In Chris Martin’s garage, among the power tools and piles of wood, there is the curved base of a custom-made music stand sitting on a work bench, the laser-cut metal top of the stand on another and a pear-shaped redwood cabinet lurking in the background.

Martin’s studio, as well as the studios of other Story County artists, will be available for public viewing this weekend for the Lincoln Highway Studio Tour.

The studio tour, stretching from Ames to State Center, combines public viewing of artist studios with a historical exploration of the Story County portion of Lincoln Highway, the United States’ first coast-to-coast highway.

While there is no specific anniversary celebration planned for the highway, the combination of a studio tour with a tour of historical locations along the Lincoln Highway “seemed like a good melding of things we have in this area,” says Kathy Stevens, executive director of the Octagon Center for the Arts, who arranged the tour.

For Martin, assistant professor in art and design, getting a studio was a must.

Though Iowa State has work spaces available, he says he is in teaching mode while he’s at the university and his work specialty, custom-made furniture, requires a large, available space.

The space is also necessary for artist personalization, Martin says. In his workspace, his bench heights are set to 42 inches to account for his 6-foot 6-inch height. There’s a large supply of wood in the back room, and he has the ability to leave his tools and projects out to return to later.

“It’s my studio, and I can do whatever I want with it,” Martin says.

Martha Benson, 76, works with jewelry and hollowware, and her work requires a special workspace, she says.

Benson, 928 Garfield Ave., says she works in the 10-foot by 15-foot space in her basement, which requires ventilation for her soldering equipment, a drill press, a polishing machine and other important tools that are required for her work.

“You have to keep everything pretty handy,” Benson says.

On the Lincoln Highway aspect of the tour, the Octagon is hosting an exhibition showing the changes of the road over the years. It also highlights vintage historical locations along the path of the old Lincoln Highway, says Jeff Benson, Ames, member of the Iowa Lincoln Highway Association.

Some of the locations highlighted include Watson’s Grocery Store, 106 W. Main St., a historical landmark in State Center that sells products that would have been available at the turn-of-the-century, and Niland’s Caf‚, 24 Lincoln Highway in Colo, which was restored to look like a restaurant from the 1940s, Benson says.

The artist tour will give students an idea of what to expect when creating art in the real world and will also give people something to do for the weekend, Martin says.

“It’s free, and an opportunity to bop around for an afternoon,” Martin says.

Who: Lincoln Highway Studio Tour

Where: Ames Octagon Center of the Arts and artists’ studios around Story County

When: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. October 16-17

Cost: Free