Why I Return To The South Orange Maplewood Studio Tour

Every year, the South Orange Maplewood Artists Studio Tour turns familiar streets into a lively, walkable arts destination. Visitors move between home studios, galleries, and exhibition spaces, discovering paintings, sculpture, jewelry, textiles, photography, and mixed media along the way.

For participating artists, the event is more than a single weekend of public viewing. It is a chance to open a normally private workspace, explain how ideas become finished pieces, and build relationships with neighbors who may have followed their work for years without seeing where it is made.

In this artist interview, Maplewood mixed-media artist Leah Kim shares why she keeps returning, what she has learned from meeting visitors, and how an annual community art tour continues to influence her practice.

Opening The Studio Door

“I spend most of the year working quietly,” Leah says. “The studio can feel like a very focused, private world. During the tour, I get to invite people into that world and talk about the decisions behind each piece.”

Her workspace includes layered paper constructions, hand-dyed fabric, found objects, and small paintings. Some pieces are polished and ready for display; others remain pinned to a wall as experiments. Leah believes that showing both stages helps visitors understand that art develops through revision, accidents, and unexpected discoveries.

Conversations That Shape The Work

Leah’s favorite exchanges often begin with a simple observation. A visitor may notice a repeated color, ask about an unusual material, or recognize a pattern from everyday life. These conversations can reveal how differently people respond to the same artwork.

“I don’t participate just to sell work,” she explains. “I want to know what people see before I explain what I intended. Their reactions often give me a new way to understand my own pieces.”

The tour also creates connections among participating artists. Painters, ceramicists, jewelry makers, and fiber artists share display ideas, recommend local resources, and encourage one another through the practical challenges of maintaining a creative practice.

A Weekend With Room To Explore

For visitors, the experience combines art discovery with the character of South Orange and Maplewood. A flexible route makes it easy to spend time with one artist, continue to another studio, and pause for food or coffee. The tour’s guide to nearby coffee shops can help guests plan a comfortable break between stops.

Leah recommends leaving room for spontaneity. “The map helps you get started, but the best moments can happen when you decide to stay longer than planned,” she says. A detailed tour site map is useful for finding studios, galleries, and event information before setting out.

What Returning Means

Participating every year gives Leah a way to measure her own growth. Earlier displays focused on small, carefully controlled compositions. More recent work is larger, looser, and more willing to show the traces of cutting, stitching, layering, and repair.

“Each tour becomes a visual record of where I am,” she says. “I can look back and see which materials stayed with me, which ideas disappeared, and which questions became more important.”

Returning also means welcoming first-time visitors while reconnecting with familiar faces. Some guests come back to follow an artist’s development; others arrive because a friend recommended a studio. That continuity gives the event a personal quality that a conventional exhibition may not provide.

Preparing For A Meaningful Visit

Leah begins planning weeks in advance. She edits the selection, checks lighting, labels materials, and creates clear pathways through the studio. She also sets aside unfinished pieces because visitors often enjoy seeing works in progress as much as completed artwork.

Her advice is straightforward:

• Begin with two or three studios that genuinely interest you.
• Read the artist listings before choosing a route.
• Allow time for conversation rather than rushing between locations.
• Bring a notebook to record names, techniques, and future exhibitions.
• Return to the tour in later years to see how artists evolve.

A thoughtful visit does not require specialist knowledge. Curiosity, patience, and a willingness to ask respectful questions are enough to make the experience rewarding for both artist and guest.

A Community Practice

For Leah, the most valuable part of the annual studio tour is the feeling that art belongs in everyday community life. It appears in spare rooms, converted garages, storefronts, galleries, and shared exhibition spaces—not only in formal museums.

“Every year reminds me that making art is individual, but participating in the arts is collective,” she says. “The tour gives us a reason to show up for one another.”

Explore the South Orange Maplewood Artists Studio Tour, meet local creators, and plan a route that leaves time for discovery. Visit the studios, start a conversation, and see what is being made close to home.