Art Up! Angel Fire Studio Tour 2023

for its artists, art fairs and studio tours. The studio tours are becoming more popular, and tourists come for specific tours year after year. They are a great way to explore New Mexico’s backroads and small artistic communities. Provided with a studio brochure and map the visitor can see a variety of new and traditional art, meet the artists, and sample the culinary fare offered at each studio.

This year’s Angel Fire Studio Tour 2023 will be Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

On a studio tour the artists are not limited by what category they were juried in at a fair, or the gallery’s limitations on the work to be hung. Most artists do not limit themselves to one style or medium or art form. Artist Jacqui BinfordBell at her studio in Black Lake displays her illusionary paintings on canvas, creative photographic impressions of the New Mexico landscape, painted furniture, and her fanciful textile creations. Her studio is a work of art.

Art Up! artist Gail Tate loves how the event opens the Enchanted Circle to newcomers. “The visitor gets to see the uniqueness of each studio and how it reflects the artist’s personality. Customers get an opportunity to experience the areas of Angel Fire, Taos Canyon and Moreno Valley. And step inside the beautiful homes and studios they did not know existed.”

Artists at fairs are limited by the size of the booth and what can fit in the van and all the work is finished. At a studio you often see work in various stages of completion – their newest work and also early work in the same space. Artists do have favorites and keep them at home. You get to see those works too large to put into a booth as well as the ones that don’t quite fit the booth display.

“Visiting the artists’ studios gives visitors a chance to see where the artist works; meet the artists and purchase something directly from them,” says Laurie Phelps, a Taos Canyon artist (see #1 on the tour. map).

Laurie’s studio looks out over US 64 and Palo Flechado River and the hills and cottonwoods that surround it. Frequently her watercolors are of that view and the weather on a given day.

Studio tours are a cooperative effort between the artists and the community. Artists work to prepare the map and brochure and distributing the finished product around to businesses, friends and other towns. The studio tour reflects the community. And the other customers are often as interesting and fun to meet as the artist. Visitors on studio tours love the events.

“I’ve always loved going to studio tours. Not only to experience the area and meet the artists, but to experience the ambiance of the community. Now I love being an artist in our wonderful tour – meeting lovely art lovers,” says Johnese Turri, whose Whimsical Creations will be on view during the studio tour.

Spend this two-day, selfguided tour of the amazing artists and artisans of Angel Fire, Black Lake, Taos Canyon and Valle Escondido amid the glorious fall of Northern New Mexico. For maps and more, see artup-nnm.org and angelfirestudiotour.org. — staffreport