A metal mobile created by Santa Cruz artist Jennifer Cherk turns in a light breeze as Cherk and her husband, kinetic artist Jay Capela, opened their Highview Drive home in Santa Cruz to visitors during Open Studio on Saturday. Cherk and Capela are artist No. 81 and No. 80 on the tour and artists Amelia Williams (No. 83) and Jonathan Porterfield (No. 82) showed their work at the property as well. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Erika Perloff, a landscape painter working in the plein air tradition, enjoyed some outdoor conversation with art lovers at her Centennial Street home and studio on Saturday. Perloff is artist No. 39 on the Open Studios Art Tour. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Natalia Aandewiel, third from right, joyfully welcomes visitors to her Lighthouse Avenue studio Saturday for the North County weekend of Arts Council Santa Cruz County’s annual Open Studios Art Tour. While the tour may allow people to get an up-close view of the county’s artists and their processes, it is equally important as a community builder and vehicle for human connection. For the artists it is a time make new friends and admirers and hopefully sell a few pieces of artwork. Last weekend opened studios in North Santa Cruz County and the coming weekend (Oct. 12-13) artists in South County — from Live Oak, Soquel, Aptos, Corralitos, La Selva Beach and Watsonville — will participate. Most of the artists from both North and South County return for a third “encore” weekend Oct. 19-20. This year is the 39th annual Open Studios Art Tour and more than 300 artists are participating. Aandewiel, artist No. 40 in the Open Studios tour, left her native Ukraine days after the Feb. 2022 Russian invasion. She said, “I experienced first-hand what it means when freedom is taken away from you, when the destruction, horror and death is inevitable, and your life is changed forever in a second. My life has forever changed, so have I. Only life and people you love matter. Nothing else. I see myself as a representative of my generation. Young people who have lost their dreams of happy life and are struggling to find purpose and hope in the midst of the madness happening in their lives and across the globe. We all are in this together and we all need each other on this journey called life.” Go to artscouncilsc.org for information about Open Studios. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Randie Silverstein, left, is surrounded by the color of her glass creations as she talks to Open Studios tourers at her Grunewald Court home on Saturday. Silverstein is listed as artist No. 148 on the tour. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Sharon Ferguson’s Laurent Street backyard was filled with her digital collages, filtered sunlight and eager viewers during Open Studios on Saturday. Ferguson, second from right, is artist No. 85 on the tour. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
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A metal mobile created by Santa Cruz artist Jennifer Cherk turns in a light breeze as Cherk and her husband, kinetic artist Jay Capela, opened their Highview Drive home in Santa Cruz to visitors during Open Studio on Saturday. Cherk and Capela are artist No. 81 and No. 80 on the tour and artists Amelia Williams (No. 83) and Jonathan Porterfield (No. 82) showed their work at the property as well. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
The Arts Council Santa Cruz County’s annual Open Studios Art Tour returned this past weekend, starting with North County.
While the tour may allow people to get an up-close view of the county’s artists and their processes, it is equally important as a community builder and vehicle for human connection. For the artists it is a time make new friends and admirers and hopefully sell a few pieces of artwork. Last weekend opened studios in North Santa Cruz County and the coming weekend (Oct. 12-13) artists in South County — from Live Oak, Soquel, Aptos, Corralitos, La Selva Beach and Watsonville — will participate. Most of the artists from both North and South County return for a third “encore” weekend Oct. 19-20.
This year is the 39th annual Open Studios Art Tour and more than 300 artists are participating.
Natalia Aandewiel, artist No. 40 in the Open Studios tour, left her native Ukraine days after the February 2022 Russian invasion. She said, “I experienced first-hand what it means when freedom is taken away from you, when the destruction, horror and death is inevitable, and your life is changed forever in a second. My life has forever changed, so have I. Only life and people you love matter. Nothing else. I see myself as a representative of my generation. Young people who have lost their dreams of happy life and are struggling to find purpose and hope in the midst of the madness happening in their lives and across the globe. We all are in this together and we all need each other on this journey called life.”
