Creative chatter filled Devasthali Hall the morning of Nov. 15 with this semester’s Open Studios. The building’s doors opened for community members to buy, observe, and create their own works of art.
This semester, Open Studios featured a variety of different workshops, club fundraisers, and graduate student work. The students responsible for running the event talked about the happenings of the New Mexico State University art department. The workshops included ceramic tile painting, laser cutting, keychain making, portrait taking, and photo development. While every artist present had a different artistic focus, everyone agreed on one thing: Open Studios was for everyone, art students or not.
“[Open Studios] is a gathering of artists to show their work and their process of their work, as well as some art workshops for the community to come and see and do,” Kathryn Hicks, vice president of the clay club, said.
Hicks explained the biannual event as “a chance for the community to see art and artists at work,” saying that it’s a great way to introduce community members to the art at NMSU. It is an opportunity to show off the artists of NMSU and the art programming offered at this university. Additionally, she believed that non-art majors should especially attend the Devasthali Open Studios events as an opportunity to find new ways for creative expression.
“I think art is for everybody, I think everybody is a creative person in one way, shape, or form. Non-majoring students can come, arts students can come,” Hicks said. “I’m not an art major, but I’m the vice president of the ceramics clay club. I think anybody and everybody can do art.”
A grad student, Celeste Croteaux, agreed with Hicks on the philosophy of non-majors joining art students.
“I think a lot of [people] don’t see how hard everyone is working, both the undergrads and the grads, and especially the clubs,” Croteaux said. “A lot of people don’t know about the clubs that are available, and the clubs are available not just to art students, but anyone can join.”
For Emalie Hames, Open Studios served a dual purpose: promoting campus art organizations while giving visitors a firsthand look at what goes on inside the studios.
“We get to advertise our club, people get to step into our studios and kind of get a taste of what we do,” Hames said.
Beyond the opportunity to explore different artistic mediums, Hames highlighted the practical benefits of attending Open Studios, particularly as students prepare for the upcoming semester.
“I would [recommend coming] because you get to see a bunch of different things, and there’s a lot of free takeaways from all the studios. You get free objects, so it’s a good creative exercise, kind of before the next semester,” Hames said.
With its welcoming atmosphere and hands-on activities, Open Studios continued to bridge the gap between NMSU’s art community and the broader campus, demonstrating that artistic exploration remains accessible to all students regardless of their major or experience level.
