Local artists open studios to public Local artists open studios to public (May 04, 2005)

Thirty-one artists from Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley and Woodside will open their studios to the public, most of them on Saturday and Sunday, May 7-8, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The weekend is part of Silicon Valley Open Studios 2005, which involves 405 artists from South San Francisco to Santa Cruz who open their studios to the public for three weekends in May. Visitors can meet the artists in their work spaces, talk with them about their work, and purchase art directly from the studio.

Printed tour guides that include maps and samples of artists' work will be available at the studios and can be picked up at town libraries, many local businesses, including Kepler's Books, and Allied Arts Guild.

The work of local artists includes painting, drawing, photography, etching, jewelry, pottery, sculpture, and computer-generated arts.

Among the artists is Lee Middleman of Portola Valley, who creates highly textured ceramic vessels. Last year, he took part in artist-in-residence programs in Japan and Korea last year, and his work was recently featured in a solo gallery exhibit in Seoul.

Alice Weil is a plein air landscape artist from Atherton who is with the Bay Area Contemporary Plein Air Circle.

Catherine Lush will show bronze and ceramic sculptures at her Willows neighborhood studio in Menlo Park.

Cindy Stokes of Menlo Park, who works as a bioengineer, will show her photography. She was one of only 16 artists named a "Star" by five regional art curators in this year's Open Studios juried competition.

Oil painter Karen Barone and photographer Pete Zivkov also do art-related work, including teaching and tech support for visual artists. Last fall, Ms. Barone exhibited her paintings at the Grand National Western Show, where she was awarded an honorable mention in an exhibit of western-themed art.

Oil painter Melinda Cootsona, mosaic artist Deborah Gordon and etching artist m.e. Foster, will exhibit their work from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, May 7 and 8, and Saturday and Sunday, May 14 and 15, at 621 Arbor Road. Ms. Cootsona will give an oil painting demonstration at 1 p.m. on both Sundays.

Ms. Gordon recycles broken pottery and mirrors and make them into garden art, tables and fountains. Ms. Foster will preview her most recent series of etchings, along with several new pastel pieces. This is the sixth year the women have banded together to show their work.

Cynthia DeBenedetti, Carolyn Hofstetter, Diana Jaye and Barbara Wright will exhibit their paintings at the home of Diana Jaye at 550 Menlo Oaks Drive in Menlo Park, on May 21 and 22, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Artists-in-residence Adele Seltzer, Bonny Novesky, Susan Prickett, Shirley Marianai, Annette Jorgensen, Kalani Engles and Sean Smith will open their Portola Valley studios and have wine for tasting, compliments of Thomas Fogarty Winery of Portola Valley.

Invited to share the Portola Valley studios this weekend will be six more San Mateo County artists: Cynthia Hamilton, Sally Kunstadter, Penny Sur, Ann Ross Wallach, Susan Wolf and Cathy Zander.

For more information about the Open Studios program, call 408-411-8802.

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