Artists across Lawrence will welcome the public to their studios during the Lawrence Art Guild’s open studio event, Art Spaces, coming up Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5.
Groups of artists can be found across Lawrence, with more than 20 artists participating at Art Emergency, an east-side arts warehouse. These artists work in media which includes paper, painting, printmaking, jewelry, fiber, wood, mixed media, mosaics and ceramics. Many of these artists have studio spaces inside Art Emergency.
Others exhibiting at Art Emergency are members of the Lawrence Art Guild who do not have a studio that is feasible to open to visitors, but would like to share their creative process. These artists will be setting up displays within the main hall.
One such artist is Jennifer Benner-Willis, a modern, polymer clay artist whose imaginative pieces are both playful and highly detailed. Another artist in the main hall will be Heidi Pitre. Pitre draws and paints on vintage library borrower cards, turning them into works of art, a merging of art and literature. Alongside her unique library art, Pitre will also showcase some of her quirky paintings which delight the viewer with their brilliant colors while provoking them to think about the deeper meaning within the work. Joining Benner-Willis and Pitre in the main hall is Steven Haack, who turns landscapes and cityscapes into emotion and movement.
In addition to visiting with the artists in the main hall, guests can view studios of working artists within Art Emergency. Visiting a studio allows the public to gain a deeper understanding of how an artist creates — not just their inspirations, but the tools that they use, their brushes, papers and tubes of colors. Visitors will be allowed to see where Chris North creates her highly textural ceramic pieces or peer into Liz Campbell’s fiber and mixed-media studio, with her dazzling array of fabrics.
Art Spaces artists who have studios at Art Emergency include Liza MacKinnon, paper; Maria Martin, painting; Kat Williams, fabric and metal; Yvonne Channel, painting and drawing; North, ceramics; the Mosaic studio, mosaics; Nan Renbarger, mixed media fiber; Suzanne Ashley, digital machine embroidery; Campbell, textile; and Shawn Lane, wood.
Artists within the main Art Emergency hall include Benner-Willis, jewelry; Pitre, painting; Loreta Schmidt, jewelry; Heather Duris, painting and prints; Kathleen Hayward upcycling; Haack, painting; Janey Greene, painting; Jim Slough, prints on metal; Irene Tsuneta, textile; and Laura Phillips, fiber and mixed media.
Art Spaces will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 4 and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday, May 5.
Maps of open studio locations across Lawrence as well as the full list of participating artists can be picked up at Art Emergency, 721 E. Ninth St. in Lawrence, during the event, or found on the Lawrence Art Guild website, lawrenceartguild.org/art-spaces.
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August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
