Venturing Behind and Within Santa Barbara Artists’ Studio Doors

Come Labor Day Weekend, the road map of art appreciation in Santa Barbara expands greatly, as the long-standing Santa Barbara Studio Artists’ Open Studios Tour flings open studio doors all over town. The Open Studio tradition is a widespread phenomenon in many locations, and the concept achieves particular relevance in a city as resplendent with art activity as Santa Barbara. Two dozen separate artists are involved in this year’s event, part of a now-22-year-old tradition launched by Dorothy Churchill Johnson (who recently passed away; read her In Memoriam at Independent.com).

Tickets earn visitors entry to studios spanning the region (the tour doubles as a survey of the variety of Santa Barbara’s living-working spaces), from Saturday to Monday, with an opening reception on Friday night at the Community Arts Workshop (CAW). Adding to the event’s win-win allure, proceeds benefit the Alpha Resource Center, which engages those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and runs the acclaimed Slingshot Art Studio and Gallery.

Featured artists on the tour this time around, in various media, include Ann Shelton Beth, Peggy Ferris, Gerry Winant, Cathy Quiel, Francine Kirsch, Marilyn McRae, and Susan Tibbles. Additional artists opening their studios for the holiday weekend are Pamela Benham, Isaure de la Presle, Stan Evenson, Tricia Evenson, Karen Fedderson, Angela Ferraro, Rosemarie Gebhart, Kevin Gleason, Jane Hurd, Rob Robinson, Joan Rosenburg-Dent, Eric Saint George, Ann Sanders, Francis Scorzelli, Kerrie Smith, Marlene Struss, and Dorene White. Each artist will have a piece featured at the Friday night CAW reception, which is a great opportunity to see a sampling of the work and decide which artist studios are your personal “must visits.”