Artists Open Studios: Relfections and Useful Tips - Elisa Pritzker Talks Art:

There are several ways to present an artist open studio to the public. Some artists do it once or twice a year as an individual endeavor. They have developed followers and they use the open studio time to introduce their new work, sell and get feedback among other things.

Another way to engage in an open studio is when an organization does it within a region and the artists from the area open their studios under the umbrella of the arts organization. They benefit from the promotion of the organizer that usually puts together a studio map, promo materials including the use of the web site as a resource.

Yet another way to do it is when a group of individual artists from an area, get together to open their studios at the same time and plan the promotion as a group effort.

Opening your studio is somehow opening your private creative space to share it with others. The motivation to do it may be different for each artist. No matter why you do it, I believe it could be beneficial to think about what you want to accomplish by doing it.

I asked two artists that they planned to be part of the studio tour of two different organizations. I asked NYC artist Barbara Rachko. She is part of the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA) tour.

- Why do you participate in an open studio? Barbara says that she wants "to share my life's work with a new group of people"

- What is the outcome that you're expecting? "Practice explaining my work to people to whom it is brand new, some appreciation of the thought processes and sheer amount of work that go into making my pastel paintings, perhaps a new friend and/or a collector or two."

Woodstock artist Julia Santos Solomon is part of the 6th Annual Woodstock Artists Studio Tour. I asked Julia the same questions and she responded about why she is participating: "I participate in open studios because it opens me up to the community. I genuinely enjoy interacting with the visitors. It also gives me an opportunity to view my most recent work in a cohesive way. Some years I don't have sales, and other years I sell a lot.....mostly to my own collectors who enjoy coming upstate in the fall."

About the outcome that Julia expects: "The outcome I am expecting first is to have a comprehensive sense of my recent work, and to sell the art directly from the environment in which it was created."

No matter what your motivations are, remember to cover different organizational areas like signage and available directions to visitors, promotional materials to give away, a book for mailing list to sign (including space for emails), price list or labels, packing materials and red dots for next days pick-ups.

Keep a good mood to receive the public that may include flowers, refreshments and positive comments that will make the visit a great experience for everybody.

The next days remember to send thank you notes to any buyer, make notes of the whole experience and how you can do it better the next time.

Essentially, enjoy the process before, during and after. Good luck!