Whether it’s to check out the work of East Sussex’s most talented artists and craftspeople or just to have a snoop around other people’s homes, Brighton and Hove’s annual Artists’ Open Houses never fails to draw crowds.

Running alongside Brighton Festival and Fringe in May, more than 200 houses and interesting spaces open their doors to the public, displaying the work of some 1,500 artists and makers.

Featuring established names and new talent, work includes prints, painting, sculpture, ceramics, jewellery, textiles – even lighting, furniture and fashion.

There are 14 trails which let visitors spend a morning, or even a day, exploring new neighbourhoods and a variety of homes, from Georgian townhouses to modern flats, five-star hotels to churches, pubs and community centres.

Although all work is for sale, there’s no pressure to buy.

Both serious collectors and casual browsers are guaranteed a warm welcome from the artists, many of whom are on hand at the houses to talk about their work and share a cup of tea and slice of cake.

Seven Days profiles four interesting Open Houses to pay a visit to this May.

 Artists Open Houses runs on May 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26. For full details, visit www.aoh.org.uk.

RALPH LEVY’S HANDMADE HOUSE Beards Place Farm, 98 Lewes Road, Ditchling, BN6 8TZ, 01273 845355 Eleven years ago, artist and designer Ralph Levy went to live in a derelict 1930s farm cottage in Ditchling.

Over the years, he has transformed the house, its outbuildings and garden into a home made almost entirely by hand.

He has designed and made the beds, tables, benches, curtain rails – even the curtain hooks – with an artist’s eye and craftsman’s hand.

Furnishings also include ceramics, glass, sculpture, textiles and paintings made by other artist friends.

This month, he is showcasing ceramics decorated by all the artists exhibiting in his house – as well as showing paintings, sculpture, jewellery, lighting and furniture. In addition to being an artist, Levy is also a professional chef and recently made a woodburning pizza oven. He will be serving lunches and afternoon teas in the woodland garden throughout May.

CHRIS LEWIS AT SOUTH HEIGHTON POTTERY South Heighton, Newhaven, BN9 0HL, 07754 814067 Chris Lewis makes a range of decorated and undecorated pottery, and pieces for the garden – giant pots are his speciality.

His work is displayed in the garden that surrounds the studio, complemented by works by other ceramicists and painters.

Lewis uses a large singlechamber “anagama” kiln in which the firewood is often in direct contact with the pots, which are covered in ash and embers during the three to four-day firings.

This method of firing, although unpredictable, often results in rich surface colour and texture that give his work an almost archaeological character.

TED DAVIS AT STUDIO 323 Flat 3, 32 Palmeira Square, Hove, 01273 771406 Since acquiring a Kodak 110 at the age of nine, Ted Davis has gone on to become a highly regarded portrait photographer.

In his studio in Palmeira Square, he will be exhibiting his work alongside the work of other photographer friends and offering visitors the opportunity to have their portrait taken for free.

After welcoming more than 4,000 visitors last May, Davis is hoping to get to know his guests even better this year; he believes a good portrait is always a collaborative activity between photographer and sitter. The portrait photographs will be posted online and will be be available to purchase as fine art prints.

Alongside his portraits, he will also be showing his Florabunda project (pictured below left) – large-scale photographs of single blooms, taken when flowers are past their prime, when they develop a particular “overblown” beauty.

His guest artists include Neale Thibault, who will exhibit his eerie night landscapes created through long exposure photography.

BLIND VETERANS UK Greenways, Rottingdean, BN2 7BS, 01273 391466 Formerly known as St Dunstan’s, Blind Veterans UK is celebrating 75 years in Brighton and to mark the occasion, the charity is opening the 1930s chapel in its Ovingdean centre to showcase memorabilia and photographs from the archives.

The exhibition will chart the history of the building, the people who have travelled through the charity, and the stories of how Blind Veterans UK has positively affected lives, giving a sense of members’ time there and how the buildings have been developed over the years.

The charity hopes to highlight the importance of access to arts activities for visually impaired people, and to encourage their engagement with the arts.