The Hyde Park Menino Arts Center (MAC) hosted its third annual Arts Center Open Studio sale on Saturday, May 9 making it a perfect destination for those looking for an indoor activity on a rainy day or if you were on the lookout for a piece of artwork in any medium – oil, watercolors, fabrics, clay, print, graphics or ink – for yourself or as a gift.

The works on display were created by MAC studio artists, Hype Park Arts Association (HPAA) members and from a recent Curry College Students, Faculty and Alumni show, held at the MAC. Many of the artists were on-hand and eager to talk about their creative process.

At her booth, Sharon Armour asked visitors how they manage stress. She creates clay labyrinths set into hand-glazed tiles that people can trace with a finger – a simple practice meant to encourage calm and meditation. Labyrinths have appeared across cultures and spiritual traditions for centuries.

“This is a handheld form that you take a walk with your finger instead of taking a walk through the park,” said Armour. “And it helps you to push everything out of your mind, clear your mind, … get on with your day. I have two patterns… that I think really work well… for anybody for a couple of minutes to refocus.”

Katie McGinnis works in eco-printing: creating scarves, T-shirts, and napkins from a natural dyeing technique that transfers the shapes and color of leaves on to fabric.

“I print with leaves and flowers, many of which all come from around here… and it's a long process, but the middle of the process is putting the leaves and flowers on a natural fabric, using silk and linen as they hold and release the dye well.”

She rolls the leaves, flowers, and fabric tightly around a pole, secures it and then steams it. McGinnis initially gave her pieces to friends. Now she sells them. At this event, a customer bought a scarf as a Mother’s Day gift for her mother and purchased napkins for herself.

Judith Robichaud works in oils, painting nature or birds from photos she takes plein-air (outdoors). Her studio, at the MAC, is filled with portraits of chickadees, cardinals, robins, pigeons, squirrels and landscapes.

“I go birding and I bring my camera and if I can get a good photo, I'll use it as a reference,” she said. In the past week she’s been at the Arnold Arboretum “painting in the good weather.” A new painting of a crabapple tree in her backyard is undergoing adjustments in her studio. “I didn't like the color of the background, so I'm changing it right now to make it darker.”

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Anna Johnson was browsing the collection. Visiting from Northampton, MA she heard about the show and dropped in.

“We’re surprised to find that there are not only textiles here, photographs, paintings, a woman who makes art out of her gum, which is amazing,” she said. “She chews gum, makes little figurines, and then imagines them digitally.” Johnson continued to be impressed by the variety and extent of the artwork. “I think all of it catches my eye.”

Melissa La Bianca, who recently acquired space onsite, was hard at work on her new macrame designs.

“I really like macrame, and so I was just kind of curious to try something new and creative.” La Bianca works with cotton and likes macrame because she can work on it for a while, put it away and pick it up later. “I don't have to worry about time urgency. You know, like with clay, you kind of have to be kind of quick about it and have a real schedule. She has new macrame holders for air plants. “They just absorb moisture from the air, and then you soak them once a week and put them back in.”

Erik Gehring, executive director of the MAC, said the idea for a show came from members. “We have seven studios and it's a great way to promote their work,” he said. “We have other space in which member artists can also exhibit, so it seemed like a great idea. And so we’ve done it now for the third time.”

Gehring is enthusiastically promoting two future shows, “Exhibit Volunteers Exhibition, May 18- June 19, 2026, which showcases the contributions of the HPAA member volunteers who help put on MAC exhibitions. It will feature 42 works by 11 artists. Also coming is “Fiber, Fabric and Thread: On and Off the Walls” scheduled for June 29 – August 28, 2026.

For more information go to https://gvimes.link/macexhib