East Austin Studio Tour

With East Austin’s affordable housing prices and close proximity to downtown, it’s long been a hub for Austin’s musicians and artists.  Over the years the different artists in East Austin started to work and collaborate with each other.  Over time this has turned into an event called the East Austin Studio Tour.  This allows for artists to see what other people are working on and a chance for people to purchase art directly from the creator, in addition to seeing the studio where the pieces are created.  It also allows the artists to get their work viewed by a large audience of interested people and potential buyers.  This kind of grass roots endeavor is one more way Austin attempts to keep true to its slogan of “Keep Austin Weird”.
One weekend in November each year, artists open their studios to the public during the East Austin Studio Tour.  Each year, over 100 studios, and more than local 200 artists, will be participating on November 17th and 18th.   There’s a wide variety of people, styles and mediums on display. 
   
The Bearded Lady and Obsolete Industries have been providing silk screened delights to the Austin community for years.  Album art to gig posters, t-shirts to wrapping paper, these businesses do it with flair. 
Mark Macek and Brian David Johnson, two members of the splinter group coop, are master woodworkers.  Macek now teaches Woodworking and Furniture Design at The University of Texas School of Architecture, and Johnson sells his uniquely designed tables at the local upscale design store, IF+D. 
If it comes giant sized, Blue Genie Art Industries is likely behind the project. They’ve painted murals that cover the entire building of the Austin Children’s Museum, as well as creating an 8 foot tall black-eyed pea for “First Night, an Austin’s New Year’s Eve event.
The Austin Metal Authority cranks out iron and steel the old fashioned way- with fire, an anvil and a sledgehammer. Hand forged headboards, iron gates, and swords pour out of their shop.
   
Touted as a “Must See Flagship Venue”, the Pump Project Art Complex is a collective of over 30 artists.  Along with hawking their wares, artists will explain their artistic techniques, demonstrate tools used in creating the art, and discuss their recent works.  The Austin Figurative Gallery also houses a wide variety of local artists, skilled in painting, illustration and a variety of mixed media. 
   
The East Austin Studio Tour lists all the studios and their locations in the weeks leading up to the tour, along with the most bike-friendly routes to take (a highly encouraged mode of transportation between studios).  Picking up a piece or two straight from the artists themselves, not only helps out the local art community in Austin continue to thrive, it’s also a great way to get more insight on a unique piece of art that a store purchase just can’t provide.  Its also a great way to be exposed to a number of different Austin artists and to view the projects they are working.

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