Portland Open Studios Fosters Community Through Art and Appreciation

If you're an art lover, an artist looking to connect with other artists, or just art-curious, October is your lucky month. Portland Open Studios began last weekend, and will continue again this Saturday and Sunday around the city and surrounding areas (including Tigard, Tualatin, Beaverton, Lake Oswego, and West Linn). Celebrating its tenth year, this event showcases one hundred diverse artists, ranging from those just starting out to those who have worked at their craft for many years. It is an opportunity for artists to share their process with the public—whether their medium is sculpture, painting, glass blowing or other media. It also affords artists a chance to network with each other as well as with those who appreciate or purchase art. The Portland Open Studios organization facilitates these connections not only through the event itself, but by featuring the artists on its web site, and by creating a "tour guide" booklet so tour participants can seek out and visit the studios that most interest them.

Portland Open Studios was founded by Kitty Wallis, famed pastel portraitist and landscape artist, who moved to Portland hoping to recreate the open studio tour she participated in Santa Cruz, California. With eight volunteers who pooled their money to pay to have the applications printed and sent out, Wallis began planning the first open studio tour in 1998. They eventually juried the applicants and had a tour the following year with 49 artists.

The planning of the tour has become much more sophisticated over the years. With a board of 13 people, and a host of volunteers (including the participating artists), the planning of the tour takes an entire year to complete. First, there is the application process, and then the submitted work is judged by a panel that chooses the participants for the tour. Over the past ten years, the number of applicants has steadily increased, as has the variety of art and artists who range in age from very young to more seasoned individuals. Once the participants are chosen, the tour guide itself is designed and created.

"Tour guide" doesn't really do it justice. Printed on heavy paper, the guide is actually a calendar, featuring information about the program, featured artists, and the year's award winners. There are examples of the works of all 100 artists on the tour, with numbers that correspond to the pull-out map that is the actual tour guide. There are also indices by artist name and by medium, making it a beautiful and easy-to-use reference.

Portsmouth neighborhood artist (mixed-media drawing, oil painting, and printmaking), tour participant, and Portland Open Studios board administrator Shelley Hershberger explains the reason the organization goes through the expense of making the tour guide such a keepsake.

"For some artists, this is their first time in print," Hershberger explains. "They have been juried and are in print—it gives weight to their art. It's great for them." It also breeds cross-pollination; galleries and art organizations turn to the guide to find new artists. Interior designers use the guide as an uncomplicated way to work with local artists.

"The variety is wide; they can get whatever kind of art they are looking for," Hershberger adds.

Hershberger herself has become a full-time artist only within the last several years. Art has always been on the back-burner, but she followed a career path she felt would offer more stability. She said she finally came to a point in her life where she said to herself, "Are you going to be brave and do this or not?" She decided to be brave.

"Your world changes," she says of the decision. "It is a whole different way of thinking. It took eight years of juggling other things to really do it. There is the financial aspect, then finding the time, and the space."

She thinks that she is not unlike many artists of her generation—who were taught that a career in art was virtually out of the question. She says young people today have a better chance; the business end of art is now actually taught in school along with techniques and theories.

"There is a realization that you can make a living with art, but it can take a long time to be self-supporting. We as an organization try to help our artists by holding workshops on the practical aspects—the business of selling art."

Hershberger moved from her home in the Southwest section of town, where she had lived for 30 years, to her current residence in the more affordable Portsmouth neighborhood. She was also seeking a place with a more established art community. When she found out about Art on the Peninsula, she knew she had chosen the right place. A member of the group called Shelley to welcome her before she had even moved into the neighborhood. That same woman, who ended up being not only a fellow artist but also a neighbor, showed up on her doorstep with a butternut squash soon after she moved in.

That neighbor was Bonnie Meltzer, another artist whose home studio will be open during the tour, and public relations coordinator for the Portland Open Studios program. Meltzer has lived at her home in Portsmouth, with its massive garden and sunny studio, since 1975. She creates "very mixed medium constructions," using metal, wood, crotchet wire, computer parts, and other found objects to create colorful and unique pieces.

"I used to WHINE about wanting a community—I was lonesome for art talk," she explains. "Now some days it's like Grand Central Station around here. My husband loves to say, ‘are you happy now?' She calls herself the Jewish mother of the Open Studios group, saying that many people turn to her when they need information or advice. She doesn't seem to mind this, however.

"[This program] gives me the opportunity to teach without leaving home." She says it is a continual learning experience for her as well. "I get to see art and technique that I know nothing about. It's exciting." She explains the purpose of the Open studios program.

"Collaboration would be the watch word," she says. "It is collaboration between artists, between artists and the public; it is an informal, friendly way to get to know art, artists, and the artists' process. Artists build connections with each other. One year an artist is introduced to [a peer] on the tour, the next year those artists are collaborating, doing classes together, showing together."

Hershberger adds, "It is a great way to meet fellow artists and the community. The intimate space of a studio is more conducive to a genuine conversation." They both agree that in the place where the art happens—the concept, the execution—fosters a real connection between people. Hershberger feels that Portland Open Studios offers something indispensable to the art-appreciating public.

"You have cut through the barriers to get to an artist and can have a real experience."

There are some barriers to get through for the artist as well. Kenneth Dewar, an oil and pastel painter, creates beautiful and intricate Mandalas as well as portraits in his St. Johns studio. A self-proclaimed introvert, he admits he was wary at first about letting strangers into this very personal space.

"At some point, though, you have to invite others in," he admits. "You can't just hide it away."

His art is based in spirituality and so invites a lot of contemplation and study. He found the experience of sharing his Mandalas with people (this is his first year taking part in the tour), many of whom were not familiar with what they were, was one he enjoyed very much.

"Mine are not really traditional Mandalas," He explains. "I keep Buddism out of the discussion as much as I can." His Mandalas use some contemporary designs, vibrant colors and imaginative forms that still invite the same meditative thought of traditional Mandalas, but may attract a wider audience.

"I had a lot of kids come through," he says of the first weekend of the tour. "I think parents may have chosen [to bring their kids here], because of the bright colors. I got the impression that may have helped them choose my studio."

Indeed, the art chosen for the tour runs the gamut—from traditional Renaissance style painting, to modern glass art, to politically charged installations.

"It lets people see the many different ways to make art," Meltzer contends. "You might see someone painting with a brush, and someone else painting with a broom."

It is also a chance for artists to build community with the public, but they have to be active participants in the process.

"If artists don't self-promote, and promote the event, it just doesn't work," Meltzer asserts. "We require 8 hours of volunteer work which can be done any time during the year-long planning process." This involvement, the group feels, helps build a sense of ownership in the program, and also in the artists' own career growth. They all attest to the challenge presented by allowing people into their work space, but they also feel that it is a great way to build lasting relationships with both other artists and those who appreciate art.

"This is a sneak preview into a very private world," Hershberger says.

"Depending on the size of the crowd, it can be a very intimate experience," Meltzer adds. "In a few seconds a person can learn something, and then make a conclusion. [From there] they'll have a story to tell, and so become a contributor in the process."

Portland Open Studios
October 17 & 18
various Portland neighborhoods
more info
www.portlandopenstudios.com

View the slideshow for a sneak peek into Bonnie Meltzer's studio, or visit our Flickr gallery: