Open Studios Tour

A friend of ours in an artist. She is a potter and a jeweler, among other things. (A jewelery maker, not a salesperson at a jewelery store.) She wanted us to go check out some of the Open Studios that were held last weekend. The group of people that she used to share studio space with moved to a new building, this was the perfect time to go see the new space and catch up with her friends. I had a moment when I thought, “Hmmmm, I will be taking a three year old to a pottery studio. Where, there will be pottery. Is this a wise plan?” But, Michelle is a real favorite with the little person. (She went with us to the Steam Roller Printing Festival.) She was open to the “bail” option, where we would leave her and she was free to carry on without the “pleasure” of our company. And with that stipulation, off we went!

Our destination was SF Clay Works.

It was a beautiful day, and a neat space.

Jambi really liked the pottery.

And here she is showing us some of her favorite pieces.
The studio itself was a great space

It is so neat to see each artists area and how they work. Sarah had her table upstairs.

Jambi’s current fixation with anything “Pixieland” made these irresistible.

Pods, by Sarah F. Cruz

Someone set out some white clay, and some rubber stamp letters on the community table.

We didn’t need to invite her twice. She was all-in.
Michelle helped roll out a flat pancake

And then we picked out the letters to use

It is always fun to play with clay

Because this little adventure was going well so far, we decided to push our luck and visit one more studio. I used to work with the gracious and lovely Adele Shaw and have always wanted to see her studio. It is in a wildly neglected building out on the water. The location and the architecture are amazing. The neglect is astounding. There is a cluster of majestic old Navy buildings together there, all fraught with the need for sizemic retrofitting and decontamination.
We found our way to Adele’s studio and were warmly greeted. It was so fun to see her work.

Encaustic is the process of layering on bee’s wax and resin onto the canvas. The smell in the studio is amazing. It’s warm and rich and inviting.

Encaustic Painting by Adele Louis Shaw
Adele produced a marionette to amuse Jambi with. And man, did it work.

Complete this picture with this amazing birdy chirping noise.
The clock ran out, and we were all tired from our afternoon of adventures,so we headed home. But the bright day, filled with beautiful art and friends new and old helping to make my kid comfortable in these spaces, will stick in my mind for a LONG time to come.