Mark your calendars (November 11 & 12, 10-5) The Over the Mountain Studio Tour is coming to town! Round up your friends for a wonderful time in the beautiful countryside of Jefferson County. You’ll meet or reconnect with talented art-makers. Visit studios, farms, historic houses and even a nature center. Find out how they got that wonderful shape or finish. Why did they pick working in wood or metal or fibers or paints and inks? You and your questions and experiences are welcomed and enjoyed. Here’s a hopscotch preview of some of our 9 stops.
Follow the aromas of hot mulled cider and spice cookies to Stop 6 in Charles Town to see works on and of paper by two talented artists – Liz Goins and Rod Glover. Liz Paper
Arts will be offering interactive books and shell books along with spirit boxes and articulated paper figures to hang and display. Bird & Bevan will have pressed seaweeds from Cape Cod, mixed media plant collages and botanical mandalas, all presented in a variety of frames and ready to hang.
Don’t miss Stop 5 in charming and historic Middleway, the farm studio of master basketmaker Anne Bowers. In addition to her always-inventive and highly sought baskets she will have a slide show of pictures from her recent trip to Poland. Anne attended, with 3 other US citizens and representatives of 54 countries, the Worldwide Wicker and Weaving Festival in Poznan, Poland. Never one to rest on her laurels, Anne will also feature her new book, "Ribbed Baskets - Traditional to Contemporary."
Head to beautiful Shepherdstown for Stop 2 where Cartoonist and Graphic Novelist Danielle Corsetto and Ceramic Artist Esther Murphy will be waiting for you in Danielle’s 18th century home. In addition to her colorfully glazed functional work, Esther will have some pieces from a recent community firing in the 3 chambered noborigama kiln at Monocacy River Pottery near Thurmont, MD. She will be showing a short video describing the preparation and the ancient process used to produce these pots.
Danielle will be displaying original inked pages from her in-progress graphic novel Elephant Town, which is halfway through completion at 300+ pages. The story takes place in Shepherdstown, so you may see some familiar buildings within the panels! She'll also have watercolor figure drawings and a few of her Yoga Cat originals, prints, and stickers, as well as greeting cards and studies of Shepherdstown landmarks.
Watch for her hardcover collections of her comic strip Girls With Slingshots.
You have another treat in store when you visit Stop 9, Head Spring Farm in the historic village of Summit Point where Bridget Brown weaves and paints and processes wool from her sheep. It’s a beautiful spot and you’ll meet a menagerie of farm animals and pets including her newly adopted shelter pup Ivy.
Bridget will also have her peg loom warped up and ready for visitors to try their hand at this simple way to weave a rug. Bridget and her partner Tim have been making oodles of pretty rug yarn in their mill, as it is a great way to use up excess and waste wool. They will also have peg looms and finished wool rugs available this year as well as her usual favorites. Don’t miss Bridget’s landscape paintings in wool (yes wool) and acrylic.
Folks, this is only a start. There are five more wonderful stops to be featured in our next blog. Check out our Tour website at www.overthemountainstudiotour.com for all the details and a map. Note that if you usually come across the Potomac and Shenandoah bridges, there will be a detour that will take you through some wonderful landscape. We can’t wait to see you!
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