‘Peek inside an artist’s brain’ during free Southern Oregon Open Studios tour

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Thirty-seven artists, from southeast Ashland to downtown Medford, will showcase their artwork and the creative rooms where that art is made to visitors during Southern Oregon Open Studios.

Previously known as the Ashland Open Studio Tour, this year’s event is broadening in scale with more artists participating and more studios spaces in most corners of the Rogue Valley.

The studio tour is set from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19-20, and is free to attend.

Southern Oregon Open Studios is organized by the Ashland Gallery Association, and those interested in attending can find information about the participating artists, view an interactive map of the different studios and learn more about the gallery association at ashlandgalleries.com/pages/ashland-open-studio-tour.

“It offers a chance for people to immerse themselves in the inspiring, weird and interesting spaces where artists create their work,” said Erik Abel, board member and artist liaison for the Ashland Gallery Association who is entering his second year of coordinating the tour. “It’s also a chance for people to purchase art directly from the artists.”

The intent of this year’s rendition is to cater to artists and art patrons outside of Ashland while bolstering the local economy.

“The Ashland Gallery Association had big growth with our membership drive last year, and we doubled our artist members from the previous year. With all the new members outside of Ashland, we decided that it was only fair to try and expand Open Studios to allow these new members to participate in this great annual event,” Abel said. “Over the next few years, we hope to build Southern Oregon Open Studios into a big deal, where people from Seattle to the Bay (Area) want to come and spend the weekend in Southern Oregon, discovering our art, drinking our wine, eating our food and staying at our hotels.”

Some of the artists’ studios available to visit during Southern Oregon Open Studios include: printmaker Vanessa Jo Bahr in Ashland; jewelry artist and mixed media painter Liz Ellington in Ashland; watercolor and pen and ink artist Paula Fong in Talent; oil painter Sarah Burns in Talent; oil, watercolor and print artist Catie Faryl in Phoenix; oil painter and alcohol ink artist Claire Harkins in Medford; electronic painting artist Martin Steele in Medford and more.

“Visiting an artist’s open studio is such a different vibe than going to a gallery show. It’s almost like you get to peek inside an artist’s brain,” Abel said. “I personally love seeing how an artist sets up their work station and what tools they use. I love to see the mess and the process of art-making.”

Whether it’s a home studio, a shared artist studio or other spaces, each place exhibits and presents the art and aesthetic of the creative who calls it home.

“I have a beautiful house and studio that overlooks the valley; it’s the nicest studio in the valley I’d venture to say,” Fong said of her space in the mountain foothills south of Talent. “The open studio tour has been been an opportunity to have synergy with other artists in area and drive people up here to check it out and be more visible.”

Fong creates illustrations on the natural world, from landscapes to lichens. To check out her art, see prfong.com.

Medford’s Steele shared his hopes for the tour, saying he intends to “simply further exposure to my work, and also to let people know about a planned show coming up in April 2025 where I will be sharing the main gallery at the Rogue Gallery in Medford with my artist friend Bruce Bayard.”

Steele is greatly involved in the arts in the Rogue Valley, serving on Collaborative Theatre Project’s board of directors and is a founding artist at the recently opened Talent Gallery in the town’s historic Malmgren Garage.

To check out Steele’s art, visit martinsteele.com.

Considering the amount of participating artists, organizers anticipate a wide range of artworks and spaces to explore.

“Vanessa Jo Bahr of Scavenger Studios was my personal favorite last year. The space she has created, the sculptures and print work are all so, so amazing.” Abel said. “A new members studio I’m excited about visiting is Micah Ofstedahl (in Ashland). His strange, optical illusion paintings look so mesmerizing.”

“We’re trying something new out this year and allowing some artists to set up their studio at the Rogue Gallery in Medford; we’ll have seven artists together there, so that will be a great place to stop by,” Abel added.

Following the weekend festivities, an after-party will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at Enclave Studios in Ashland for the artists to mingle and connect.

“This is a really fun part of the weekend with live art, music, refreshments, and many of the open studio artists will be there getting their party on,” Abel said.

For more information on Southern Oregon Open Studios, visit ashlandgalleries.com.