Is an artist a character in a smock and beret, standing before
an easel capturing a panoramic landscape in daubs of paint?
Is an artist a sculptor toiling with a mallet and chisel to
bring a lifelike form out of a block of stone?
Is an artist a character in a smock and beret, standing before an easel capturing a panoramic landscape in daubs of paint?
Is an artist a sculptor toiling with a mallet and chisel to bring a lifelike form out of a block of stone?
Perhaps you view artists with suspicion, thinking of them as folks who cobble together seemingly unrelated objects and call the result “art.”
I was an art major many years ago, and I’ve committed my share of foolishness in the name of art. Yet most artists work hard on their technique and their body of work, and are refreshingly articulate about what they do and why.
If you would like to meet some real artists right near home, see their work up close, and ask them questions about it, this weekend is a great opportunity.
San Benito Artists are hosting an Open Studios tour this coming Saturday and Sunday, and whether you want to spend a couple of hours walking around downtown Hollister, or make a day of it and tour the county, you will find plenty to see.
The Open Studios tour is free of charge. All you need to participate is a map some time. Maps are available online at www.sanbenitoopenstudiio.com or at several downtown Hollister and San Juan Bautista merchants.
There’s another cool reason to go: snacks. When we went to the studios in and around downtown Hollister, we discovered that most had set out a variety of goodies: cheese and crackers at one, cookies and lemonade at another.
After the cheese and crackers, I did worry about getting greasy fingerprints on the rack of posters I was flipping through.
There are plenty of examples just in the downtown Hollister area to let you meet real artists and get to know them and what they do. In a walk of just about 16 blocks, from Sally and Olive to Third Street near East, you can take in all but one of the Hollister Artists.
It’s true, many of the artists create pictures in oil paints, watercolors or pastels.
But Edith Bingham, at 482 South Street, will also be showing her fiber and textile work. She spins yarn and weaves colorful shawls and straps. She is also working on a small rug using methods she learned overseas.
Kent Child will be showing his ceramic work, influenced by Japanese and American Indian techniques. His work and that of his wife, Kathleen Sheridan, will be on view at their home at 1198 Sally Street.
Farther out in the county, several in the Aromas/San Juan Bautista area are doing interesting work in tile mosaic, stained glass, wood carving, quilting and photography that will stretch your notions of what art is.
If you just want to make one stop on your tour, the YMCA at 339 Fifth St is the place to go. Two San Benito High art teachers, Louise Roy and John Robrock, will be showing their own work as well as that of many of their students. The quality of the work last year was amazing.
And the snacks weren’t bad, either.
