By Jodi Hausen,Staff Writer

FARMINGTON – A community of artists will open their studios to the public this weekend.

Thirteen area artists will show their works and workspaces during an event they’re calling “Tour d’Art” Friday evening and Saturday.

Sitting in the sunny living room of artist Mary Beth Morrison in New Sharon on Friday, nearly half the participants spoke about the new endeavor and their lives as artists.

Ranging in age from “over 50 and under 50” the artists meet regularly in informal subgroups to work together and support each other in a lifestyle that is hard to sustain economically, they said. Almost all the artists have supplemental incomes from other jobs; many teach. “It’s really hard, especially with the economy,” said painter KiKA Nigals, who also works at the University of Maine at Farmington athletic center to help with expenses.

“My income (from the sale of art) just barely exceeds my expenses,” Morrison agreed.

But there are other benefits to creating art, according to photographer Jenny Hartung, at 23, the youngest in the group.

“We don’t do it for the money; it’s just good for the soul,” she said.

The idea, spawned by Morrison after a trip to Lac-Megantic, Canada, where artists held a similar event, is a first in the Farmington region. At least three of the participating artists have held successful individual open studios, but there has not been an organized tour of a group of studios in the area.

It’s a format well-suited to a rural community, Morrison said.

The artists are all members of Upcountry Artists, a nonprofit organization, formed in 1986 to encourage, support, educate artists and develop public awareness of the arts in Western Maine, according to their Web site.

Coordinating the event was challenging, they said.

“Organizing artists is like organizing lobstermen,” watercolorist Marni Lawson said. “We’re very independent people,” she said.

Lawson felt the format of studio visits was appealing. With little gallery space in Farmington, alternative spaces like coffee shops and doctors’ offices provide places for artists’ works to be seen by people who might not be inclined to visit a gallery. It gets rid of the elitist attitude one often feels in a gallery, she said.

“We don’t need the Good Housekeeping seal of approval,” said the Temple artist. She has sold her paintings to auto mechanics and professionals, she added.

It is frustrating for local artists who want to show in local places, agreed painter Emily Hartung, owner of Calico Patch in Farmington.

But the lack of suitable local gallery space is what made the show possible, her daughter Jenny said.

The artists, representing Farmington, New Sharon, Temple and Carrabassett Valley, hope to expand the event to include more artists in future events. Maps and driving directions are available at various sites in Farmington including Java Joe’s, Calico Patch, Heirlooms of Tomorrow and the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce.