Tuesday, March 16, 2010

North Coast Open Studios Artist Registration Deadline is Today!

The deadline to register for the Twelfth Annual North Coast Open Studios (NCOS) is today (Tuesday, March 16)! Today is your last chance to contact NCOS Coordinator Taffy Stockton and reserve spot for this creative showcase for local artists.

Have you been considering participating, but haven't made up your mind yet? Try it out! NCOS 2010 is shaping up to be a great year, and participation is a great was to get information about your art out to thousands of people.

Attendees rave about the opportunity to see artists at work and in their creative spaces.

"Open Studio has provided me with the wonderful opportunity to see the nuts and bolts of what each particular artist surrounds themselves with to create their creative environment. It also provides the rare opportunity when the hosting artist can visit with me in a more relaxed atmosphere. I'm looking forward to the next tour!" said Maggie Stimson, NCOS Attendee.

NCOS registration is open to dedicated artists, fine crafts people, arts manufacturers, art organizations, art businesses and cultural sites in Humboldt County. Artists must have a safe and reasonably accessible studio and must agree to stay open for one or two weekends of the event. Listings of “by appointment only” are available for artists who will not be open during Open Studios.

For more information, contact Taffy Stockton,
NCOS Coordinator by email at contact@northcoastopenstudios.com, or by calling (707) 834-6460. Find more information, or download an application, on our website at www.northcoastopenstudios.com,

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Preparing For NCOS... As A New Artist


It was one year ago this April that I first spotted a 4"x 5" flyer titled "North Coast Open Studios" on the counter in The Art Center. As a new Humboldt County resident and a career changing, fledgling artist I was interested in participating in every art event I could find. Sadly I realized this NCOS was for artists with studios. At the time I still considered my art a hobby and I really didn't have a studio. I thought..."Well, maybe next year I'll have my own studio."

Actually the timing was good. I found I could leisurely cruise the artists in the NCOS map & guidebook and see how all the other artists set up their work places... maybe get some ideas. I found the weekend to be perfectly inspiring. I made some new artist friends, and here I am today, getting ready for NCOS with my own studio.

I think this will be fun. An entire weekend of welcoming art seekers into my most favorite space in the world...my studio. Unlike Arts Alive this will be daytime, quieter and more relaxed. Hopefully there will be more time to actually talk to people about my art, and their art too.

Preparations? Some cleaning, a lot of new paintings, cooking up some wonderful little bites of food that go well with art and wine and I'm ready.

Fran Kuta
First time NCOS Artist in 2010 & NCOS Steering Committee Member
Frances Kuta Fine Art at www.franceskuta.com

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Preparing for Open Studios


Although North Coast Open Studios isn't until June, the committee has been busy preparing. Enthusiastically led by Taffy Stockton, meetings are focused and productive. Plans for the brochure are in progress with the North Coast Journal once again printing a color brochure.

We empathize with artists who feel the cost is a burden so we work hard to keep the rising costs down. Fees are supplemented with grants, a raffle, donations, and volunteers. Generous participating artists will be donating art for our raffle. The website, posters and brochures are all produced to bring artists and the community together. The raffle is an enticing and inexpensive opportunity to win a valuable piece of art. We are doing something different this year so stay tuned...

Artists, don't forget the sign up deadline is March 15th!

We'd like you to meet our team: (alphabetically)

Julia Bednar: an avid realist painter and past president of the Redwood Arts Association, always active in the arts community.
Susan Bloch: a glass artist working with themes about "Time & Nature", active on the public art committee and Eureka Art & Culture Commission. www.blochstudio.com
Jemima Harr: a dedicated advocate of the arts, is the Museum Director of the Morris Graves Museum. She has collaborated on and curated over 300 exhibitions throughout California. www.humboldtarts.org
Frances Kuta: a portrait and still life painter inspired by color and light. franceskuta.com
Yvonne Kern: a landscape and still life painter, expressing connections between the visual world and the internal experience. www.yvonnekern.com
Libby Maynard: an artist and executive director of the Ink People, dedicated, determined and purposeful arts leader. www.inkpeople.org
Taffy Stockton: owns a full service events and consulting company, leading our team of volunteers to create a robust, cost-efficient, well-planned open studios. www.sandsevents.net
Tanya Nordberg: inspired programs manager for The Ink People center for the Arts. www.inkpeople.org

Susan Bloch Welliver
NCOS Steering Committee Member & NCOS Artist
www.blochstudio.com