OCTOBER 2026 - STUDIO NOTES
Autumn Open House - Creating Art Together
Julie Crisan
10/11/20262 min read
On October 3rd, I opened my home and studio for my Autumn Open House, and I wanted to share a little bit of what made the day so special.
Of course, it was wonderful to have people come by, see my artwork in person, talk about the pieces, and simply spend some time together. But one of my favorite parts of the afternoon was something a little different.
I set out a canvas and invited my guests to help create a collaborative painting.
There was no pressure to be an artist. No need to know what you were doing. The idea was simply to add something; a mark, a color, a shape and become part of the painting.
And that is exactly what happened.
#AutumnGathering
Little by little, the canvas changed as different people contributed to it. Each person left behind a small piece of themselves, and by the end of the Open House, I had something I could never have created completely on my own.
Then came my part: figuring out how to bring all of those individual contributions together into a finished painting.
And I have to admit, that was both challenging and a lot of fun.
There were marks I might never have made myself, colors I had to work around, and areas that didn't immediately seem to belong together. I couldn't simply start over because every part of the canvas represented someone who had contributed to it and I sincerely wanted to preserve as much of that as possible.
So I had to listen to what was already there.
I added layers, softened some areas, strengthened others, and looked for ways to create connection without losing the individuality underneath.
As I worked, I started thinking about how much the process reminded me of relationships.
Relationships can be challenging too. We don't always approach things the same way. We bring different personalities, experiences, expectations, and ways of seeing the world. Sometimes those differences fit together easily, and sometimes they take a little work.
But if we are willing to make room for one another, adjust, compromise, and appreciate what each person brings, something richer can emerge.
Maybe even something we couldn't have created on our own.
I called the finished painting #AutumnGathering.
And the more I look at it, the more appropriate that title feels.
It isn't just a painting about autumn. For me, it represents gathering — people, personalities, conversations, creativity, and all those individual contributions coming together in one place.
That is one of the things I love most about art.
We often think of making art as something an artist does alone in a studio. But creativity can also be about connection. Sometimes the unexpected mark someone else makes becomes exactly what the painting needed.
And maybe life is a little like that too.
We don't create the whole picture ourselves.
Other people leave marks on our lives — some subtle, some bold, some completely unexpected — and somehow they all become part of the finished story.
So, #AutumnGathering will always remind me of October 3rd, of everyone who walked through the door, and of a very simple experiment that turned into something meaningful.
To everyone who came to my Autumn Open House — and especially to those who picked up a brush and added something to this painting — thank you.
You are officially part of the artwork.
And I think that makes this one pretty special.