Two Fall Weekends of Art: The Orange County Open Studio Tour Returns

Discover eight Carrboro artists and explore the spaces, creative practices, tools, materials, and ideas behind their work  

A Locally Rooted Tradition with Art at Every Turn 

Artists throughout Orange County will open their studio doors on the first two weekends of November for the 32nd annual Open Studio Tour, unfolding against the backdrop of a beautiful North Carolina autumn. There’s something special about stepping into an artist’s studio: seeing the tools and materials, hearing the stories behind the work, and getting a firsthand look at the creative process. Artists welcome visitors into their working spaces, where paintings, pottery, photographs, and other works take shape — and where you can enjoy the hospitality that often accompanies the experience, from warm beverages and homemade treats to live music. It’s the perfect time to take the scenic route, brochure in hand, and follow studio signs to discover a new artist or reconnect with a familiar one. 

The Tour is the Orange County Artists Guild’s (OCAG) signature annual event. Guild members volunteer on committees, working together to coordinate the many details that make the Tour possible. This year, 106 guild members will open their studio doors, including 10 artists who are new to the Tour, according to Susan Burbaker Knapp, co-chair of OCAG’s media committee. 

The event is free to attend and open to the public on November 7–8 and 14–15. Hours are 10am to 5pm on Saturdays, and noon to 5pm on Sundays. Some artists are open only on one weekend. You can verify this on the Tour page, which includes a printable map, downloadable brochure, and a searchable artist database.

Only Guild members may participate in the Tour. Artists interested in becoming members can apply in the fall, with announcements made early the following year. The Guild also has an emerging artists program that accepts four artists annually. 

“The emerging artist program includes mentorship, being able to share a studio for the tour, as well as having fees waived for the first year of membership,” explained co-chair Amy Deystone. 

Information about how to become a member and the emerging artists program can be found here, and more details are available after clicking “Join Now.”

Eight Carrboro Artists on the Open Studio Tour 

While 106 total members are on the Tour this year, 85 studios are open because some are shared spaces. Each studio has a number. For this preview, eight artists with studios open in Carrboro submitted their own information. Entries have been edited for clarity and brevity.  

# 42 – Shared Studio, 402 Lloyd Street Two artists at The Clay Centre 

Patricia Saling – Porcelain & Stoneware 

“The field of ceramics has so many facets to uncover, making it a treasure trove for continued experimentation. Huge choices extend to the types of clay, glazes, and other surface features chosen, as well as the firing method used. For example, the three large red pots were thrown with black stoneware and finished with a glaze that fires to a lichen-like surface; the black clay really seems to highlight the irregularity of the glaze. After a 30-year career in science, I discovered ceramics and fell in love with the tactile process of shaping clay into useful objects. Enthralled at first touch, it continues to intrigue and charm me.” 

Betsy Vaden – Earthenware, Stoneware, Porcelain 

“Some of my work is functional, some of it is strictly sculptural, and some of it is both (for example, my sugar and creamer sets). Much of my work is fired in an electric kiln, but I have also made pieces using alternative firing techniques like raku, pit-firing, saggar firing, wood firing, soda firing, and obvara firing. For my sculptural work, I am often influenced by stories, songs, expressions, and words. My functional work tends to be decorative and colorful. This balances nicely with the work I get from alternative firing techniques, which tend to be subtler and smokier, except for raku pieces that can be colorful.” 

# 43 – Shared Studio, 100 Hillsborough Road Husband-and-wife studio 

Clay Carmichael – Ink and watercolor art and books for children 

“This year I’ve been thinking about joy. The quiet joy of a bright moon or visible planet, or the ebullient, dance-y joy of bees. The hopeful shining of stars on a clear night. Watercolor is ideal for joy: its lightness, its transparency, the deep feeling its layering creates. A sudden, light-hearted splash is joy on beautiful paper, a tonic, especially on gray days. Even mistakes are conduits to joyful places and states of mind: lifting, heartening, strengthening, transporting; always, like water, finding a way.” 

Mike Roig – Metal Sculpture 

“I weld sculptures out of stainless steel. Very often, but not always, they are kinetic — meaning they incorporate movement. When I create a sculpture, I may or may not have some illustrative ideas in my mind. Those familiar with my work know that birds, for instance, are a recurring theme. But I can also work abstractly, and in both cases the real point is that sculpture adds a physical presence to the environment, and its corporeality is its own reason for being. It elicits feelings in those who encounter it because it reminds them of something or because it stands out as a unique surprise.” 

# 46 – 201 Morningside Drive 

Nancy L. Smith – Acrylic & Mixed-Media Paintings 

“Opening my studio allows me to share how inspiration sparks an idea and how I develop that idea into a painting. I love demonstrating techniques that seem to help a painting paint itself, using collage, unconventional brushes, discarded surfaces, and water. Visitors can also explore my sketchbooks, color notes, and paintings currently in progress to get a closer look at how my work evolves. My studio is filled with inspirational quotes and found objects, each with a story I’m happy to share. I love seeing people’s reactions to this intimate glimpse into my creative space. I often hear comments about the ‘organized chaos’ of my materials, and someone inevitably asks why I have my mother’s antique sewing machine in the studio!” 

# 47 – 105 Morningside Drive 

Elizabeth Krome – Porcelain & Stoneware 

“My first exposure to clay came after college working as an editor of astrophysics manuscripts. I took a night class in clay and fell in love with it. I cut back to part-time editing so I could spend more time in the pottery studio. My pots are fairly simple and unadorned, and I used to feel apologetic about this. However, when I displayed my work years ago at a gathering of Quakers, I saw that my pots embodied the Quaker value of simplicity. I now embrace making straightforward, well-designed pots for everyday use. Using both stoneware and porcelain, I make most of my pots on the wheel, and I also enjoy working with slabs for platters and trays. My work is high-fired and is safe in the dishwasher, microwave, and oven.” 

# 48 – 418 Waterside Drive 

Kendal Brown - Watercolor & Mixed-Media Paintings 

“I primarily use watercolor but incorporate other media — colored pencils, wax, gesso, and/or collage — in some pieces. I like using color and texture to convey vitality in my paintings of animals, plants, flowers, landscapes, and waterscapes. During the tour, I'll have cards, giclee prints, photos, and paintings available. I'm often moved by what I observe on walks in the Piedmont forests or during my travels. I paint not only to satisfy creative urges but also to honor intriguing moments in daily life. Drawing and painting are my ways of slowing down enough to savor and explore my surroundings and fellow creatures, usually resulting in representational watercolor paintings. I like using strong color and value combinations to convey the vitality I feel from the natural world.” 

# 53 – 220 James Street 

Karen Paden – Oil paintings 

“My oil paintings begin with the observable world, but description is rarely the destination. I am interested in what happens when familiar things become less certain. The paintings share an internal logic of color, disrupted space, repetition, and ambiguity. I work for a point where recognition remains possible, but certainty does not. I want the paintings to reveal themselves slowly and to leave room for viewers to make discoveries and connections of their own. Living in Nigeria, New Zealand, and Switzerland deeply shaped my vision. Much of my work focuses on landscapes. I grew up in the south, surrounded by nature. I also have an enduring love of still life, of capturing the fleeting moments.” 

Make a memorable fall outing and enjoy the crisp air and colorful scenery, linger, and leave room for a few unexpected stops. The tour is a chance to slow down, look closely, and experience the arts up close. With so many artists and approaches to explore, no two studio visits are quite the same. The annual Open Studio Tour invites you to follow the map, explore familiar and unfamiliar corners of the county, and spend time with the artists who make this community so vibrant. 

This article was supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.