Gulfport Artists Open Personal Studios To Public During ArtJones Tour

GULFPORT, FL — The seventh annual ArtJones Studio Tour in Gulfport offers the public a behind-the-scenes look at artists’ creative processes this weekend.

Artists will open their personal studios to onlookers Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The tour features 28 professional artists across a variety of artistic mediums — painting, ceramics, sculpture, photography, jewelry and mixed media art — at 11 stops. Download a map of all stops at ArtJonesStudioTour.com.

The tour was founded by ceramicist and gallery owner Brenda McMahon who told Patch the event “is for people who are jonesin’ for art and want to see art made by local and regional artists.”

She added, “It allows them to see where the creative spark begins and works at different points in the process of creativity — the mess behind the mastery. That’s the idea of it.

Before moving to Gulfport, McMahon organized studio tours in upstate New York and was surprised that there wasn’t a similar event in her new community. So, she decided to start one on her own seven years ago.

“I knew a ton of artists in the area and there was no studio tour,” she said. “I thought, ‘Hmm, there should be a studio tour in this beautiful neighborhood.”

She mixes up the artists who participate each year but the concept remains the same — artists open up their personal studios, many at their homes, to the public. They also frequently invite other artists to join them in their space and showcase their work.

“Not everybody has a great space to show their work,” McMahon said. “They do great work but their studio might be in their living room.”

This year, for the first time, the tour also features three gallery locations: the Brenda McMahon Gallery, the DRV Gallery and Grounded Gallery.

“There’s so much art in our area. It’s really amazing and so many things for people to choose from. One of the things I’ve always thought about was how to do something that stands out a little bit so it’s not just another art walk,” McMahon said. “For me, that’s where ArtJones comes in. It’s just a nice way to create a new twist on something that brings a sense of community and connection in the arts.”