BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Sun Valley area is prized for its robust network of hiking and biking trails. But once a year it behooves residents and visitors to set aside their trail shoes and take a hike of a different sort—an art walk.

Forty artists of the Wood River Valley are opening their studios on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 18-19,so that the community can have a peek at what goes into their work. These are not velvet Elvis artists—many exhibit nationally and internationally.

Tourgoers could hit artists in the south valley one day where there is an eclectic mix of artists with fascinating studios.  Among them, wood carver Glenn Carter, who has spent a lifetime carving carousel horses, animal stools and other whimsical pieces, and EJ Harpham, whose ceramic and tile work graces not only a church in Los Angeles but countless kitchens around the nation.

Then hit the north valley the second day where you can see Marybeth Flower’s somewhat abstract photographs of flowers and barns; Lisa Holley’s “You Are What You Eat” series, which features insects, flowers and other edibles embodied in the body of the birds and animals she paints, and Cubby West Spain’s watercolors, which sometimes use geometric designs to showcase her passion for bison and the cowboy culture.

Then there’s Hailey where you’ll find five artists, including basket weaver Sally Metcalf, wooden bowl maker Kim Nilsen, jeweler Lisa Horton, painter William Pinney and woodworker Liam Curd situated within walking distance of one another, while Marty Lyon showcases pastels from Maui and elsewhere in his Indian Creek studio.

This year’s artists encompass a fascinating variety of creativity from Anne Jeffery’s photo collages of flowers and birds to Bex Wilkinson’s archetype-inspired paintings to David Rau’s collage art cards and stationery to Mary Rolland’s paintings, which seem to drip and flow.

This year’s studio tour has a few young artists, noted co-organizer Lisa Horton, including Liam Curd, a 2021 graduate of The Sage School who asked for a scroll saw and benchtop wood lathe for Christmas and now creates beautiful cutting boards and other wood products.

The tour runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. Visiting eight studios over the two days will qualify a tourgoer to enter a drawing which will feature gifts from participating artists as prizes.

There will be art for sale at each location, as well as an opportunity to discuss techniques and inspiration with each artist. Children are welcome—they could be inspired to grow up to be little Picassos!

“In these days of molasses-speed supply chains and slowed down shipping, it makes even more sense to shop regionally from artists who have stock on hand ready to hand over to you,” said Horton.

Maps and a brief synopsis of each artist are available at https://artiststudiotour.com/about/ and at artists’ studios.