Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Artist Barbara Tonneson will invite the public into her studio during Open Studios this weekend.
Artists get ready for Open Studios
By Kelly Wilkinson
and
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 fray. 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, printmakers, fiber artists, glass-blowers, jewelers and artisans working in metal and wood 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 exhibiting his or her wares in a group location.
April 17-18 was the weekend for the artists of Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Campbell, San Jose and five other localities. On April 24-25, Sunnyvale has its turn, along with the cities of Cupertino, Saratoga, 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.
Twenty-four Sunnyvale artists will be opening their studios at 17 different locations throughout the city this weekend. Painter and illustrator Linda Harris will be among them.
She teaches portrait painting in San Jose and appreciates the opportunity to show the public on how she works.
"People really get to see the whole scope of being an artist," she said. "And I think that's always a lot more than people suspect."
Harris will welcome visitors into her studio and her garage, which she and her husband converted into a space for painting groups.
"It's nice because people really have the chance to see work in progress," she said.
For more information, or to get a list of artists, call (650) 941-5337.
Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
