VERMONT — Leaf peepers love Vermont in autumn, traveling the state to see the brilliant show of reds, oranges and yellows shimmering in the mountains and valleys. While looking for peak foliage, however, they also can take advantage of many special events during their stay, one of which is the Vermont Fall Open Studio Weekend.
On Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 5 and 6, 130 craftspeople and artists at 127 sites in every region of Vermont — including 15 in Addison County and four in Brandon — will open their studios to the public. Iconic bright yellow Open Studio signs are posted along the roads to guide visitors to the studios. Visitors are offered a behind-the-scenes look at the workspaces of glassblowers, weavers, sculptors, potters, woodworkers, printmakers, jewelers, furniture makers, painters, quilters, and other makers.
The Vermont Crafts Council, which organizes the event, publishes a free map booklet available at Vermont welcome centers, galleries and community centers that gives people an easy way to plan an individualized tour route. Each studio is numbered with the location shown on the Open Studio map/guide. Directions, addresses and contact information are also listed. Regional information centers are highlighted in the guide as places to give studio explorers an overview of a particular area. A map can be requested on the Vermont Crafts Council website (www.vermontcrafts.com), where an online version is available as well. Maps can also be obtained by calling (802) 223-3380 or emailing [email protected].
Addison County artists opening their studios this weekend are:
•  John Chiles; colorful, hand-blown glass vessels; 690 Route 73, Orwell.
•  Molly Hawley; portraits, landscapes, abstracts, fabric art; 1266 Route 125, Ripton.
•  Mike Mayone; paintings, prints, note cards, realism, landscapes; 8 Case St., East Middlebury.
•  Tom Homann; earthy, stoneware, functional kitchenware, ash glazed pottery; 3 Warner Drive, East Middlebury.
•  Danforth Pewter workshop, 52 Seymour St, Middlebury.
•  Trillium Art and Beyond; Yinglei Zhang’s art encompasses traditional Chinese painting, calligraphy, landscape, birds and flowers; 56 High St., Middlebury.
•  Kathleen Kolb; oil and watercolor paintings of landscapes, prints; for Fall Open Studio at Lincoln Peak Winery, 142 River Road, New Haven.
•  Rory Jackson; oil paintings, landscapes, seascapes, prints; 1612 West Hill Road; Lincoln.
•  Rita Agyemang; necklaces, earrings, silversmithing, African beads; 1612 West Hill Road, Lincoln.
•  Art on Main; artist cooperative, works in many media. 25 Main St., Bristol.
•  Robert Compton and Christine Homer; hand-thrown, functional and decorative pottery; 2662 North Route 116, Bristol.
•  Dale Helms Fine Furniture; custom contemporary furniture; 2886 Mountain Road, Bristol.
•  Anne Cady; colorful Vermont landscape oil paintings; 653 Quarry Road, New Haven.
•  Creative Space Gallery; fine art, photographs, furniture, pottery; 235 Main St., Vergennes.
•  Outerlands Gallery, Ross Sheehan and Cat Cutillo; photography, sculpture, painting, furniture, metal; 37 Green St., Vergennes.
Brandon open studios
Four Brandon artists will participate in the open studio tour. Local and state maps are available at The Brandon Artists Guild at 7 Center St. in Brandon. All five Brandon artists have studios within walking distance of the gallery.
Mixed-media artist Joan Curtis will be showing some of the large acrylic paintings from her recent “Peaceable Kingdom” series at her Union Street studio. The paintings, with visionary imagery, symbolize how humans could learn to find space for their wild neighbors, and perhaps delay the sadness of extinction. Her mixed-media sculpture will also be on view, and she’ll be able to demonstrate how it is constructed. Curtis has participated regularly in statewide Open Studios Weekends for two decades; she says she always looks forward to greeting visitors in her studio.
Patty Sgrecci specializes in mixed-media kinetic sculptures and mobiles. She will open up her studio in The Granary at 29 Union St., where she will be demonstrating the art of balance. Visitors will find lots of leafy, fall-themed mobiles fluttering overhead in her studio and learn how she prepares her specialty papers and fabrics before they are transformed into a sculpture.
Photographer Don Ross is known for his abstract quarry photographs. In addition he provides numerous creative services including fine art, commercial and food photography. Ross specializes in photographic reproduction of two- and three-dimensional works of art, archival pigment ink printing, and high-resolution scanning as well as creative digital services. He is also in The Granary.
Ceramic artist Susan Smith-Hunter will be showing textural ceramic sculptures, wall planters and pique assiette mosaics. Her studio is right next to The Granary.