Brochure design by Cody Jacobson, cover art by Emily Williams-Wheeler
The Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists Studio Crawl is back this weekend. It’s on today and tomorrow, October 6th and 7th.
Every year, local artists put out snacks, pour a little wine and open up the doors to their studios for a behind-the-scenes tour. This year, 39 different studios are participating all over the F/M Area, so you can see a huge amount of work in a day or two. And everything is free!
You can watch demos, talk with your favorite artists and see their work in the environment it was created in. Some stops have little gifts for guests and most have work for sale, as well.
My Jon Offutt vases
I love watching watching Jon Offutt play with fire at House of Mulciber, his south Fargo studio. It’s my favorite demo every single year. His glass creations are so beautiful and watching him work is hypnotic. (And conveniently warm, which comes in handy during a fall event.)
By Punchgut Studio
At the other end of the spectrum, I try to get to Punchgut Studio every year, too.
I have a weakness for gig posters and screen prints in general, but Derrick and I have developed an absolute obsession with Punchgut lately. The Buddy Holly gig poster above is one of three prints in our living room, the sugar skull below is in our foyer and we have another print that we’re still finding a home for. I’m sure we’ll pick up another one this weekend.
Resistance is futile.
Other people’s foyers say “Welcome.” Ours says “Seek and Destroy.” By Punchgut Studio.
Prints are great items to purchase on the crawl, since they’re smaller, very affordable and can be switched out and stored easily if you’re looking to add a little variety to your art collection. Just remember that they’re sometimes weird sizes, so what you save in the purchase price could come back to haunt you when it comes time for framing. (Take it from someone who knows.)
If you only have a few hours to spend on the Crawl, minimize your time in transit and head straight to Downtown Fargo. There are a lot of collectives and group studios (Roberts Street Studio, NDSU Student Art Society, Spirit Room Art Studios and Midwest Mud) so you can see a lot of artists in a short amount of time. Downtown is easily accessible by bus on Metro Area Transit Routes 13, 14, 15 and 18, if you want to avoid driving altogether.
By Punchgut Studio
What about you? What do you love about Studio Crawl weekend? Which studios do you want to visit?
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