Behind the Scenes: How an Artist Prepares for Open Studios
- abbagil0
- 11 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Ever walked into an artist’s studio and thought, this is so cool?
The paintings are hung. The ceramics are lined up. The jewellery is sparkling. The artist looks calm, relaxed and completely ready to chat about their work.
Cute.
Behind the scenes, things may have looked slightly different.
Welcome to the wonderful world of preparing for Mundaring Hills Open Studios, where months of creating, experimenting, framing, firing, polishing, tidying and occasional mild panic come together before the studio door finally opens.
From 17 to 25 October 2026, 86 artists across 34 studios and three creative venues will welcome visitors into their creative spaces throughout the Mundaring Hills.
If you have been searching for an artist studio tour Perth families, couples and friends can turn into a proper spring day out, this is it.
But before you arrive, there is a lot going on behind those studio doors.
Step one: make the art
Seems obvious, right?
Except artists do not simply wake up the week before Open Studios, make 37 fabulous things and call it done.
The work you see during MHOS can represent months or even years of ideas, experiments and creative practice.
Painter Ric Burkitt, for example, has dedicated himself to full time artistic practice after years working in the creative sphere. Jeweller Ren Masetti works with materials including silver, copper, polished stones and enamel in a studio filled with the benches and tools of her trade. Across the trail, other artists are equally busy painting, firing, carving, stitching, polishing and experimenting as they prepare to welcome visitors into their creative spaces.
These are the stories behind the finished pieces.
And that is one of the best things about Open Studios.
You are not just looking at an artwork on a wall.
You can meet the human who made it.
Step two: turn a working studio into somewhere you can actually walk
An artist’s studio is a workplace.
And workplaces get messy.
There are brushes. Tools. Half finished pieces. Clay. Timber. Metal. Frames. Boxes. Paint. Glazes. Sketches. Things that are definitely important but apparently have not had a designated storage location since 2019.
Then Open Studios approaches.
Time to tidy.
Artist and MHOS blogger Cindy Watson described preparing for her first Open Studios experience in 2024. Her home was being renovated and a walk through lounge area was transformed into a gallery, complete with new flooring, lighting and a picture hanging system.
Then came the final preparation.
Creating. Framing. Curating. Organising. Supplies. Plants. Music. Tea. Biscuits.
Because apparently becoming an artist also requires transferable skills in interior design, retail, event management and snack procurement.
Step three: decide what makes the cut
Imagine making work all year and then having to decide what deserves a spot on the wall.
Artists need to select, finish and present their work before visitors arrive.
For a painter, that might mean deciding which works to frame.
For a ceramicist, it can mean finishing pieces and firing kilns.
For a jeweller, polishing and displaying individual pieces.
For sculptors and woodworkers, there can be substantial finishing and installation involved before anything is ready to meet the public.
MHOS artists work across contemporary and traditional painting and drawing, ceramics, jewellery, textiles, sculpture, woodwork, glass, metalwork, mosaics and more.
So every studio is different.
That is exactly why visiting several is so much fun.
One minute you can be talking about glaze and clay. Next you are looking at jewellery tools, wandering through a painter’s workspace or discovering how glass and metal are transformed.
Start building your own trail now. Visit the Mundaring Hills Open Studios website, meet the 2026 artists and choose the studios you want to explore.
Plan you visit now https://www.mundaringhillsopenstudios.com
Step four: prepare to let strangers into your creative world
This might be the biggest part.
Opening your studio is personal.
MHOS artist stories regularly return to the connection that happens when artists invite people into the spaces where they work.
Cindy Watson has written candidly about the nerves before her first Open Studios. Would anyone come? Would people like the work? Would they buy anything? What would she say when people asked about her art?
Then the doors opened.
Her first visitors arrived shortly after 10am and bought a painting. By the end of the experience she had welcomed around 150 visitors.
That nervous artist had done it.
It is worth remembering this when you visit.
You are being invited into somebody’s creative space and getting an opportunity most of us rarely have: to ask an artist how and why they make what they make.
So ask questions.
Artists know considerably more about their work than the tiny information card next to it ever could.
Step five: get ready to demonstrate
Some artists go a step further.
Throughout MHOS, selected artists offer demonstrations, talks and workshops, giving visitors an opportunity to see creative processes in action.
This is especially fun if you are bringing kids.
Instead of art being something they only see hanging on a finished wall, they can discover that somebody actually had to make it.
Materials have to be shaped, painted, cut, fired, polished, stitched, joined or transformed.
And sometimes things go wrong.
That is part of making too.
Check the Workshops & Demos section of the MHOS website before your visit to see what is happening and whether bookings are required.
Step six: put out the welcome mat
Finally, October arrives.
The artwork is ready.
The studio is clean enough.
The signs go up.
Everyone takes a collective breath.
And the doors open.
For visitors, that is when the fun begins.
MHOS 2026 stretches across the Mundaring Hills from Swan View and Greenmount in the west to Gidgegannup and Chidlow in the east.
The landscape is part of the experience too.
Spring brings the Hills to life, with forests, waterways and native wildlife surrounding the studios. The wider Mundaring region is around 40 minutes from the Perth CBD and includes places such as John Forrest National Park, Mundaring Weir and Lake Leschenaultia.
So this does not need to be an art only mission.
Make a day of it.
Choose a few studios. Grab coffee. Meet an artist. Let the kids see something being made. Stop for lunch. Find another studio. Finish with a bushwalk or picnic.
That is a pretty good Saturday.
The best bit? You get to see what normally stays behind closed doors
An Open Studios trail feels different from visiting a conventional gallery because you are stepping into the place where ideas actually happen.
You see the tools.
The materials.
The works in progress.
The view outside the window.
You meet the person behind the work.
And suddenly the ceramic bowl, painting, necklace, sculpture or textile in front of you has a story attached to it.
You do not need to know anything about art.
You do not need to understand art speak.
And your children definitely do not need to whisper their way around the entire trail.
Come curious.
Just remember these are genuine working studios and original artworks, so supervise children and pets, respect each artist’s space and ask permission before photographing artworks.
Come and see the finished result
After months of making, planning, framing, firing, polishing, organising and wondering whether anyone will actually turn up, there is only one thing the artists need.
Visitors.
That is where you come in.
Mundaring Hills Open Studios 2026 runs from 17 to 25 October, with 86 artists across 34 studios and three creative venues waiting to welcome you into their creative world.
Come for an hour.
Come for the day.
Come back for another day because you accidentally discovered there are another twelve studios you now need to see.
Bring your partner, your friends or the kids and experience an artist studio tour Perth style, with a lot more bush air thrown in.
Ready to see what is behind the studio door? Explore the artists, get the free Event Guide and start planning your MHOS 2026 trail at the Mundaring Hills Open Studios website.
Mundaring Hills Open Studios17 to 25 October 2026
85 artists. 33 studios. Three creative venues. Nine days to get curious.
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