Several South County artists to open their studios

Published in the April 27 – May 10, 2016 issue of Morgan Hill Life

FOR MORE DETAILS, CLICK HERE

By Staff Report

West Side Morgan Hill by Renee Felice

West Side Morgan Hill by Renee Filice

Artists and art lovers, May is your month to get together and appreciate art in the Peninsula and South Bay regions. The Silicon Valley Open Studios will hold its 30th annual art open houses event on three weekends — with participating artists opening their studios between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. May 7, 8, 14, 15, 21 and 22.

Catalogs printed by the nonprofit organizations contain the listing of more than 380 artists participating in the popular art program at about 150 locations, including Gilroy and Morgan Hill. These can be found in the lobby of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce office downtown, the Morgan Hill Art Gallery, the Community and Cultural Center and the Centennial Recreation Center.

SVOS is an excellent way for people interested in taking art lessons to meet potential instructors or simply those seeking an opportunity to purchase original artwork for their own collection and personal adornment .
The artists work in a variety of visual media including painting, fiber arts, printmaking, mixed media, jewelry, photography, sculpture and ceramics. Among Morgan Hill artists who will hold open houses are Marge Regan, Satu Viitanen, and Renée Filice.

"Rhodies" by Renee Filice

“Rhodies” by Renee Filice

The Open Studios showcases the talent of a multitude of art residents of the South Valley, allowing people to discover the creative talent among their neighbors, Regan said.

“Artists love to talk about how they make their art. If it’s a painter, metal-smith, potter, jewelry artist, photographer, they all have a story to tell and Open Studios is the perfect venue for artists to share their passion for what they do,” she said. “Come out and meet the talented artists that live in and around your community. Learn what inspires the artist, ask about their creative process, find out about a particular technique or media you’ve always wanted to know more about.”

As long as Viitanen can remember, she has always enjoyed creativity and making art regardless of medium. Her early passion — experiments using different mediums, drawing, collages, painting and other natural materials — inspired her to continue creative exploration and development. She spends most of her creative time behind her camera lens seeking to capture nature and architecture in a unique natural light, she said.

“Open Studios is helpful for meeting artists who are not as involved with local galleries, or not as well known,” she said. “Most likely the best way to meet the artist in person is his or her home studio, right in their special, creative environment.”

Filice enjoys sharing her art work with Morgan Hill residents and visitors to the city through the SVOS program as well as placing her works on the walls of local restaurants such as Rosy’s at the Beach through the local art association Valle del Sur.

“Art is a way for me to notice the everyday breathtaking beauty in the world, interpret it with dyes on silk or pastels and share my vision with others. It often involves a struggle to get the picture from my mind to physical form and also joy while working at it,” she said. “My style is fairly bold and graphic with vivid colors. My subjects vary from landscapes to still life. I like ‘mini-vacation’ paintings, where I put the viewer in the scene by way of table and chairs on a deck or porch overlooking a lovely landscape.”

For a complete list of locations, artists and contact information visit www.svos.org.