By Mark Reynolds
A newly formed artist association in Highland, the HOST Group, is inviting the public to take a tour of their studios on September 30th and October 1 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information is available at
highlandopenstudiotour.com and locations by clicking on the QR code.
Amy Dooley, a ceramic, photography and design artist, is President of this fledgling organization. She said last year she and fellow artist Jill Ziccardi hatched the idea of the studio tour.
“I started a google spread sheet of people I knew and a lot are people who have shown at my gallery (Studio 89) or have come to the gallery asking to be shown,” she said.
After joining forces with Ziccardi, the list of artists has now grown to 19, all of whom will be on this tour.
Amy said, “We have painters and collage makers, woodworkers and ceramic artists, and yes we have quite a variety. We thought a studio tour would help us all meet each other and help us build our audiences and become more of a community and an art destination.”
Painter Beth Walters Storyk said this event marks the birth of this new organization. She learned about the HOST group about six months ago through friend and fellow painter Felicia Casey.
Beth is unsure what to call her style but says it is, “the layering of color and texture into recognizable scenery, floral and even people. I get the most enjoyment of doing that with oils and then a lot of life drawing. I feel like my style is a more classic style than it is avant garde or abstract.”
Beth said when looking at her wall of art in her studio, “it’s landscapes, florals and the human body. I don’t do abstract or pastel work, but I do my drawings and a lot of oil painting.”
Artist Jill Ziccardi, who is the Vice President of the organization, said she and Amy Dooley “cast a net out” to find other artists in town and found 19 artists this first year.
“One of the most wonderful things about the whole experience is that I’ve met all of these artists right under my nose and didn’t even know they were there,” she said.
Ziccardi is looking forward to the studio tour.
“We have no idea what to expect but its been pretty impressive that we got together, we didn’t know each other and we really got a lot accomplished for the first year,” she said. “I think we’re making a pretty professional first step out.”