The Melrose Messenger

Melrose Open Studio Tour This Weekend!

By Ellen Putnam

This upcoming Saturday and Sunday, November 15th and 16th, the Melrose Open Studio Tour (MOST) will provide the general public with the opportunity to meet artists, see where they work, and look at samples of their work in the context of their studios.

MOST is an offshoot of Melrose Arts, which runs the annual Melrose Arts Festival in the spring. It started in 2017 with 27 participating artists; now running for the 9th year, it has grown to nearly 40 artists.

MOST is a free, self-guided tour, and audience members can use the map to visit as few or as many artists as they choose, from 11am to 4pm on both Saturday and Sunday.

Some artists will have work for sale during the tour, while others will simply have their work on display, but there is no expectation that visitors purchase anything.

We've highlighted some of the artists we've had the chance to speak with ahead of this year's tour, but every stop on the tour should be well worth the visit!

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31 Damon Ave

Visitors can see Roberta Tobey Gertz's mosaic art at her home studio in the Horace Mann neighborhood. In addition to seeing how she constructs her mosaics, you can see a number of her mosaics throughout her house and in her garden.

Read our full profile here!

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78 Sheffield Rd

Allie Karthaus is new on the Melrose art scene - she started Alta Ceramics and set up a home pottery studio in her garage just this year. She is part of a group of potters who take classes together at Follow Your Art - initially from Michelle Ramadan of Meesh Pottery, until she moved to Paris earlier this year. She has a mix of larger bowls and smaller, more whimsical pieces like napkin rings and snowman sculptures with hand-knitted scarves.

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40 Boardman Ave

Visitors can see two different projects from Paul Cornacchini: Partners in People Painting and Riverwood Furniture Design.

Cornacchini started Partners in People Painting with art school friend George Connelly in 1993, and they have been painting together weekly ever since. "We both went into careers in commercial art," Cornacchini explained, "so this was our chance to get our creative sides going again." They often paint people - hence the name of their partnership - because, Cornacchini said, "we felt it was sort of a void in the fine arts arena. We wanted to really focus on what everyone’s drawn to: people, expressions, mood, personality."

Riverwood Furniture design is a newer enterprise for Cornacchini, and he has recently been doing it full-time. He uses exotic woods (all properly sourced) to create unique furniture pieces. He often works on commission, although this year he will have a number of pieces for sale - from coffee tables and lamps to cutting boards. "A lot of furniture makers are good at recreating a specific style," Cornacchini reflected, "but mine is something you've never seen before. And I'm never going to make two of the same design, so if you see something you like, you're not going to have another chance to get it."

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647 Main St (Follow Your Art Studios)

Follow Your Art will be hosting a number of artists who have studios in the Big Yellow House, many of whom are familiar faces in the Melrose art community:

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61 Willow St

Visitors will be able to see work from three popular Melrose artists at 61 Willow Street:

• Lorrie DiCesare, whose paintings and jewelry can be spotted at Paper and Clay and a number of community events;
• Gail Hamm, who creates jewelry and woodwork; and
• Michelle Boulogne, who will be displaying both her photography and her wabi-sabi pottery.

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28 Holland Rd

Deb Corbett, whose iconic abstract mixed-media paintings are a familiar sight at Paper and Clay and at Melrose arts events, will be opening her studio to visitors, who can see where she creates her large canvases and her smaller works.

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169 West Emerson St

Ellen Rolli and Annie Damphousse of Housse Studio will be displaying their paintings in the studio space they share on West Emerson Street.

(Bonus: Grab a cookie or a cupcake from Sweet Spot Bakery next door after you stop in!)

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69 Laurel St

Kelly Hourigan will be displaying her fine-art photography.

"I've always done some form of photography," reflected Hourigan. She began printing on metal and canvas a few years ago as a way to make her art more unusual and explore new textures. She also uses different filters to enhance her images. Her photographs are often of boats and cocktails, and her finished products often end up looking more like paintings. She will be showing off her newly refinished basement studio on the tour.

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82 Lake Ave

Penelope Young will be displaying her fabric art, jewelry, and ceramics. She will be joined by Deb Haney, who will be displaying her mixed-media pieces, paintings, and jewelry.

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10 Vine St-Rear

Jacqueline Sokol and Catherine Bertulli will be displaying their paintings, and Agusta Agustsson will be displaying her printmaking.

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158 Essex St (The Residence)

Visitors can stop by The Residence to see Jon Rosenfeld's kinetic sculptures and paintings by Robert Clark and Nan MacDougald.

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488 Main St (Lilah Rose Gift Shop)

Visitors can see mixed-media pieces by Alex Van Meter at Lilah Rose and The Annex.

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Beebe Estate

And it's not officially a part of MOST, but don't miss the art show at the Beebe Estate, open on Saturday 11am-3pm!

Posted November 13th, 2025