Creating art is a one on
one experience. It’s an experience
between the artist and the paints, fibers, clay, wax or metal. It’s a solitary studio process with a rhythm
of its own.
Once a year, during the
Washington County Open Studios tour, artists embrace a totally different studio
day. They open up their studios to
visitors. For two days, they show their
art, tools, inspirations and creative process to anyone who stops by.
Our goal as a group is
to let anyone see art in the making.
Where. How. And what it looks like before it becomes a
finished piece of art. We hope to
inspire creativity in everyone who visits.
But the visitors aren’t
the only ones who get inspired. Our artists
get a weekend of inspiration, too.
For weaver, Peg
Silloway, the weekend was a kaleidoscope of delightful experiences.
“A neighbor brought her
parents, one a weaver, the other a spinner and crocheter, and before they left
offered me a supply of hand-spun and luxury yarns they are not using, an
enormous gift for a weaver,” says
Peg. “Another woman came early Saturday
and announced that she’d seen me on television and came to my studio first.”
For Peg, some of the
most inspiring moments came about teaching her craft to others.
“A boy, who had learned to weave in a class
several years ago, came with his father on Sunday. At my studio, he wove on the rigid heddle
loom and clearly has a talent for the craft.
He left with a bag of yarns from my stash. His mother is also an artist
on our tour this year and I met her at the preview opening at Art on Broadway.”
Peg adds another teachable moment from the tour,
“Neighbors whom I’d never met came on Sunday and wanted to understand every
step of the process, and even tried the loom, too. I think that was the best
part for me...seeing that light bulb go on when someone understands how weaving
works and how the craft is literally woven in to many things we touch and wear
every day!”
For fiber
artist, Terry Grant, opening her studio brought her back travels to Ecuador.
“A
young couple came in the door and said they live just up the street from me and
had wondered what the "little house" was! They looked all
around at my work and after a look-around upstairs in my studio the woman said,
"You’ve been to Ecuador! When?" I explained my daughter lived
in Ecuador for a number of years and we visited often. I have made a lot of art
based on those trips. Her husband then told me he was from Ecuador and
recognized many of the locations in my work. He went to University in the same
city where my daughter worked and met her Ecuadoran husband. We shared
favorite places and experiences and even compared the jewelry we were
wearing—"my earrings are from Chordaleg" (near where the husband was
from)—"mine are from Otavalo, but my bracelet is from Chordaleg.”
Terry not only connected with new people but found a new
connection for her daughter as well. “I got their contact info and hope to get
them together with my daughter and son-in-law, who now live here—just a few
blocks away!”
Says Terry, “You never know who you will meet at Open
Studios!
Collage artist, Jo Reimer, found herself with a
studio of admirers and lots of questions.
“Once they got past exclaiming over the
physical studio space and studying the collage paintings that covered my walls
they were full of questions
and so happy with the answers,” says Jo.
“People
were amazed at processes that are second nature to me but a mystery to them.
They wanted to know about gelatin printing, dissolving inks with solvent, using
powdered graphite with glue, how to mix my recipe for a glue that doesn't cause
paper to buckle, and so much more. And I want to share ideas with folks, to
tell them that inspiration doesn't come like a bolt of lightning; it comes as a
result of working in the studio with the tools of the trade.”
Like
Peg, Jo found herself with not only teachable moments but a studio class.
“What
fun to welcome so many interested, inquisitive people to my studio.
Many
asked whether I teach. Though I was a teacher most of my life I haven't taught
in recent years, but the enthusiasm of my visitors has convinced me that I need
to start teaching again. I am energized by teaching and as a result of the tour
I realize how much I miss helping people be creative. In fact, I taught my
first studio class today and can hardly wait for the next session.”
This
is Jo’s first year on the Washington County Open Studios Tour.
Jo
says, “I'm glad I participated in the Washington County Studio Tour and hope to
do so again next year. It's such a well-run organization and I'm happy to be a
participant, making art accessible to others.”
