![\"2-chrissmithstudioweb\"](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/2-ChrisSmithStudioweb.jpg\")
<\/a>\u201cI think it\u2019s really exciting, as a patron of the arts, to see not only the space an artist works in, but to be shown how the art is created,\u201d Stillman said. \u201cIt\u2019s not something you see when you go to a gallery \u2014 there you just see the final work.\u201d<\/p>\n However, North Park-based street artist turned abstract painter Chris Smith acknowledged one challenge of opening his studio door.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a little nerve-wracking sometimes,\u201d he said, \u201cbecause you have so much emotion in your art, and you\u2019re putting it out there for judgment and criticism.\u201d<\/p>\n How does Smith overcome the fear of judgment in the same space where he creates?<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I do is I lie to myself. I tell myself that I\u2019m a great artist, no matter what, until I believe it. And when someone\u2019s critiquing my art, if it\u2019s not motivating me or inspiring me, I just don\u2019t listen.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite his trepidation, this is Smith\u2019s second year of participation in Open Studios and it\u2019s been a good experience for him.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year went really well. We had a lot of people come through. I made a lot a good connections, talked with a lot people. People seem to really enjoy my work. People are usually kind and that\u2019s exciting. It gets you kind of amped up. So now I only show in the studio, with the exception of two local galleries. It\u2019s a good place for it because that\u2019s where it\u2019s created \u2014 it\u2019s a natural habitat.\u201d<\/p>\n North Park fused-glass artist Crisinda also enjoys the personal encounters that occur in her studio.<\/p>\n \u201cI love interacting with people, so it\u2019s a lovely part of what I do,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen people are interested enough to come into my studio, I want to make sure they know what I do, that they\u2019re educated in my particular medium. You get people that have more questions, are more interested in the process, than you do in a gallery. It\u2019s absolutely inspirational. First of all, people don\u2019t know a lot about fused glass, so I spend a lot of time explaining what it is. That renews my interest and my enthusiasm. I\u2019m explaining to this person who\u2019s really curious, really interested, and every time I do, for me it\u2019s like \u2018Wow, this is really cool \u2014 and I\u2019m so lucky!\u2019 I love the medium. I think about glass all the time. I even dream about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Crisinda enjoys visitors in her studio so much that she has been known to involve them in her creative process: \u201cSometimes I\u2019ll have sculptures in progress and sometimes they comment and I can incorporate that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>