Find out more about this year's Sandia Heights Artists Tour

With some familiar faces and some new, the Sandia Heights Artists Tour is back for its 22nd year.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Mara Malnekoff, president of the Sandia Heights Artists group, said. “There’s a large variety, and everybody’s very enthusiastic, and that’s a big part of it.”

The tour has 15 stops featuring over 40 artists on Saturday, Sept. 6, and Sunday, Sept. 7, said Malnekoff.

“We try not to put the same kind of artists at one stop,” Malnekoff said. “And that’s because we don’t want artists to compete with one another.”

The mediums used among the artists include ceramics, jewelry, glass work and more.

Don Wagner, a guest artist this year from outside the Sandia Heights area, sells wood sculptures. He said that the tour gives people an opportunity to find affordable art that they might not otherwise find.

“You’re gonna get good art at a better price,” Wagner said. “And you get to talk to the artist.”

Rebecca Whitecotton, Sandia Heights Artists publicity chair, said the people are what make the tour.

“The tour is so fun because the people come in and you get to see them looking at your stuff, and you get to see the people,” Whitecotton said.

“I think that the tour gives the artists a special opportunity to actually meet the people who are buying it.”

Malnekoff said the tour also lets people discover artists who might be living right next door.

“Well, I think art, in and of itself, is important, and having people in your neighborhood you may not even know as an artist, is fantastic,” Malnekoff said. “And I think in today’s world, we especially need more art.”

In order to spread art further in the community, the Sandia Heights Artists donates to La Mesa Arts Academy, an organization that offers a free after-school creative arts program to students.

Artists on the tour will donate a portion of their sales to La Mesa. Charlotte Driver, a tour artist, worked with La Mesa Arts Academy and said helping children is vital.

“Self-expression has been proven to increase verbal skills, educational skills, because you’re focusing on completing something,” Driver said.

The satisfaction of completing a piece is something the artists on the tour can understand. Wagner said seeing people enjoy their work is gratifying.

“To make something that you created out of nothing, and have somebody walk around, walk out of your booth, holding it up like it’s an Academy Award,” Wagner said, “it is a pretty good feeling.”

The tour is also a chance for artists to find a sense of community by sharing ideas, methods and even supplies, Malenkoff said.

“I feel like my art has improved since being on the tour,” Malnekoff said. “That’s because our other artists are very kind and will give you suggestions, and sometimes you get free materials.”

Whitecotton said that New Mexico is an art-friendly community.

“We’re happy to be connected in that way,” she said.

Tour brings art and philanthropy to Sandia Heights