There are few experiences as special as a visit to an artist’s studio. Art studios are typically not open to the public, and it is rare for most art fans to be able to see new art and meet artists in their private studio spaces. For 17 years the nonprofit Prescott Area Artist Studio Tour has been hosting the perfect event to bring art lovers into local artist studios.
Featuring 74 juried artists in 53 private studios, with over 40 additional artists exhibiting in four local art centers, the tour is designed to delight. Guests will be welcomed into the studios and encouraged to ask questions, discuss, and perhaps expand their personal art collections. Visitors can also expect demonstrations related to the artist’s medium or process.
Dale Andress is a long-time tour participant who’s returning again for the 2024 event. He constructs representational and abstract sculptures, often with a humorous flair, from steel and resin. He points to surrealist René Magritte as an influence, as well as sculptor Klaus Oldenburg. Andress makes mostly lighthearted pieces, frequently playing with forced perspective and exaggerated scale. He also enjoys creating images that shift as the viewer’s perspective changes.
Asked what keeps him coming back year after year, Andress simply said, “The interaction with people.” He thoroughly enjoys seeing what pieces visitors like and what their reactions are to the work. If there’s a story behind the piece, he likes to share it with his guests, and hear what the viewer thinks. For his demo he will show the steps of sculpture fabrication.
This is the first tour for photographer and printmaker Deborah Lyon. She points to artists like minimalist photographer Noell Oszvald, tiny prints by Masao Yamamoto, and artist Andrea Haffer as creative influences. Lyon works in the minimalistic style, finding inspiration in “the benevolent indifference in nature, and even more in the space in which it appears.” Her images are frequently ethereal, serene and evocative.
Lyon recently moved to the Prescott area and is looking forward to welcoming guests to her studio, curious to see how visitors respond to her work. She notes that “it’s in connection that we flourish and grow,” and she hopes her interactions and meetings during this year’s tour will inspire new work. She will be demonstrating her etching techniques and showing her handbound books of printed work.
A major part of the tour is the crucial participation of local art centers. Mary Lou Arnold, operations manager at Mountain Artists Guild, notes that her group has participated in the tour since its inception. “The Guild remains Studio #1 on the tour, of which we are particularly proud,” she said. Arnold also pointed out that the Guild gives artists who do not have studios set up for visitors a way to participate.
This year eleven MAG artists are participating in the tour. They will be on both floors in the gallery’s classrooms and studios, and will be performing demonstrations of their media throughout the day. Featured media include sculpture, jewelry, acrylic and oil painting, watercolors and woodworking.
Arnold says that tour visitors may enjoy starting at Studio #1 and working their way up, or start at street level and take a stroll through the main gallery on the way to visit the tour artists. There will be signage at the facility to help tour visitors find their way, with ample on- and off-street parking, including handicap-accessible spots.
During the tour many artists are offering artwork for a raffle during the event, with a portion of the proceeds going to local children’s art programs. The organization was thrilled to donate $2000 from the 2023 raffle to four local nonprofits. Tour visitors can purchase raffle tickets at any participating private studio and art center.
The 2024 Prescott Area Artist Studio Tour will run from Friday October 4 through Sunday October 6. Participating studios will be open 10am-4pm daily throughout the Prescott area, including Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley and Paulden. The tour is self-guided and self-paced, allowing visitors to choose the studios they wish to visit and plan their own itineraries.
Visit prescottstudiotour.com for full details on the 2024 event, including a complete list of artists and art centers as well as downloadable tour maps and other useful information.
