Ob...sessed With Beacon Open Studios - Which Studios We Are Visiting

Two of my favorite weekends in Beacon are Beacon Open Studios, and the City-Wide Yard Sale. They both present an opportunity to explore all of Beacon to find interesting things you have never seen before - and probably never will again. Beacon Open Studios has opened today through Sunday, May 21-22, 2016, so get your walking shoes on because you have a lot of exploring to do. If you're looking for a place to park all day, check out the Free Public Parking Lot Guide we made for you, with pictures and cross streets for all of Beacon's free lots.

Beacon Open Studios is the reason why you're seeing the big red dot everywhere - from people's yards to galleries and storefronts. Artists of all kinds - painting, jewelry, sculpture, mixed media - open their homes or take over a space to let you meet them and view their work. To find these studios, pick up a brochure from most any shop or restaurant in town, or the studio's headquarters, 2 Way Brewing Company down on Beekman Street, on the way to or from the Beacon train station.

Anna Bergin is my current obsession. Pictured below in layers of color, Anna popped up in a PopUp Shop this past winter with chocolate baker 5 Hens, which was a perfect match because Anna's paintings look like totally edible cupcake frosting. The texture of the paint she mixes herself is thick and chalky - like sugary frosting. Painted with oil and ash in shades of pastel, these paintings are captivating. Hold on a minute. "Ash"? Yes, Anna mixes the paint pigments with actual ash from her fireplace. Says Anna: "I take the ash from my fireplace during winter and campfires during summer months. It's part of what I think is neat about it, using what we burn." See her work now at 2 Way Brewing Company and Spire Studios. And be sure to sign up for our newsletter in case she pops up in another PopUp Shop.

Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

Beth Weintraub, a printmaker, has eye-catching artwork on display. This piece on the left currently hangs in 2 Way Brewing Company right now as part of the Beacon Open Studios exhibit, and she's at Spire Studios, too.

Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin

Beacon Open Studios usually includes at least one hands-on art event for the kids, and this year, one of them offers an opportunity to play with clay from Beacon Craft Workshop, another regular in our Kids Classes Guide. Find the event on Saturday in the upstairs classroom at the Howland Cultural Center, 477 Main St, Beacon.

Photo Credit: Beacon Craft Workshop

This beautiful wood scrap sale from Wickham Solid Wood Studio, down at the very end of Main Street by The Hop, is a not-to-be-missed sale. If you are a collector of wood to make anything - shelves, tables, surfaces of any kind - this is one wood workshop you need to stop into.

Photo Credit: Wickham

Working in the studio, artist Joe Radoccia gives you a taste of what it's like to walk into one of these live-action studios.

Photo Credit: Neg Kalfou

Breathtaking. David Swoop will be at 22 High Street. One can only look forward what else he has on display.

Photo Credit: Beacon Open Studios

For all you romantics out there, Anna West captures the moment. She will also be at Spire Studios at 45 Beekman Street in Studio 2.

Photo Credit: Beacon Open Studios

And for the jewelry collectors in the house, there are several in-home or jewelry studios open this weekend, a rare occasion indeed. Be inspired by this work space from laiannaferruggia.

Photo Credit: laiannaferruggia

Tag #beaconopenstudios in Instagram while you are out and about, so we can see what you see!