Barbara Purdy stood by a table littered with colorful glass pieces while holding a cutting tool to demonstrate basic glass-shaping techniques to a crowd.

The Dartmouth glassmaker is one of 34 artists in Dartmouth and Westport who opened their doors to the community on August 6 and 7 for the ninth annual Art Drive. Purdy sold her handmade glass bowls, cups, and fish in front of her South Dartmouth home, and also led a how-to for creating a simple glass project.

Purdy said the Art Drive has been a success. “We had more than 125 people here on Saturday,” she said. “I had a lot of small $35 to $45 sales.”

For Art Drive organizer and pottery artist Beverly Carter, the Art Drive represents an opportunity for local artists to come together and showcase their work.

“We wanted to have a smaller, more manageable tour that people could do in a reasonable amount of time,” Carter said. She noted that all 34 art studios are located within a 15-mile radius, giving those with an interest in attending the tour plenty of time to visit all of the studios.

With Purdy at 24 Sunset Lane was fine art photographer Deborah Ehrens, who displayed her work in a small sunroom. Ehrens started photography while pursuing a career in journalism, but six years ago she picked up her first DSLR camera and found inspiration in the patterns and symmetry of nature.

“I had a very strong turnout yesterday,” Ehrens said about her Saturday presentation on taking better photos with a smartphone. “The talk went really well. I had a standing room only crowd.”

Nancy Hayes invited guests into her workspace—the basement of her Fremont Street home. The painter formerly worked in sculpting for 25 years, but decided to switch gears and explore a new medium five years ago. Her work features abstract patterns and symbols inspired by her own imagination, she said.

Among those admiring Hayes’ work was Jane Emack-Cambra and Janice Hodson. The two have been visiting local art studios for years, and are always impressed with the work they see.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to see beautiful artwork every year,” Emack-Cambra said.

Every year, each artist create a blue fish, which is auctioned off to support the Lloyd Center along with a portion of artwork sales. Although Carter will not know how much money the event brought in this year until the auction is over, she said the Art Drive donated $5,000 to the Lloyd Center last year.

“We partner with the Lloyd Center and we give back a portion of the proceeds to give back to what our environment does for us,” Carter said.