Public invited to local studios

by Bonnie Collings
Artists across West Gippsland will open up their home studios for members of the public to visit and explore throughout the Melbourne Cup long weekend.
Run by Open Studios West Gippsland, the open weekend aims to introduce the community to the artists right on their doorsteps.
Starting off small as part of the Drouin Ficifolia Festival, Open Studios West Gippsland has been holding open weekends since around 2008.
Visitors can purchase a $10 ticket and take themselves on a self-guided tour through the participating studios.
Printmaker Helen Timbury is one of the artists opening her studio for the event. She said the event was a great way for the public to connect with local creatives.
"People can discover that there are artists living near them and they can meet them," she said. "They can get the experience of an artist studio up close and personal and find out what working artists actually look like."
There will be 15 studios participating in the November open weekend, covering a wide range of artistic mediums. There will be a studio to suit anyone's taste, from Laurie Collins' metal sculptures and Sue Acheson's ceramics, to Helen's printmaking and Anita George's calligraphic work.
Helen described the experience of visiting so many different studios as a "feast for your senses."
"All the artists are different and all use different materials, their studios will smell different when you walk in," Helen said. "It's really a feast for your senses. When you walk into my studio you might smell paper and ink, but if you walked into Laurie Collins' studio you'll probably smell oil and metal. Even the painters are all different, some are painting with oils, so you'll have that oil smell and others are painting in acrylics which is a different smell again."
The studios are located throughout the shire.
"We keep the geographical area a little bit small so that people actually have the chance to travel to all the studios if they want to on that weekend," Helen said. "It's really good for locals who want to invite friends up from Melbourne and show off their area. Sometimes you haven't really got a good reason to drive around the shire, but this is a really good way to navigate the beautiful scenery."
Helen said the open weekend was a fantastic opportunity for children with an interest in art to learn about different creative techniques.
"It's really lovely for families and children can get in for free," Helen said. "If you've got kids who are interested in art, it's a lovely moving tour for them to come along to. Most of the artists will show them the materials and demonstrate how they make art." "It's wonderful for children and they get a really lovely understanding of different techniques and they get to see that art is a real job."
As well as providing a day out, the open weekend provides an opportunity for local artists to connect with their community.
"Lots of artists work alone in their studio, so this is a chance for them to clean up their working spaces and show it off to the public," Helen said. "We get a big burst of energy from doing open studios, there's a lot of joy in having people come and show an interest in our work."
The Open Studios West Gippsland will run over November 4 and 5.
For the full list of artists involved and to access a map of the participating studios, visit https://openstudioswestgippsland.com.au. Weekend passes are available to purchase on the website or at studios.