By Liz King
1An old mill building and a former manufacturing facility for horse-drawn carriages in Amesbury are now home to dozens of artists and artisans, who will be opening their doors for two studio tours this weekend.
The free tours, which run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, will spotlight the creative talents who ply their crafts at the Artists' Muse Studios, located on the second floor of 9 Water St., and 14 Cedar Street Studios.
"The goal is to promote the artists in the building and in Amesbury and surrounding communities," said Barbara Lorenc, owner of 14 Cedar St. "So many artists go unnoticed and underappreciated, and yet they're in our own backyard."
In recent years, Lorenc's Cedar Street building has been transformed into a community for artists, craftsmen, dancers, jewelers, builders and designers. The open house there this weekend will feature the studios of nearly 30 resident artists, as well as almost 20 additional artists from the surrounding area who will be displaying their wares in the hallways.
Ceramic artist Roger Cramer and fiber artist Roseann Hunter will be leading demonstrations, and Jennifer Rogers of The Crafters Quarters in Amesbury will be on hand with activities for the public. Undertow will add some jazz music to the background, and neighboring Phat Cats Bistro in Amesbury will be offering a luncheon as well.
Stefanie McCowan, executive director of the Amesbury Chamber of Commerce, said a lot of new businesses have moved into the Cedar Street building in the past six months, and the open studios is an opportunity to showcase them.
After having a storefront on Friend Street in downtown Amesbury for 10 years, Charlotte Sorsen, owner of Charlotte's Beads, relocated to 14 Cedar St. at the end of last year.
"Small businesses are very hard to run," Sorsen said. "I came back to the studio atmosphere. The reason I came here was because there's a movement here that is working. As you enter the studios, you see that there's life in all of these places."
Sorsen said the goal of the studio tours is to reintroduce the public to the building, which is always open for the public to browse through or purchase items.
"There's a very nice buzz about this building — the artists and tenants are happy with it," Sorsen said. "When I tell people who used to visit me downtown where I've moved to, the response I get is, 'Oh, I've heard of that, but where is it?' We're just wanting to really put it on the map."
Similarly, the Artists' Muse Studios on Water Street includes 11 artists who work in oils, pastels, watercolors as well as mixed media. For the open house, their paintings will be on display in the main gallery as well as in the artists' individual studios.
Julie Airoldi, a Newburyport Art Association teacher for the past seven years who lives in Hampstead, N.H., already knew some of the painters occupying the Artists' Muse when she moved into one of the studios last October.
"There were already nine other artists here, and there was great energy," Airoldi said. "It's an old mill building, so it has great light and is in the heart of downtown Amesbury."
In addition to exhibiting her own paintings for the studio tours, Airoldi is also hosting the first show and sale of her students' artwork this weekend. "Small Treasures" will feature more than 75 framed and unframed pieces highlighting traditional and contemporary views of the New England landscape, the human form and still life. A separate reception for the student show takes place Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m.
McCowan said that artists and craftsmen find studio arrangements like the ones at Cedar and Water streets appealing because they allow them to open at varied hours and cater to special requests.
"People that are creative and artistic dance to the beat of their own drum," McCowan said. "So it's nice to have that flexibility."
Lorenc said this weekend's open houses are aimed at fostering the community and the arts and showing people what's happening in their own town.
"Everything is made in Amesbury or close by," Lorenc said. "We want to keep it local and benefit people in town and the surrounding communities."
IF YOU GO
What: Artists' Open Studios
When: Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: 14 Cedar Street Studios and Artists' Muse Studios at 9 Water St.
How: Free
Who's Who
Here are the artists who are participating in this weekend's open studio tours in Amesbury:
Artists' Muse Studios
9 Water St.
Julie Airoldi
Gay Cox
Helen Hamel
Sandy Jenkins
Ann Johnson
Heather Karp
Ellen Rittgers
Lee Rowan
Susan Sanford
Robin Thornhill
Anne White
14 Cedar Street Studios
Resident artists/businesses
Precision Point Pilates, Pilates instruction
Roger Cramer, ceramics
Bob Wiley, furniture restoration
Patricia Gray, paintings
Steven M. Sackmann, furniture maker
Jo Tyler, prints and abstract painting
John Mulligan, jewelry design and repair
Tyrus Porter, architect
Catawampus Designs, Jo Ann Jones, handmade cards
Eva Maria Lee, painter
Tracy Bickel, abstract collage and painting
Andy Niven, tabletop war gaming
Zimmer 360, interior design, linens
Connie Strychalski, knit fiber artist and felter
Eric Andersen, oil painting and murals
Muriel Angelil, watercolors and sculpture installations
Anthony Delgado, graphic design painting
Pavilion 10, Wenda Shelter, decorative painter and oil painter
Stephanie Musial, art therapy
Liz Southworth, jewelry
Charlotte's Beads, Charlotte Sorsen, glass bead jewelry maker
Steve Dame, jewelry
Merrimack Design Associates, architects
Kristin Hunter, interior design
VISITING ARTISTS
Amesbury
Michael Pepe, photography
Crafters Quarters, quilting, painting and fiber arts demonstrations
Michael Ramseur, pastels and giclee prints
Becca Donohue, photography
Renee Schneider, acrylic paintings
Two Rivers Ceramic Studio, ceramics
Rachel Kohn, electrical tape collage
Barbara Kemler, abstract painting
Edith Heyck, expressionist painting
Newburyport
Mary Conlan of Newburyport, block prints
Vivian Earabino of Newburyport, equine photography
Leslie Doherty of Newburyport, stained glass
Georgetown
Susan Hough, copper wire jewelry and beads
Topsfield
Linda Siwak, pastels, acrylics
Beverly
Judith H. Klein, jewelry
Haverhill
April Surowiec, acrylic fantasy paintings
East Kingston, N.H.
Peter Ridabock, glass blower
