Frank Saliani handles freshly thrown plates in his Montpelier studio, Green House Pottery. Photo by Emma Rosenthal This story by Emma Rosenthal was first published Oct. 1, 2026. Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, for the Bridge.  Twice a year, the d oors to Vermont’s creative spaces swing open, giving visitors a peek into pottery studios, galleries and artists’ workspaces across the state.  Organized by the Vermont Crafts Council, Vermont Open Studio Weekend returns Oct. 3 and 4, bringing together artists and makers for two days of studio visits and demonstrations. The event offers visitors a chance to explore Vermont’s diverse craft community at the source.   The event is free and self-guided, allowing visitors to choose from over 100 independent studios and build their own route through the state.  For artists, the weekend offers an opportunity to share their work and creative process directly with the public. For visitors, it is a chance to see artists’ workspaces and perhaps leave with not only something handmade, but with a better understanding of what went into making it.  For Martha Fitch, executive director of the Vermont Crafts Council, a nonprofit organization supporting the state’s craft community, Open Studio Weekend is part of a decades-long effort to connect Vermont artists with the public.  “We hope some visitors feel like they’ve had a transformative experience where they’ve understood more about what it takes to be an artist,” Fitch said.  Fitch has been involved with the Vermont Crafts Council since its founding in 1990. The first Open Studio Weekend took place in 1993, and since then, the event has changed significantly.  “The first Open Studio, we didn’t have a map,” Fitch said. “You just had a list of addresses, and if you wanted to find out what studios were taking part, we directed you to the local hub and hoped you could figure it out.”  Now, navigating the event is much easier. The free Vermont Studio Tour booklet, which contains maps and directions, can be found at Vermont welcome centers or the craft council’s website. Bright yellow road signs direct visitors toward the studios. There is also a new tour app where art hounds can “plan your tour and share it with your traveling companions,” according to the craft council’s website.  Still, “Open Studio isn’t an easy event for the people to access. They have to get in their cars and drive around,” Fitch said. “It attracts people that are up for the adventure.” Despite the shifting logistics, the premise of Open Studio Weekend has remained that same: to connect the public directly to the people who make art.  This connection is something that Frank Saliani, owner of Green House Pottery in Montpelier and a craft council board member, knows firsthand.  “Especially in this day and age where we’re so removed from the way things are produced, it’s important for people like me to open our studios so that people that are interested can come and see how someone like me makes what I make,” Saliani said. “And that also helps to support a larger bridge to the community.”  At Saliani’s studio, visitors will be able to tour his workspace and learn about the process that turns materials such as stoneware and porcelain into functional pieces of art. “Every time I do open studios, I tend to be at a different point in my production process. In the spring, I was in the middle of throwing a lot of pots,” Saliani said.  For visitors, seeing the process of clay being transformed can change the way they think about an object, Saliani said. They learn that a mug isn’t simply a mug; it is the result of hours of work and a series of meticulous decisions.  “How things in our lives are made and come into our lives is just as important as the object,” Saliani said. “The means are as important as the end.” For Saliani, the value of opening his studio extends beyond showing how pottery is made. It’s an opportunity to share what’s meaningful to him, he said.  “Inviting people into your studio is kind of like inviting them into your world,” Saliani said. “And selling your pots to people is then taking a little piece of your world into theirs.” Read the story on VTDigger here: Stepping inside Vermont’s creative spaces during Open Studio Weekend. ...read more read less