. Other artists prefer to exhibit in teams, each showing his or her wares in a group location.
April 17-18 is the weekend for the artists of Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Campbell, San Jose and five other localities. On April 24-25, Saratoga has its turn, along with the cities of Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Mountain View and eight others.
According to Open Studios representative Liz Kraft, a move is under way to change the event from a loosely formed artists' group into a nonprofit organization. By the end of March, all necessary steps had been completed toward that end; by next year, Open Studios will become a program of the newly named Silicon Valley Visual Arts.
"The original purpose will remain--to bring together the general public and the artists who live or work in these geographic areas. At the same time, the artists benefit from meeting the public in an informal setting," Kraft adds.
Artists exhibiting in Los Gatos and Monte Sereno are Jolene Anderson, Audrey Armstrong, Janet Fullmer Bajorek, Nahda Balaa, Lou Bermingham, David Brock, Elise Chezem, Marian Gault, Elke Groves, Deborah Haeffele, Oneida Hammond, Matthew Hoogland, Shawn Johnson, Sue Kang, Carolyn Larsen, Hugo Lecaros, Ed Lucey, Michelle Mickelson-Ruffo, Maralyn Miller, Lyn Orona, Paul Rubio, Kerstin F. Schipper, Tom Stanton, Diane Wallace and Martha Zappe.
Participating artists in Saratoga are Donna Alongi, Rosemary Berwald, Ruth Rainie Condit, Bet Hover, Howard Jameson, Nancy Koch, Yoju Kondo, Hugo Lecaros, Sharon Lips, Judith Marshall, Linda Hansen Mau, Mel Rabedeau, Mariko Suzuki and Rick Waltonsmith.
Free maps are available in Los Gatos at Los Gatos Art Supplies, 61A Victory Lane and in Saratoga at The Mitre Box, 20605 Third St. Catalogs with artist biographies and art reproductions are available for purchase. For more information, call (650) 941-5337, 358-0124 or visit www.svva.org on the Internet.
Saratoga, California Since 1975
