Cottage Street Studios marks a milestone

By CAITLIN RITCHIE Bulletin Contributing Writer

Published on December 05, 2008

In 1987, the first year that Cottage Street Studios in Easthampton opened its doors to the public, organizers like artisan Lynn Latimer of Latimer Glass, xeroxed and handed out copies of pamphlets festooned with gold stickers to attract visitors. The event had no advertising budget and only five participating artists.

Over the years, news of the holiday fine arts and craft sales event spread by word of mouth so that, by 1994, organizers added a second sale in June. This December, more than 30 artists and artisans are slated to sell their wares at the 2008 Cottage Street Studios Holiday Opens Studios and Sale.

Artisans will have a range of art and craft items on display and for sale, including glass, jewelry, lighting, paintings, pottery, printmaking, sculpture, home-furnishings, journals and photography.

"There's a real variety of work," said Latimer in a recent phone interview. "Some people buy things for their home and just personally for themselves, and a lot of people will come and buy gifts for the holiday season."

This year, several artists are offering more affordable options for shoppers in light of the economic downturn.

Marcia LaRocque, a tile-maker who has been at Cottage Street since 1986, has created a line of products for under $50.

"We sat down and designed stuff so that the average price would come to 25 and 35 dollars," LaRocque explained. "I want to make sure everyone walks out of here with something in their hands." Items selling for less than $50 include candleholders, clocks, wall racks, light switch plates, serving boards and picture frames.

Eileen Jager, a furniture and functional glassware artist, will mark her 50th birthday by offering a line of gifts, from hand-painted goblets to hanging flower vases to coasters, all for less than $50. Some furniture pieces and sculptures will also sell at half price.

This year, LaRocque is head of a coalition of 11 artists, including a tile designer, ceramicist, painters, printmakers and woodworkers, who dub themselves the "C-Side Artists" - a reference to their location inside entrance C and a pun on their location facing Nashawanuck Pond, as is "seaside." In past years, many visitors have failed to visit their studios, put off by the building's long, dark corridors that lead to them.

To promote their presence, the C-Side Artists will host a booth near the front entrance to show visitors their work. There will also be festive lighting, music and footprints to lead visitors down the corridors to their studios.

"We didn't realize how many people were missing us," says Susan Elena Esquivel, a C-Side artist who just opened her sculptural ceramic studio in 2005. "We decided to let people know more directly that we are back here."

Esquivel has a series of 3-D sculptures called "Dwellings" that combine saggar-fired porcelain with metal and oils. Saggars are boxlike containers made of high-fire clay that are used to enclose pots needing special treatment in the kiln. She learned about the process at Harvard University's ceramic program where she studied.

To create the sculptures, she places them into the box inside the kiln with seaweed, sawdust, pieces of metal and "anything that will give color or texture," she says. "It's all about experimenting with what I throw in there. I never know what I'm going to get."

New arrivals

Just joining the studio in September is artist Karen Iglehart. In her short time at Cottage Street she has already created six new, large paintings.

"I'm so thrilled to be able to be at Cottage Street with the larger space that I can actually do those [larger paintings]," says Iglehart. "Being in this space has enabled a lot of growth in my own work." She has also created small 8-by-8-inch abstract landscape paintings just for the Open Studio sale.

Another newbie is Cora Lee Drew who came to Cottage Street in July. She will show photographs of her painted furniture and share her decorative painting techniques with visitors. Like Drew, Peggy Grose recently set up shop at Cottage Street and will have her painted furniture on view. She paints folk art-inspired landscapes that feature her farm animals.

The Open Studio is: Dec. 5, noon to 5 p.m.; Dec. 6, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Dec. 7, noon to 5 p.m. The studio is located at 1 Cottage St. in Easthampton. The event is free and accessible to people with handicaps. For information, visit www.cottagestreetstudios.com.