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Get an inside peek at Ashland Open Studio Tour Suzanne Etienne at work in her Ashland art studio. Etiennes place will be among the stops on the Ashland Open Studio Tour. Mail Tribune / Denise Baratta Thursday Oct 6, 2016 at 8:00 AM Oct 6, 2016 at 11:44 AM Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune @VickieAldous When visitors enter Suzanne Etienne's sun-splashed studio, they are greeted with large, joyful paintings, vases of flowers from her garden and mementos from her international travels as an artist. "I try to have everything here mean something," she says. Etienne will open her studio to the public during the free Ashland Open Studio Tour that runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 8-9. The self-guided tour includes 22 artist studios in Ashland, Talent, Phoenix and the surrounding countryside. Tour maps are available at Ashland Gallery Association member galleries and businesses, the Ashland Chamber of Commerce at 110 E. Main St. or online at ashlandost.com. Visitors can see the settings where the area's diverse arts community creates paintings, prints, sculptures, fiber arts, ceramics and more. Many studios will have demonstrations to provide insight into artists' creative processes and methods. For Etienne, inspiration is often as close as the flower-filled garden outside her studio at 143 N. Third St. in Ashland. On a recent visit, a vase overflowing with hydrangeas, other flowers and clusters of cherry tomatoes provided inspiration for a painting-in-progress. A carved wood sculpture of Saint Michael, the patron saint of artists, and Venetian masks of men and women with grape clusters and flowers for hair kept watch over the studio. A red French rug brought a splash of color to the floor, and a shelf was lined with art books. "Picasso put down Matisse because his work was joyful," Etienne says. "People think beautiful and joyful work is not as important as somber and dark work. But it's been a choice in my life to go into the light. The world needs more light and color and passion." Once a dilapidated garage, her lovingly restored studio is filled with personal and creative touches. Etienne wanted her sink counter in the studio to be covered in Dutch delft blue tiles, but the cost was prohibitive. So using images off Pinterest, she took paintbrush in hand and painted faux tiles on the counter. Next to the counter, an arched painting of sunflowers and poppies hangs above a row of pegs holding coffee mugs from around the world. Etienne regularly holds classes in her studio, where she treats novice-to-experienced artists to good coffee and a supportive setting to learn, take risks and grow. "When women come here, I see them bloom," she says. In addition to showing her own art, Etienne will have a large garden tent to display the work of her students, many of whom are professionals with thriving careers. "We're working as a unit to do this open studio," she says. Etienne says humans have a primal need to be creative. From people painting on cave walls with umber to the Dutch masters to contemporary art, humans have been striving to give voice to those creative urges. "If we get in touch with our creativity, our lives have meaning," she says. Other highlights of the open studio tour include demonstrations on both days. Whitney Rolfe will show mandala making and ink painting at 11 a.m. on Saturday at 529 Tulipan Way, Unit B, Talent. Linda Elesiya Evans will demonstrate how to do a watercolor under-painting for a landscape in pastels at 1 p.m. on Saturday at 232 Phoenix Hills Drive, Phoenix. At 3 p.m. Saturday, visitors can see Denise Kester use oil-based lithography inks in viscosity printing at 440 Helman St., Ashland. Sunday demonstrations start at 11 a.m. with ceramist MaryDee Bombick at 421 Prim St., Ashland, and continue at 1 p.m. with Cheryl Kempner making metal garden art with a plasma torch at 447 Pape St., Ashland. Bruce Bayard will demonstrate digital collage at 3 p.m. Sunday at 621 A St., Ashland. He shares the space with figurative artist Ann DiSalvo. Other participating artists include: Painter, sculptor and jewelry-maker Elin Babcock, 291 Oak St., Ashland Pamela Ourshalimian and Kay Driver, who paint and sculpt at 188 Central Ave., Ashland Painter and card and printmaker Dana Feagin, 188 Alida St., Ashland Painter, print-maker and mixed media artist Denise Souza Finney, 225 Ohio St., Ashland Joan Franklin and David Lorenz Winston, who do watercolors and photographs at 615 Talent Ave. No. 9, Talent Sculptor Harriet Greene and printmaker, illustrator, photographer and filmmaker Martin Goldman, 9647 Wagner Creek Road, Talent Figurative painter and photo-based encaustic collage-maker Vanessa Hajje, 295 E. Main St., Suite 18, Ashland Ceramist Julia Janeway, 2000 Ashland Mine Road, Ashland Textile artist Claudia Law, 762 B St., Ashland Oil painter Jhenna Quinn Lewis, 92 Mountain View Drive, Phoenix Painter and sculptor Margie Mee, 1049 E. Nevada St., Ashland Richard and Rochelle Newman, who do painting, sculpture, textiles and books, at 847 Skylark Place, Ashland Semi-abstract figurative painter Karen Staal, 1375 Woodland Ave., Ashland Abstract painter Peter Veblen Van Fleet, 104 S. Market St., Talent Paper artist Candy Wooding, 838 Cobblestone Court, Ashland