Come on in, the Door’s Open!

One of the most fascinating aspects of a piece of art is the story behind it—what the artist was thinking when he or she created it, and what he or she was trying to say through the art.

This weekend, artists from all over Palo Alto and neighboring cities will throw open the doors to their private homes and studios, invite the public in to see where all the magic happens and hear the stories behind every piece of art. Some will even demonstrate their talents for you, creating pieces while you watch.

It’s all part of the 25th anniversary of one of the most beloved art events in all of Silicon Valley—Open Studios.

Mel Thomsen, CEO of Silicon Valley Visual Arts, the nonprofit organization that serves as the parent company to Open Studios, says the event has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 25 years.

“We’re really excited," he said. "We have over 400 artists this year, which is incredible. We had 325 last year. I think that’s just a reflection that people are becoming more and more aware of Open Studios, and it being our 25th anniversary.”

Thomsen is very passionate about Open Studios, because it is truly an event like no other.

“It gives you the chance to really go in and be up close and personal with the artist," he said. "What we’re trying to encourage is the creation of a close, personal relationship with the artist. That’s something you just don’t see anyplace else.”

To embark on an Open Studios adventure, all an art lover needs to do is pick up a catalog/directory from any one of a handful of locations in the area and plot out your journey. Browse the glossy pages, and if you see a piece of art or media you like, find the Site Number the artist is showing at, and be on your way. No need to schedule an appointment—just drop by anytime during Open Studios hours, which are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, for cities in northern Santa Clara County, which includes Palo Alto, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills.

Thomsen said another unique aspect of Open Studios is that it is not just for seasoned, professional artists—anyone can sign up, and works are not judged for approval in order to participate. Therefore, he said, it is actually the perfect “first show” for any new artist.

“It’s a great first event for an artist just starting out and spreading their wings with their art career,” he explained. “It’s more comfortable to be in your own house or studio, in familiar surroundings. We consider ourselves kind of an ‘incubator’ for young and emerging artists.”

Speaking of emerging artists, Thomsen said, there is also the Open Studios for Schools program, in which art students can be mentored by professional artists and taught how to talk about their art, display or show their art, book a show, and even sell their art. Local schools that are part of the Open Studios for Schools event this year include high schools in the Palo Alto Unified School District, Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, and Abilities United, a school for handicapped students in Palo Alto.

Martha Castillo, a Palo Alto artist who has participated in Open Studios for roughly 15 years, creates art of a very rare type—clay printmaking.

Clay printmaking is a sister of sorts to etching. With etching, one etches a picture onto a rigid plate, pours ink into the rigid lines, and runs it through a printing press to make a print. Many duplicates can be made by pouring more ink into the grooves and lines of the plate.

With clay printmaking, Castillo explained, “Instead of a rigid plate, I have a slab of leather-hard, stoneware clay.” Castillo said that “leather-hard” means it retains a small amount of moisture so it can bend and move, much like a leather belt or handbag. Castillo etches her drawings onto the clay, rather than into a plate.

Next, she makes liquid clay, which acts as her “paint” when she adds pigments to it to color it. She then paints over the etchings in the clay slab, one layer at a time—as each layer dries, she keeps painting additional layers over it.

“I keep building layer upon layer, until I like the way the surface looks,” she explained.

Then she takes a very special type of canvas, lays it on top of the slab and uses a small rolling pin to transfer the image, occasionally spraying the surface lightly with water to help with the transfer.

“Very slowly, the image will transfer off the surface of the slab onto the canvas,” she explained.

Clay printmaking is still an incredibly rare technique. It was invented by an artist named Mitch Lyons. Castillo was lucky enough to take a workshop taught personally by Lyons while visiting family in Philadelphia years ago.

“I discovered this one-day workshop on clay printmaking while in town, and I thought it sounded fascinating,” she said. “It was all a series of serendipity. I was hooked from the first four-hour class; I loved it. So, I’ve been doing it ever since, and I teach workshops in it now.”

Castillo said, Open Studios is a great way to spread awareness of this still-relatively-unknown art form.

“There’s not very many of us that do it, although we’re slowly increasing,” she said. “When I started, not many people had heard of the technique. It’s slowly spreading; we’re making an impact.”

She added that not only is Open Studios a great way to meet new clientele and sell pieces of her work, but it also helps her to keep growing, as an artist.

“It’s a wonderful way to meet the public and get instant feedback, other than from people in your family, or friends or teachers,” she said. “That helps any artist [with discovering] where they want to go from there. They can rethink what it is they think they want to do.”

Castillo said, she loves to do demonstrations so people can see exactly what the process of clay printmaking entails.

“If someone just saw a print, they might not know what they’re looking at it, or feel like they don’t ‘get it’ or understand it,” she said, explaining how understanding the technique can often help an art enthusiast make up their own mind about it and, perhaps, appreciate it more.

Castillo’s work can be seen at an Open Studios exhibition through May 22 at Site No. 69, , 320 California Ave. in Palo Alto. She personally will host her Open Studio this weekend at Site No. 94, her studio, at 772 Clara Dr. in Palo Alto. For more information about her and her work, visit marthacastillo.net.

Cathy Zander, an artist from Los Altos, has taken part in Open Studios for 12 years. An art teacher both privately and through the in Palo Alto, she echoed Castillo’s sentiment, that Open Studios gives her a new and different audience for her art, outside of her students, and keeps her constantly growing as an artist.

“I love the feedback that people give me,” she said. “I think it really strengthens my art that people come up and make comments, about what they like and don’t, what they see in it. It makes me look at my art in a different way.”

Though she is proficient in many different media, including sculpture, printmaking, art to wear and jewelry, Zander said she will primarily be displaying her watercolor and acrylic paintings at Open Studios this year. Zander said she mostly paints in the “abstract” and “poured” styles.

“'Abstract' is anything that doesn’t have something recognizable in it, or it distorts something realistic,” she explained. “’Poured’ is taking the paint and pouring it right onto a canvas, and then manipulating it to get it to do unusual and unexpected things. And I love color, so especially the ‘poured’ style really brings a lot of color into it. It mixes a lot of color and really lets them play with each other on the canvas.”

Zander said Open Studios has also been very helpful to her career—she said she regularly sells pieces of work during the event and finds many new potential students for her classes or lessons.

“I love it when someone is inspired by what they see, and it makes them want to take lessons and try it for themselves,” she said. “That also sometimes inspires me, from what they’re looking at, to do something new or different or to change my work in some way, through their feedback.”

Zander will display her work along with six or seven other artists of varying media at Site No. 124 this weekend, which is the home of Patricia Nojima, at 475 Knoll Dr. in Los Altos Hills. You can learn more about her at cathyzander.com.

For more information about Silicon Valley Open Studios, visit svos.org. You can search by artist, by medium or by city.

Locally, free Open Studios catalogs/directories can be picked up at:

, 267 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto

, 392 California Ave., Palo Alto

, 320 California Ave. Palo Alto

, 668 Ramona St., Palo Alto

, 1313 Newell Rd., Palo Alto

., 229 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto