My First North Coast Open Studios

On June 6th & 7th and again on June 13th & 14th, I'll be opening my home for patrons to come see my art studio as part of North Coast Open Studios. 

The 26th Annual event is features the work of over 100 different Humboldt County artists here in northern California who open their studios and invite the public in to see their working process and their body of work. The event is a major component of the arts community here in the region, and a huge opportunity to see working artists do what they do best in their own spaces. 

I'll be participating in it for the first time this year, and I'll have all my work out and displayed, as well as my working space available to peruse. After learning that my iPad connects to my big-screen television seamlessly, I'm proud to say that I can actually demonstrate how I do my work literally in front of an audience on a scale they can actually see. I can also play speedpaint videos to demonstrate the development process of any number of different pieces just in case they're curious about a specific piece. 

It's going to be quite interesting inviting strangers into my home, but I've managed to move most of what's important down to the lower floor from my upstairs studio space. I live in a two-story Queen Anne home, and getting up and down the stairs might be a lot of work for some folks, so I'm trying to make it as easy as possible for them. 

Depending on the weather, I also have a small wood stove ready to go, just so folks can warm themselves if it gets too chilly. Each patron that stops by will also get to choose a greeting card to take home from a stack I have that haven't found homes yet and aren't listed on my website anymore. 

My address is listed in the official North Coast Open Studios guidebook, which can be found on the official website, but I'll also have available to the first few visitors if they need one:

I'm really looking forward to this! It should be a great deal of fun, and a wonderful opportunity to meet a different kind of visitor than the ones who come to my booth at the various events. I think the folks visiting this time around will be much more "deliberate", and they literally have over a hundred different studios to choose to visit over the weekends--far too many to get to all of them. I suspect any visitors to my location will be curious to see the digital aspect of what I do, and might be curious how to do it themselves.  

I plan on having a handful of "process" displays set out so folks don't need me to hover over them and they can learn about what I do on my own. I've seen other artists do that, displaying their tools and unfinished canvases as they work on them. I don't really have that capacity as all my unfinished work is on my iPad and not on a piece of paper or linen. But what I can do is show them on my TV, and maybe let them try things out a bit if they're curious. 

As an aside, when my husband and I were visiting the area during Christmas week, 2024, we found the NCOS Guidebook. And it was startling to see the art community splayed out across pages and pages of gorgeous imagery like it was. The Guidebook was a HUGE influence on us deciding to move here. It exposed us to the robust, deeply creative local artistry that was embedded here, and signaled to us a willingness for artists to proudly put themselves out there and welcome their own neighbors into their spaces. And the scale of it all was daunting. It said to me that this community was committed to the arts. It said to me that this was a good space to move to, with open hearts and empathy because there was a community of artists that needed those qualities to do their work. It helped me feel like this place could be safe for us, and that we could fit in and build a home. 

So here's hoping it's a great series of weekends for everyone! If you're planning on coming out, check out the image for my address. Maybe I'll see you here!