North Yorkshire Open Studios, June 10 to 12 and June 18 to 19

From 10.30am to 5.30pm today until Sunday and then next Saturday and Sunday, they will throw open their studio doors to the public in this annual free event.

Much of the adventure lies in tracking down the studios with the aid of the maps and event guides available for no charge from the organisers, Art Connections, on 01756 748529 or via email to info@art-connections.org.uk or online at nyos.org.uk

The participating studio spaces range from cottages and barns to racing stables, station waiting rooms and suburban living rooms, while the work varies from driftwood sculpture, painting, furniture and architectural glass to printmaking, textiles, handmade books and knitted jewellery.

The event’s website showcases each artist and provides details of exhibitions and workshops, as well as the interactive maps that will help visitors to plan their route.

Among the participating artists are Eoghan Bridge at 104 Gowthorpe, Selby, Stephen Heward at Toft House, West Lilling, York, and Jennifer Tetlow at Lastingham Lodge, Low Street, Lastingham.

Eoghan’s sculpture focuses on the horse and human figure, exploring relationships and composition between horse and rider in works marked by conflict, emotion and humour.

He studied fine art at Leeds and now creates sculptures in bronze and ceramic editions and has two equestrian pieces on public display in his birthplace of Edinburgh.

Stephen’s oil paintings, pitched somewhere between figuration and abstraction, celebrate the experience of landscape, often at the edge of daylight. His loose and instinctive painting technique is combined with a lifetime of close observation as a landscape architect, pilot and painter.

“My paintings are inspired by the potential for solitude in the landscape – sky, desert, coast or moorland – and are largely concerned with the visual pleasure provided by the interplay of marks, colours, textures and forms,” he says.

Jennifer is a sculptor in stone, carving through heavy blocks of durable, stubborn material to reveal her tactile bird and animal pieces. Wildlife continues to inspire her regularly commissioned work.

Running alongside the Open Studios will be a county-wide programme of artist-led workshops, talks and other events, put together by Art Connections, who operate from Gargrave, near Skipton.

Organiser Christine Keogh says: “Open Studios offers an opportunity for the public to meet individual artists in a diverse range of studios and settings, to gain an insight into how their work is produced and what inspires them, and to buy high-quality art and craft directly from them.”

This year’s Open Studios will celebrate the tradition of afternoon tea with a community project and installation in Scarborough and a series of themed exhibitions organised by galleries across the county.

In Scarborough, Open Studios partner Create has commissioned artist Jane Poulton to work with groups to create an installation of tea cups, made in a diverse range of materials, for display at Woodend Art and Craft Gallery. Anyone can submit their own non-functional tea cups to add to the installation.

A limited-edition cup and saucer has been commissioned from Masham ceramic artist Charlotte Morrison, whose design is based on her favourite treat, the custard tart, and also is inspired by vintage ceramic tea sets.

Selby printmaker Helen Roddie has been commissioned to design a limited-edition tea towel. She specialises in linocut and woodcut prints with a mainly botanical theme and her design reflects her main source of inspiration, the hedgerow. During Open Studios, she will be running workshops at Selby High School, offering the chance to experiment with printmaking on to linen.

Look out too for exhibitions exploring artists’ responses to this theme at Woodend, Danby Moors Centre and The Gallery, Masham.

To complete the experience, afternoon tea is available at the Old Workhouse, Pateley Bridge, Woodend Art and Craft Gallery and the Old Courthouse, Thirsk.