BRATTLEBORO: Poised at the confluence of a nationwide arts happening and a statewide studio event, the artists of Brattleboro again will offer a close-up look at the creative process at the height of fall foliage season. This year, however, art lovers will have twice the opportunity, as the annual event expands to include Columbus Day weekend.
Typically the first weekend in October, the Vermont Craft Council’s 2016 Fall Open Studio Weekends Oct. 1-2 and 8-9 will take place across the state, coinciding with the national American Craft Week. Locally, the event will include the work of 14 artists from 11 studios and one gallery in Brattleboro, West Brattleboro and Marlboro. Please note that all of the studios will be open the weekend of October 1 & 2 and half will also be open October 7 & 8. (See details below.)
Participating studios will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, offering the public a chance to meet the artists, view the environments in which their art is created, see demonstrations of their processes and purchase finished works.
“It's stimulating to meet so many people who want to see what goes into the creative process,” says fine furniture maker Jason Breen. “I invite people to touch and smell the wood -- something you can't do on the web. Visitors get to engage with the art form with all of their senses. Really, the weekend is about inviting the public to forge a live connection with craft and craftspeople.”
Here is the complete lineup of tour stops in the Brattleboro area, listed in order of their site numbers on Oct. 1-2. Note: Sites with two numbers are participating in both weekends, with the second number indicating the site number for Oct. 8-9. The studios marked with * are those of Brattleboro-West Arts members:
*29/28 - Applewoods Woodworking Studio and Gallery: David and Michelle Holzapfel: 2802 Rt. 9, Marlboro
*30 - Matthew Tell Pottery: Woodfired pottery: 163 Potter’s Hill Road, Marlboro
*31 - JMB Glass: Blown and flameworked glass by Josh and Marta Bernbaum: 119 Hescock Road, Brattleboro
*32 - Laughing Lizard Studio : Encaustic painting and jewelry by Jen Wiechers: showing at JMB Glass, 119 Hescock Road, Brattleboro
*33/29 - Charles Townsend: Landscape painting: 1854 Ames Hill Road, Marlboro
*34/30 - Jason Breen Fine and Custom Woodworking: 1197 Bonnyvale Road, Brattleboro
35 - Zak Grace Glass: Hand-formed and blown glassware and art: 446 Williams St, Brattleboro
36 - Lesley Heathcote: Pastels of animals, birds, and landscapes. 32 Larkin St, Brattleboro
37/32 - Vermont Artisan Designs: Gallery and tour information center: 106 Main St., Brattleboro
*38/33 - Orchard Street Pottery: Woodfired pottery by Walter Slowinski: 658 Orchard St., Brattleboro
*39 - Naomi Lindenfeld: Colored clay pottery: 330 Meadowbrook Road, Brattleboro
40/34 - Fulcrum Arts: Natalie Blake’s ceramics and Randi Solin’s glass: 485 West River Road, Brattleboro
Visitors can start the self-guided tour by following the yellow signs posted at Exit 2 of Interstate 91 in Brattleboro. A map that includes all the participating Brattleboro area artists will be available at any stop on the tour, and a downloadable version is available here. For a complete list of tour stops statewide, visit www.vermontcrafts.com or pick up a guidebook at participating sites.
For the second year in a row, Brattleboro-West Arts has infused the VCC tour with its members and encouraged other artists in town to participate, in an effort to make the Brattleboro area an attractive destination with a large number of studios at the state’s southern gateway. See www.brattleboro-west-arts.com for more info.
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