Cape Ann Artisans, an association of independent painters, photographers, sculptors, potters and jewelry makers working in Rockport and Gloucester, on Cape Ann north of Boston, open their studios and galleries to the public for free twice a year.

Called the Cape Ann Artisans Tour, the events give visitors the chance to meet professional artists and watch them at work on their artistic creations.

Think of how everyone enjoys seeing a painter out of doors, capturing the landscape in paint on canvas. If you see a painter at work in a park, you've got to go up and look at the painting, right? Now think of seeing more than dozen artists at work in their own studios, with their tools, materials and subjects, as works of art are born before your eyes.

The spring tour may coincide with the Rockport Chamber Music Festival, giving you the opportunity to fill a beautiful late-spring weekend with both art and music.

The autumn tour, in October, happens at the height of New England foliage season, when the colors of the leaves are a work of art in themselves.

Studio visits usually take place between 10 am and 5 pm, and are free to the public. Tourist information offices have descriptive brochures and maps to help you identify the artists and locate their studios.

Cape Ann Artisans

"We, the artists of Cape Ann Artisans, while diverse in our art and expression, share a common sense of place on Cape Ann.

"Whether we were born and raised in the area, left and returned from other places, or found Cape Ann later in life, we draw our aesthetics and our inspiration directly from the color, light, and vistas of our environment.

"The quarries, the woods, the rocky coastline, and the evanescent light call to each of us and inevitably emerge in our work.

"As one of our members recalls, when he first came to Cape Ann, 'The pull of the tide over the pebbles of Cape Hedge Beach sounded otherworldly.'

"We are truly fortunate to have the extraordinary sensory offerings of Cape Ann in our daily lives and work."

www.CapeAnnArtisans.com

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