Arizona’s largest and longest-running artist studio tour, Hidden in the Hills, returns to the North Valley Nov. 22-24 and Nov. 29-Dec. 1. Coordinated by the nonprofit Sonoran Arts League, the free, self-guided tour attracts thousands of patrons who appreciate fine art and seek a variety of mediums, styles and price ranges. This year’s event features 179 diverse artists at 44 studios throughout Cave Creek, Carefree and North Scottsdale.
Jan Downey is a gourd artist who is returning to Hidden in the Hills for her 11th year. She employs different techniques such as pyrography, carving, “painting” with inks and dyes, and embellishing with natural materials to achieve her unique art pieces.
She creates both sculptural and wall art that is modern yet worldly, often featuring nature or contemporary design elements in her work. She will exhibit her work at fiber artist Roxanne Eklund’s Dye for Design Studio No. 31 in Cave Creek.
“I am deeply inspired by both the breadth of cultural differences in art expression, and by the extraordinary natural world around me. I strive to make art that resonates with the viewer, creating a connection to my work and its reflection of humanity as one piece of an intricate puzzle encompassing all living things,” she said.
Sculptor Scott Olson is a new artist to the studio tour. He will exhibit large, bold, colorful steel and glass sculptures, functional artwork and glass sconce lighting, and other modern metalwork and fused glass sculptures at mixed media collage artist Cindy Kovack’s “Black Mountain Studio” No. 36 in Cave Creek.
“Sculptural work allows me to be free and create things that are whimsical,” Olson said. “I like to create art that makes you think a bit but also smile…that’s always been my approach to art.”
Artist studios are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during both weekends of the tour. For details, visit www.HiddenInTheHills.org.
