Over 200 Vermonters who make their livings in crafts and art will open their studios to visitors as part of the Vermont Craft Council’s 22nd Spring Open Studio Weekend on May 23 and 24. In this annual celebration of visual arts and the creative process, studios and galleries in every county are open.

“Open Studio Weekend is not just about seeing the space where people create work, it’s about seeing the person in the space and hearing the story,” says Martha Fitch, executive director of the Vermont Crafts Council. “Their different stories are part of our Vermont culture, but out of sight of public view for the most part.” Though Vermont boasts a high population of artists and artisans of many different stripes, their work environments, if not their work itself, is tucked away in the barns and garages of the Green Mountains for most of the year.

“I love the privilege of being able to drive up to someone’s studio and have the opportunity to see their tools, their professional layout, their creativity,” Martha says. “At a studio you often see where they get their inspiration. You see their work in process.”

Martha has coordinated Open Studio Weekend every year, and it has grown to become a semiannual event, with weekends during spring and autumn—yet it’s different every year too. “This is an event that changes every year and every season,” says Martha. “Even if you go to the same studio, you will experience a different point of view. It might be the same artist but they are doing different work.”

Find artists and artisans throughout Vermont and maps toguide you there here.