'Come and see their art': Orange County Artists Guild Tour celebrates its 30th anniversary

The Orange County Artists Guild Studio Tour is celebrating its 30-year anniversary over the first two weekends of November by providing a self-guided tour, with over 70 art studios in Orange County participating. 

The tour will provide those interested an opportunity to visit studios typically closed to the public — since many studios are in participating artists’ homes — and will showcase a variety of art mediums, including ceramics, sculpture, tapestries, photography and paintings. 

“It's a very important part of my life to be on the tour,” Joan Vandermeer, a Chapel Hill-based painter, said. “And I think it is for a lot of the other painters that may not be in galleries somewhere, but may just want to open up their home for people to come and see their art.”

The Orange County Open Studio Tours began in 1995, with a much smaller participating cohort. After the Orange County Artists’ Guild formed in 2000, it has organized the tours since. 

Dan Murphy, a Chapel Hill sculptor, has been participating in the studio tours on-and-off since the beginning. 

Murphy first came to Chapel Hill when he was a student at UNC School of Law. However, after getting involved in sculpting he decided to take a break from school and become an artist for a while, he said. Nearly 50 years later, he has yet to return, devoting his time and energy instead to sculpting. 

"It's [the tour] just a nice way to meet people," he said. "And most of the people that go on the tour are not buyers. They just like art and are looking for something to do. And it's kind of interesting to most people to see artists in their art atmosphere, where they create the art."

There are three stops visitors can make when attending Murphy’s studio, including one where those interested can see his workspace. 

He said they first walk into the regular part of his home where there are a few sculptures, then into his studio where visitors can see the raw materials and learn a little about his sculpting process. Finally, in the gallery space, nothing but sculptures will be on display, and visitors can ask questions and stay as long as they please.

“I think it's a really good opportunity to engage the community and really introduce them to their local artists,” Karen Sosa, a Chapel Hill-based painter and another participant in the tour, said.

Sosa said she has been painting and drawing her whole life and has worked as a rare book conservator. After moving to Chapel Hill in 2015, she started painting more seriously and joined the Guild in 2018.

Sosa’s pieces express her connection between land and color. She said she primarily paints in acrylic because of how vibrant the paint is, but she will have some oil paintings hanging as well.

She said that a wide variety of people go through the tour every year, and she particularly enjoys when parents bring their children, or “budding artists,” who are really into art.

Catharine Carter, a Chapel Hill-based photographer, was one of these attendees herself before deciding to join the Guild. She used to pick six to eight different studios and visit them during the days of the tour.

“I think it's a great opportunity, if people like art, if they want to talk about art, if they want to see some different things, to get to know the artist, as well as just see the work,” Carter said.

Vandermeer, Murphy and Carter will have their studios open both weekends, while Sosa's will only be opened the first weekend. Vandermeer’s studio is located at Studio 31 on the website's map, Murphy at Studio 67, Sosa at Studio 44 and Carter at Studio 61. 

The tour will run from 1-5 p.m. on Saturdays and 12-5 p.m. on Sundays. To see all of the artists and their studio locations for the tour, visit the OCAG website. 

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