PenArt’s Open Studios Provides Access to Equipment and Community of Artists

Artists of all media and levels are invited to participate in the weekly Open Studios program at Peninsula School of Art (PenArt), 3900 County Road F. Thursday evenings from 5:30-8:30pm. The fee for access to all studio areas is $10, no membership is required.

During the “quiet season,” when Door County takes on an even more relaxed pace, PenArt opens its large, well-equipped painting, drawing, printmaking, jewelry and clay studios to individuals in search of space for self-directed creativity, within a community of like-minded artists. In addition to working on individual projects, Open Studio participants may draw from a live model. Each week, a model provides a variety of quick and sustained poses for participants to work from. A rotating facilitator will set and time each pose, play background music, and call for breaks. Easels, drawing horses, and drawing boards are available, and the studio fee includes the model fee.

“This program is a great way to get into a regular art-making practice,” says PenArt Executive Director Cathy Hoke. “Maybe more importantly though, it’s a way to connect with people during the winter, share ideas, experiment and use some equipment you probably don’t have access to at home.”

PenArt’s printmaking studio offers an etching press for monotypes, collagraph, and relief, as well as an exposure unit for screen printing. Silkscreens may be rented for a small fee. In the clay studio, ceramists have access to basic tools, tables for hand building, pottery wheels, extruder, slab roller, molds, underglazes, glazes, and electric kilns. In the jewelry studio, those with basic jewelry making skills may utilize torches, flex shafts, buffing machine, rolling mill, guillotine, tumbler, enamel kilns, and all hand tools.

While there is no formal instruction provided during Open Studios, a facilitator is available in each studio to answer questions regarding the proper handling of equipment and materials. 

For more information about the Open Studio Program, call Peninsula School of Art at 920.868.3455 or visit PeninsulaSchoolofArt.org.