Prism Workspaces accommodates a colorful spectrum of Denver artists in 71 studios spread throughout a 38,000-square-foot building. Located at 999 Vallejo St., Prism Workspaces will host an open house on Nov. 15, with more than 50 local artists welcoming guests to their studios from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“Our twice-yearly event is an opportunity to see and experience a wide variety of art and artistic businesses,” said Prism’s manager, Linda Strammiello. “Artists will be ready to greet everyone, and with so many types of art and artists in one building, it’s very stimulating to explore this creative space.”

For the open-studio events, Strammiello installs fresh artworks by Prism tenants in all the halls and common areas throughout the building. Most artists offer light refreshments in their studios. Many have arts and fine crafts for sale in time for holiday shopping.

“Our event is friendly and pressure-free. We just want visitors to have a stimulating, fun, art-filled evening,” Strammiello said.

“People do shop for the holidays, so some of our artists plan for that by creating smaller pieces in the price range of gifts. The wide variety of art and goods is a plus,” she added. “But our real purpose is to get people to come out and be around a lot of art that’s inspiring to them and to have conversations with our artists.”

Strammiello said the open-studio events typically draw about 600 visitors.

“People are always surprised. They don’t know what to expect,” she said. “It has been cool because our people are the best. We’ve gotten so lucky with the artists. They really get along and uphold one another for the most part, and they make this open- house a pleasure.”

Prism’s visual artists include painters working in oils, acrylics or watercolors and sculptors working in metal, clay and wood. Prism artists also create collages and mixed-media works. The studios are occupied by photographers, fiber artists, designers of furniture, clothing and leather goods, along with candle and doll makers, jewelers and glass artists.

Robert Spooner is one of the fine-art painters working in a Prism Workspaces studio. He added a portion of a vintage basketball court to his studio to soften the concrete floor. The studio ceilings are high. The windows face west. And though Spooner works in his studio seven days a week in winter, by the time the late-afternoon sun angles in to glare off his works-in-progress, he’s ready to call it a day.

“I’ve been here eight years. I moved from a much smaller studio,” Spooner said. “The open-house gives people accessibility to artists and their art. People can come into the studio and talk to me and learn about my paintings and my process.”

Elaina Keegan owns Concrete Poppy Design and makes nontoxic candles, diffusers and room or linen sprays in her studio at Prism Workspaces. In her third year at Prism, she said, “This is our sixth open-house. It is a wildly exciting night with so much energy and so much fun. All of us look forward to it. Everyone is preparing. It’s very welcoming so anyone can come through.”

For the Prism open-house, Keegan and her team will demonstrate the candle-making process, offer smaller candles for sale, along with product bundles, discounts and gift-wrapping. Concrete Poppy Design creates seasonal scents every quarter —cedar and sage for winter.

“It’s a holiday fragrance and very warming with the snow. It was so popular last year so we brought it back,” Keegan said. “A lot of artists and makers will create smaller gifting pieces for the open-house.”

Keegan makes her candles in ceramic or terrazzo containers which customers can repurpose as flowerpots, and they come with a packet of wildflower seeds. Or customers can return to her working studio at Prism Workspaces to have their vessel refilled with fragrant wax at a discounted price.

“We keep sustainability at our core. Our candles are not single-use products,” Keegan said.

Concrete Poppy also upholds safety and well-being as a core value.

“All our wax is 100 percent soy. There’s no blend with chemicals,” Keegan said. “All our oils are nontoxic phthalate-free. Phthalates can be carcinogens that mess with the endocrine system, so it’s really important to pay attention and use nontoxic aromas.”

Keegan’s studio includes an electric mixer and a plug-in pot for melting wax.

“My studio is almost like a kitchen,” Keegan said. “This is my art. Smell is our number one connector to memory in the brain. I’m creating scents you can’t find anywhere else, and this creative process is extremely long.”

Keegan appreciates the creative mix of artists and artisans at Prism Workspaces.

“This space has 50-plus artists, and we’re all doing something very different and unique, with all different styles,” Keegan said. “It’s really special when all the artists open their studio doors.”

Strammiello said that many of the artists found their way to Prism Workspaces after losing their studio space to redevelopment or feeling forced to move due to skyrocketing rents.

“We’re not fancy, but we try to remain affordable. It’s important for artists to have a place to do their work and be surrounded by other artists,” Strammiello said. “The majority of people who have studios at Prism also have studios at home. They do work at home, but they want another place to work and be around other artists. Otherwise, they can feel isolated, and there’s not as much input to trigger imagination.”

For Strammiello, Prism Workspaces’s brightest point is the creative camaraderie.

“Just being around one other and having so many diverse artists walking about and visiting each other’s studios and seeing each other’s work is scintillating. They have the closeness and ability to see one another regularly, and real creativity is stimulated by their conversations,” she said.

“Some artists get together and bring in a model to work together. They share ideas, techniques and approaches,” Strammiello added. “They piggyback on one another and share ideas. And some strong friendships have evolved here.”

During a time in which loneliness has been labeled an epidemic in America, the artistic community at Prism Workspaces may be the most beautiful creation of all.