Pottery, Prints, Perspective at Needham Open Studios
April 27, 2026
• Artists are exploring new forms and tapping into familial traditions in the 26th anniversary of Needham Open Studios.
In his 25 years making signs, Rob Ondo went through a lot of wood. The machine he used to cut letters out of plexiglass — called a computer numerical control, or CNC machine — required a wood buffer between the glass and metal bed. Those worn out pieces of masonite gathered in Ondo’s basement, until he saw those pieces in a new, artistic light.
Artists in this year’s Needham Open Studios, including Ondo, reexamined old art forms and discovered new expressions ahead of the annual tradition. More than 40 creatives will welcome people into their studios and set up in community spaces to share their work this weekend, May 2 and May 3.
For Ondo, he traded his illustrations, watercolors and lithographs for abstract woodcuts, first created by a computer years ago but transformed recently by human eye. He’ll be showcasing his work at Sunita Williams Elementary School with 14 other artists.
“I am not the actual creator of these, but I am the actual printer of these. Is it art, or isn’t it art?” Ondo said. “There’s an array of new avenues to go in art, if I want to take it that way… But I’m on a new adventure with this printmaking again. I like it kinda, it’s my roots.”
Needham High School senior Hannah Leiman found love for a craft her mother Marcy once undertook: jewelry making. As Hannah Leiman put it, her mom “manifested it in me.”
“I already had all the materials just in a room already, so I think having access to that really allowed me to explore for myself,” she said,” and I almost took it over, in a way.”
Leiman finds inspiration in coastal themes and gold tones, differing from her mother’s preference for darker colors and silver. The contrast may be apparent to patrons this weekend, as Leiman plans to display some of her mom’s pieces alongside hers. Along with jewelry, she also paints, gravitating toward beach scenes.
She started selling her jewelry on Etsy 10 years ago, but Needham Open Studios is her first in-person event. Leiman will also be stationed at Sunita Williams.
“This is a very big, full-circle moment for me because I’ve been going to Needham Open Studios since I was a kid,” Leiman said. She is one of three local students participating in the program this year.
Ceramicist Susan Goldman is marking this year’s program with her own personal triumph. After moving out of her studio at Gorse Mill several years ago, she recently returned back and into a new space, where she’s been for a little over a year.
Goldman said she has participated in Needham Open Studios since the opening of Gorse Mill in 2009. Its supportive community and knowledgeable artists — as well as the sizable pottery school in the basement, where she fires her ceramics — are reasons she returned.
Among her creations are bowls, mugs, plates, vases and more — all things you can handle and touch. Goldman said she aims to create art that is functional and tactile and activates different senses.
As with Ondo, Goldman carries her previous career into her art. She worked in maternal mortality reduction, living abroad and encountering challenges and resilience. Goldman said she recognized that struggles transcend culture and identity, which influences her art.
“It is gratifying to me in my work, when people come in who are clearly from different backgrounds and can respond to my work,” Goldman said. “We’re trying to communicate and touch one another with what we have in common, our common humanity.”
Illustrator John Lechner manifests his inner childlike sense of wonder via children’s media. Through puppetry, animation, paper silhouettes and books, Lechner said his work is bound by an appreciation for nature and passion for drawing animals and small creatures.
Those types of stories, he said, often seem suited more for kids, but he views his work as something all ages can enjoy. He’s worked in children’s media for more than 25 years, about two decades of which he’s joined Needham Open Studios. He’ll be at Gorse Mill this weekend.
Curiosity and playfulness appear prominently in Lechner’s work, and he said he looks forward to engaging with the public.
“I think it’s good for grown-ups to sometimes keep an open mind,” Lechner said, “and try to be more inquisitive and inspired by the kind of whimsy and imagination that we see in children’s media, too.”
Needham Open Studios runs Saturday, May 2 to Sunday, May 3 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For a map of artist locations, visit the Needham Open Studios website.
