11/02/07Marilyn Horsch and Paula Rose welcomed visitors to their third-floor apartment in downtown Lawrence as they displayed their artwork Saturday and Sunday.

The pair of painters was one of the many stops of the 13th annual Lawrence ArtWalk. The ArtWalk was a chance for local artists to showcase their work, both old and new, by opening up their studios to anyone who wanted to view their art.

“We just thought it was time to open this space up,” Rose said.

Rose and Horsch used the floor of their building for the exhibition.

“It’s lighter being on the third floor. There might be more people that come,” Horsch said.

There were 32 different stops spread out around Lawrence for the ArtWalk. The pieces displayed ranged from oil and watercolor paintings to photography and origami. Despite the event being an open studio affair, even artists from outside Lawrence found ways of participating in the ArtWalk.

Baldwin City artists Edward C. Robinson III and Kathy Wismer decided to display their work as well.

Robinson displayed his photography in the Eldridge Hotel. He said he chose the location based on previous experiences.

“I’ve done some work with the hotel before,” he said.

Among the many locations were museums and professional studios, but many artists chose to open up their homes for the event. Deborah Dillon, an origami sculptor, used her personal studio to showcase her artwork.

“I like to do the ArtWalk because I like people to come up and see the studio,” she said.

Dillon’s studio was filled with her origami as she willingly explained her artwork to anyone who asked.

“Some of the folds are more traditional, some are more modern. You wouldn’t normally see an origami Santa,” she said.

Dillon said all of the artists involved try to leave some sort of impression on their visitors.

“I try to show people the magic of paper, how you fold it and keep it as something special,” she said.

Dillon said she works with a lot of recycled paper.

“I use a lot of map paper I got from other people,” she said.

Robinson said he decided to display pieces that interested him personally and those that he thought would interest other people.

“Half of (the photographs) are my most popular, the other half are personal favorites,” he said.

Robinson said more than half of the photographs were of Kansas and that about one-third of the work represented his backyard.

“I was pretty heavily influenced by Chinese and Japanese scrolls. I was trying to capture that mood,” he said.

The ArtWalk offered a diverse selection of art so everyone could find something they liked.

“Lawrence is such an artist-friendly town. Even the funky stuff is appreciated,” Dillon said.

Samplings of the artists’ work are on sale on the Lawrence ArtWalk Web site, http://www.lawrenceartwalk.org/.