by Bonnie Collings
Artists across West Gippsland will again open their home studios for community members to visit and explore this weekend.
Run by Open Studios West Gippsland, the open weekend aims to introduce the community to 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 weekend pass and take themselves on a self-guided tour through as many studios as they want.
Eighteen local studios are participating in the 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 Timbury's printmaking and Anita George's calligraphic work.
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."
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. "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."
Visitors are encouraged to hear the stories behind some of the amazing pieces on display in the home studios and will have the opportunity to purchase work directly from the maker.
Children under 18 can attend the open studios for free, a perfect opportunity for young artists to meet local creatives and learn about different creative techniques.
"If you've got kids who are interested in art, it's a lovely moving tour for them to come along to," Helen said. "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."
All studios are located within Baw Baw Shire, allowing visitors to easily travel between studios and enjoy local scenery and businesses along the way.
The Open Studios West Gippsland will run over the April 13 and 14 weekend.
For the full list of artists involved and to access a map of the participating studios, visit https://openstudioswestgippsland.com.au.