Artists get ready to show off

by Tom Lohr

With summer on the wane and fall rapidly approaching, the members of the Cross Timbers Artists Guild are busy preparing for the 15^th Annual Open Studio Tour.  The Tour will take place Saturday and Sunday, November 12 & 13, with an opening reception Friday evening, November 11, at Premier Gallery, 1681 Justin Rd., Lewisville.

During the tour, the artists open their studios to provide the public an opportunity to see where and how art is created.  The artists try to encourage interest in the process, materials and ideas related to creating art.  They also want to increase awareness that art flourishes in area neighborhoods, not just in designated art districts. The Cross Timbers Artist Guild is comprised of 29 artists from our area.

The tour this year will include five artists new to the tour and three artists returning to the tour after several years absence.

One of the new artists is Melodee Martin Ramirez, a professor of Art History and of Painting at North Lake College.  She has also taught in a variety of locations in Italy and the United States.  Melodee likes to explore techniques from cultures past and present to create paintings with depth and luminosity.  Her paintings can be seen in a number of local corporations and foundations.

A wide variety of other disciplines will be on display during the tour.  They include sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, fibers, glass, wood carving, turned wood, and wood furniture.  One of the interesting aspects of the tour is seeing how the work of artists in the same medium differ from each other.

For more information on the tour, there will be a map and list of artists in next month’s issue of The Cross Timbers Gazette or, visit our webpage at www.crosstimbersarts.com. Also, please like us on Facebook at “Cross Timbers Artists Studio Tour.”