Orange County Artists Guild Studio Tour Preview Show

On View Oct 28th - Nov 9th

Opening Reception Oct 31st, 6-9pm with music by the Jackson Street Band

Featuring work by OCAG members including Ryann Carey, Nell Chandler, Jason Smith, Nancy Smith, and Ellie Snow

2025 marks the 31st year for the Orange County Artists Guild's Annual Open Studio Tour. During the first two weekends in November, 84 artists located throughout Orange County will be participating in this juried event and opening their studios to visitors. OCAG's Open Studio Tour is a rare opportunity for art lovers from Orange County and beyond to meet artists in their places of work, to view and purchase art directly from the artists, and in many instances to watch as artists demonstrate how they create their pieces. Studio Tour brochures and maps to the participants' studios are available at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts and other area locations or on the Guild website.

Many of the artists on the 2025 tour will have work in the OCAG Preview Exhibit at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts, from October 28th through November 9th. The preview show is a wonderful opportunity for a first look at the work on the tour and can help you plan your tour route. 

Five members of the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts will be among those participating in this year’s tour: Ryann Carey, Nell Chandler, Jason Smith, Nancy Smith and Ellie Snow. 

This is Ryann Carey’s first year on the tour. She’ll be a t tour stop #12, 310 County Seat Drive in Hillsborough.  

I strive to paint the representational world converged with the emotional response that it elicits. I don’t seek out places to paint but instead I let my love of observation be my inspiration to capture a moment on camera. Photography was my first love in art. With my paintings, I then rely heavily on my sense memory to portray not only what the eye has seen but also the feeling that a space and time evoked. 

Jewelry artist Nell Chandler will be on the tour for the second time. She’ll be showing along with Jane Filer and Michele Yellin, at stop #29, 4015 Old Greensboro Road, in Chapel Hill.  

Chandler’s work is primarily in sterling silver with copper and brass, often embellished with semi-precious stones and mixed media bits of color. “For over 30 years, I have created jewelry by integrating diverse media and techniques I learned in my early training as a painter and print-maker. I craft sterling silver into nuanced forms using metal fabrication techniques, and embellish my pieces with images and designs I create with mixed media.” 

Jason Smith creates abstract metal sculptures in steel and copper using both fabricated and reclaimed material. Jason's studio is #3 on the tour map, located at 1709 NC HWY 86 North, in Hillsborough.  

His sculpture has an emphasis on the abstract and is often Asian inspired. “In my pursuit of artistic expression, sculpture has always been my primary concern. I have worked with metals my whole career and it is best suited for my work because of its strength, malleability and inherent beauty. My sculpture is abstract. The abstract manipulation of form in space to create visual balance, using rhythm, action and movement, combine to create compositions that convey the implied energy found in my work.” 

Nancy Smith’s studio is tour #43, located at 201 Morningside Drive in Carrboro.  

I enjoy capturing the essence of nature based on my experiences outdoors. I seek to express the changing mood of seasons and cycles, the nuances of light and shadow, and the delicate beauty of plants and animals living in the wild. She will have intriguing contemporary mixed media paintings of figures, animals and nature.  

Ellie Snow’s studio is #18, located at 4720 Silver Apples Road in Hillsborough. 

 Her acrylic paintings explore emotional themes through abstracted gardens and landscapes. Her works often begin with nature photographs taken around her woodland home, often while exploring with her two children. These images are collaged and edited to create a rough draft for the painting. Ellie's main interest is the external landscape as a metaphor for the internal landscape, often referencing her experience of motherhood. The paintings that result are emotive and sometimes dream-like, balancing the beauty and complexity of being human. 

 
An opening reception for the exhibit will be held on Friday, October 31st from 6-9pm at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts, on the first floor of the Mercantile Building at 121 North Churton Street in historic downtown Hillsborough, North Carolina. Music on the Gallery’s patio during the reception will be provided by the Jackson Street Band: Mike Gasperino, David Lobe & Larry Vellani.  

About the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts:

The Hillsborough Gallery of Arts is owned and operated by 20 local artists and represents these established artists exhibiting contemporary fine art and fine craft. The Gallery’s offerings include painting, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, glass, metals, scratchboard, fiber art, and fine wood works.