Julian Open Studios Participant Marie Hutchinson
by Bobbi Zane

Marie Hutchinson, one of 17 local artists whose studios will be open during the Julian Open Studios tour Nov. 15 and 16, polishes a stained-glass tree window hanging she designed for a Pine Hills client. Photo by Bobbi Zane

Marie Hutchinson, known in the Julian area as the one-time driver of the fire and rescue vehicles, has been an artist as long as she can remember. The local resident, who creates colorful stained-glass panels, windows
and doors, is one of 17 professional artists
participating in the annual Julian Open Studios tour set for Nov. 15-16.

During the tour, which runs from 10 a.m. to
4 p.m. both days, Marie will invite visitors into her studio, where she has been working on a pair of memorial door panels for a church in Elm-wood, Tenn. She’ll show how she takes an idea
of a stained glass object and transforms it into a glittering, colorful panel, sun catcher or box.

Marie, who says she was interested in art as a child, was studying art seriously by the time she got to Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. She got into stained glass after moving to Julian with her husband Larry, nicknamed "Hutch," in 1970.

"I took some classes and did some work with James Hubbell," Marie said. Pretty soon, she was on the way to creating a reputation for herself.

Meantime, however, she was holding down a full-time job at the Julian Volunteer Fire Company and raising three children, now grown.

"I was involved with the schools, and served as a Girl Scout and 4H leader," she said.

During this time, Hutch served as volunteer fire chief for the department, while Marie worked in the office and hopped into the trucks when needed. But the entire family was involved with the fire department, which protected a huge area extending as far as Warner Springs, as well as the Riverside and Imperial county borders.

"At one time, all the kids were involved with the fire department," she said.

Marie and Hutch played a role in the formation of Julian’s current fire protection agency, when the Julian company joined with the volunteer fire group in Cuyamaca in 1985 to become the Julian Cuyamaca Volunteer Fire Protection District.

When Marie retired a few years ago, she expanded her stained-glass work. Her biggest job may be the 200 sandblasted front door panels she did for Black Angus restaurants all over the country. Her work also hangs in several Julian locations, including the Julian Coffee House, the Wandering Sage and the Julian Hotel.

The Open Studios Tour is the largest and most comprehensive yet for the Julian artists. It’s been expanded from one to two days so visiting art lovers can visit the majority of the studios, with
17 artists participating, that will be open for the event. Not normally open to the public, all studios are located within a seven-mile radius of Julian.

Julian Open Studios began in 1999, when a trio of artists living along a country lane decided to showcase their work to locals and visitors on a Saturday afternoon. By 2002, Open Studios had expanded to two days and included works of 19 Julian artists; it drew art-loving visitors from Southern California and beyond.

Maps showing locations of all the studios, priced at $15 each, are available at the Julian Chamber of Commerce in Town Hall, (760) 765-1857; at Julian Weaving Works in Santa Ysabel, (760) 765-1986; and at Wynola Pizza Express, (760) 765-1004. Twenty-five percent of the map sales will be donated to the Julian Library.

Works can be seen during regular business hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and until
6 p.m. on Fridays at Valley Independent Bank, 2033 Main St., Julian.