As if to mirror the bustle of grape-harvesting time, scores of Napa Valley artists are busily preparing for their own annual observance: the 21st annual Open Studios event, taking place the weekends of Sept. 20-21 and 27-28.

A new Napa Valley Museum exhibition, “Consider the Source: Nature as Reference and Inspiration,” affords the opportunity to experience how nature serves as a wellspring of pictorial ideas and emotional responses for artists. Eleven invited artists, seven from the Napa Valley and four from other North Bay and Bay Area communities, share eleven unique responses. Some refer to nature literally and some extrapolate from Nature’s forms, forces and mysteries in works that venture beyond conventional landscape into the realm of pure, visual sensation.

The 21st century has not been an easy one for arts organizations in Napa County.

The Napa Valley Symphony Orchestra broadened its community outreach last weekend, inviting a renowned mariachi band to perform with the local ensemble in a salute to Mexican Independence Day.