Spotlight | Hidden in the Hills Studio Tour

Cave Creek, AZ
Various locations, November 18-20 & 25-27

Sharon Brening, Wonderment, oil, 24 x 30.

Sharon Brening, Wonderment, oil, 24 x 30.

This story was featured in the November 2016 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art  November 2016 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

Every fall for the past 20 years, artists in Cave Creek, Carefree, and North Scottsdale, AZ, have opened their studio doors to invite the public in to see what they do. Sponsored by the Sonoran Arts League, this year’s Hidden in the Hills Studio Tour features 188 artists working in 47 studios throughout the area in a full spectrum of media and genres—everything from traditional oil paintings and bronze sculpture to fine-art jewelry and glasswork. Taking place on the weekends before and after Thanksgiving, the tour offers a great start for holiday gift-giving.

Artist directories are available for $5 from the league, and a map-building tool is available online to help you design your own self-guided tour of the open studios. Here we introduce you to a few of the artists participating this year.

Swiss-born Joerg Auer was an equine surgeon before pursuing art. Meeting western artist Harry Jackson at his foundry in Italy in the 1970s fueled Auer’s dream to become a bronze sculptor. Today he and his wife, Anita, split their time between his home country and Arizona, where he creates bronze sculptures and aquatint etchings featuring horses and western wildlife.

Sharon Brening grew up following her father throughout the trading posts and national monuments of the Southwest as he photographed Native peoples. Today, she continues the tradition, painting portraits of Native children in oil—works that share cultural stories and preserve a colorful heritage.

Sandi Ciaramitaro captures the landscapes and iconic architecture of the Southwest in both watercolors and oils. Recently the artist has moved into three-dimensional work, sculpting in bronze. Her series called With Respect features historically correct scenes of Native life.

Lucy Dickens grew up camping and backpacking in pristine wilderness
areas, developing a deep spiritual bond with the natural world. After a career in bookkeeping and raising her children, she returned to art, her first love. She paints landscapes and still lifes filled with light, which she hopes inspire viewers to really see the world’s beauty.

Kathi Turner creates jewelry that represents the heart of her lifestyle as a rancher on the wide-open plains of eastern Washington and the remote high desert near the Nevada border. Exquisitely constructed mixed metals and natural stones are the focal points of her original works. Additionally, Turner celebrates her affinity for fellow ranchers by creating custom branding pendants. —Laura Rintala

contact information
480.575.6624
www.hiddeninthehills.org

This story was featured in the November 2016 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art  November 2016 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

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