[ccfic caption-text format="plaintext"]
By Katrina Margolis
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Once a year, the art community of Needham opens up its doors to let anyone and everyone take a peek inside.
Needham Open Studios features over 30 artists who exhibit their work. Some are full-time professional artists, while others work at art part-time, but every single one has a commitment to creativity and craftsmanship. Artists range from Bala Muthukaruppan, who does traditional Indian folk art, to Marilyn Sargon Brier, who does fused glass jewelry and accessories, to Tony Cicala, who creates painted, welded sculptures for outdoor gardens.
All of these artists invited the Needham community into their homes and studios to understand their process, see how their work is created, and perhaps take a piece of local art home with them.
Nancy Motley Walton was one of the artists involved in Open Studios who is also a part of the Needham Art Association. While the two are not directly connected, there is a fair amount of overlap between them during this event. Walton is finishing up her second year as program chair for the Needham Art Association, and is the incoming President.
“I started watercolor painting in 1991, so I think I started to look into it, but it wasn’t that big a deal. And so I thought, ‘I don’t know if I want to do it,’” Walton explained. “About four or five years ago, I decided, ‘This is a really good thing for the town.’ I started to see some of the other world, and I thought I want to be a part of that organization. I’m going to be a part of this because it’s a wonderful town effort.”
Walton has lived in Needham for 33 years, and after observing the nature of the town, she realized how vital this artistic effort is. “There are so many sports that go on in this town. I felt this has got to be promoted more. There needs to be more of it. Not everyone’s a jock!”
Due to this desire to be more public, this year Open Studios partnered with Volante Farms earlier in the year. Open Studios artists painted on-site, and there were special art activities.
These sorts of demonstrations were continued throughout Open Studios, with the hands-on activities and demos artists offered. Naomi Wilsey offered a colored pencil craft, which included using Vaseline to blend and shade the pencils, creating more of a painted look. Some of the other demonstrations included Jennifer Yogel showing how to hand-weave fine metal jewelry and Eddie Bruckner’s abstract art craft.
