Art Tour Includes Visit to Wood Studio

The work of 35 artists, a benefit art auction and a tour of the studio of the late potter Beatrice Wood are part of the 17th annual Ojai Studio Artists Tour today and Sunday.

Paintings, woodcut prints, sculptures, pottery and neon art will be featured in the self-guided tour, during which participants can meet the artists and see them at work in their studios. Included is a tour of the Upper Ojai studio of Wood, an internationally acclaimed potter who died in 1998 at 105.

The studio tour began in 1984 and drew nearly 1,000 people. Its attendance has doubled, organizers said, and now includes a reception and benefit auction at 7 tonight at the Ojai Art Center, 113 S. Montgomery St.

Tour proceeds will go toward scholarships for young artists, a summer series of art workshops for students, art books for Ojai Valley libraries and other causes.

Tickets are for both days. Tours will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tickets are $25 at the event. For more information, call 646-8126 or visit the tour Web site: www.ojaistudioartists.com.