Art lovers, get ready! Nature will soon be is putting on her best autumn show as local artists and art centers open their doors to the public for the Prescott Area Artist Studio Tour. Slated for the weekend of October 2-4 this year, the nonprofit has hosted this regional art event for 19 years. Longtime fans are already downloading maps and planning routes to make sure they visit all their favorite artists, and some new ones.
For one weekend each year the Studio Tour offers a window into the often private world of artists at work in their studio spaces. This year’s event features 74 artists in 53 private studios, plus several additional artists hosted at three art centers spread across Prescott, Prescott Valley, Dewey, Chino Valley, Williamson Valley and Paulden. From ceramics to oil painting, woodworking to sculpture, jewelry to wearable art, the artists represent a wide range of art forms and media.
Painter and printmaker Mike Maas is a returning artist this year. He makes abstract acrylic paintings on canvas, dimensional pop-art paintings on wood, and does printmaking. Mike’s abstract work frequently features bold swaths of color and simple shapes, while his pop-art pieces are characteristically bold, vibrant images with a graphic art sensibility.
Mike looks to pop culture, including comics, movies and books, for his dimensional painting ideas. Calling on the deadline discipline he learned during his decades in graphic design, Mike keeps his process simple. He draws his images first in Adobe Illustrator, then makes stencils of each color. He then cuts out his wood pieces, decides how to stack them, then paints and assembles them.
He was surprised by the number of people who came to his studio during last year’s event. “Well, (the studio) is way out in Williamson Valley, but we had over 300 visitors,” said Mike, adding it’s “worth the drive just for the spectacle.” He’s looking forward to welcoming guests again this year, and encourages first-time visitors enjoy the art, music and conversation.
First-time participant Lee Anets may be new to the tour, but certainly not to the local art scene. The ceramicist recently stepped down from Arts Prescott Valley and is currently president of the nonprofit Mud Makers. Lee says she is “excited to be joining the other artists” and “looking forward to the public interaction.”
A photographer by trade, in 2008 Lee decided to try something very different: she discovered clay. While clay can be difficult to work with, Lee finds it therapeutic, “touching and feeling this wet substance and forming it and molding it.”
The artist finds inspiration in many places, frequently during hikes in the forest. When that inspiration strikes, she does a quick sketch on her phone to use as a reference when she’s back in her studio. While Lee uses both handbuilding and wheel-throwing techniques to make her ceramic pieces, she notes that many of her sketched ideas can only be realized with hand-building.
When designing a new piece, Lee is looking at how to balance form and color. Some of her hand-built pieces start first with a heavy paper form model to work out the balance to make sure it will work in clay. Lee often chooses her colors before building her pieces, and makes her own glazes.
Through the Studio Tour weekend, three local art centers — the ‘Tis Annex Art Education Building, the Phippen Museum, and Mountain Artists Guild — will each host several additional artists. These can be a great way for visitors to see several artists at once and learn more about our local art centers.
MAG has been a Tour art center from its early days, and is a foundational pillar of the local art community. Mountain Artist Guild is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering education and appreciation of the visual arts in our community. It lives up to that goal by providing arts-education resources, a vehicle to promote the fellowship of artists and artisans through membership, art-center activities, and galleries.
At MAG Studio Tour guests can expect a range of art media represented, from digital art to mixed media. The organization is hosting several local artists who are excited to demonstrate their techniques and chat with guests. Visitors can purchase work directly from the artists. The Studio Tour is a free, self-guided event. Supported in part by the City of Prescott and the Arizona Commission on the Arts, the Tour fosters appreciation for the arts and promotes art education.
Guests are invited to tour studios from 10am-4pm each day, ask questions and view artwork. Through the weekend artists will hold in-studio demonstrations covering techniques, skills and tools. Be sure to look for the art raffles during the Tour. Artists will raffle pieces of their work, with proceeds to fund local children’s art programs and next year’s Studio Tour.
The Tour spreads across several cities and towns, so planning ahead is key to getting the most from your art adventure. Choose your route based on your favorite artists, specific locations or media.
For more information, including the full roster of artists and art centers and downloadable maps, visit prescottstudiotour.com.
