ADDISON COUNTY/BRANDON — The Spring Open Studio Tour over Memorial Day Weekend offers a great way for locals and visitors alike to see the Green Mountain State as well as the work of Vermont artist right where it is made. Bright yellow signs are placed along Vermont’s roads to mark the way to studios of craftspeople and fine artists during the self-guided tour on May 24 and 25 at a time when the landscape is fresh and inviting and without the crowds of summer and fall.
Open Studio Weekend is a statewide celebration of the visual arts and creative process, offering a unique opportunity for visitors to meet a wide variety of artists and craftspeople in their studios, some of which are only open to the public during this event. Those who experience Open Studio gain an appreciation for the creative process and the role that artists and craftspeople play in the vitality of Vermont’s communities.
Every year the self-guided tour features a number of new artists, giving long-time Open Studio visitors some fresh destinations to explore. In studios of long-time participants, repeat visitors can expect to find new art works and old friends. The studio tour brings visitors to historic Vermont villages and along back roads with spectacular vistas. For travelers looking for a broad range of activities, the website Vermont-byways.us has posted interactive maps in each of the regions showing Open Studios in those areas.
Travelers through the beautiful Champlain Valley, in the picturesque villages of Bristol and Brandon, from Ferrisburgh to Orwell — there they will find new and interesting artworks to view and talk about.
Martha Fitch, the director of the Vermont Crafts Council that organizes the event, says the allure of the Open Studio tour is that “it takes you through the real Vermont, with the yellow Open Studio signs and the Open Studio map easily guiding visitors to the studios.” The tour features the work of glassblowers, jewelers, printmakers, potters, furniture makers, weavers, ironworkers, painters, sculptors, quilt makers and wood carvers.
The Open Studio guide is available throughout the state at Vermont Welcome Centers, galleries and studios, on the website vermontcrafts.com, or by calling 802-223-3380.
Studios listed here will be open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. this Saturday and Sunday.
Four artists in Lincoln will open their workspaces to visitors this weekend. They are:
•  York Hill Pottery/Elizabeth Saslaw – Functional, sophisticated pottery. 166 York Hill Road.
•  Victoria Blewer – Original, individually hand-colored photographs. 39 Quaker St.
•  Lincoln Pottery/Judith Bryant – Functional and decorative pottery. 220 West River Road.
•  Barbara Ekedahl – Printmaking, woodblock prints, Moku Hanga method. 220 West River Road.
Studios will be open at seven locations in Bristol:
•  Anne Cady Paintings – Colorful Vermont landscape oil paintings. 23 Main St.
•  Ironwood Building & Design/Josiah and Bay Jackson – Furniture, cutting boards, benches, tables, jewelry. 23 Main St.
•  Art on Main – Artist cooperative, works in many media. 25 Main St.
•  Rory Jackson – Oil paintings, landscapes, seascapes, prints. 11 Main St.
•  Akweley Design/Rita Agyemang – Necklaces, earrings, silversmithing, African beads. 11 Main St.
•  Dale Helms – Custom contemporary furniture. 2886 Mountain Road.
•  Robert Compton Pottery – Handthrown functional and decorative pottery. 2662 Route 116 North.
Other open studios in Addison County are:
•  Creative Space – Fine art, photographs, furniture, pottery. 235 Main St., Vergennes.
•  Outerlands Gallery – Photography, sculpture, painting, furniture, metal. 37 Green St., Vergennes.
•  Kit Clark Furniture – Custom studio furniture, beds, tables, chairs. 997 Four Winds Road, N. Ferrisburgh.
•  Vermont Folk Rocker/Jim Geier – Handcrafted hardwood rocking chairs. 3820 Route 116, Starksboro.
•  Ellen Spring Painted Silk – 2476 Ireland Road, Starksboro.
•  Green Mountain Horse Power/Catherine Palmer – Paintings, colored pencil portraits of animals, horses. 1772 Hunt Road, New Haven.
•  Tom Homann – Earthy, stoneware, functional kitchenware, ashglazed. 3 Warner Drive, East Middlebury.
•  Mike Mayone Fine Art – Paintings, prints, note cards, realism, landscapes. 8 Case St., East Middlebury.
•  True Water Gallery/Molly Hawley – Portraits, landscapes, abstracts, fabric art. Route 125, next just east of Ripton Store, Ripton.
•  Deborah Holmes Watercolors, 135 South Pleasant St, Middlebury.
•  Norma Jean Rollet – Pastels, oils, puzzles, paintings. 185 Cottage Lane, Middlebury.
•  Danforth Pewter Workshop and Store – Watch pewter being made. 52 Seymour St., Middlebury.
•  Timothy Fisher Gallery – Painting, wood sculpture, fabric paintings, merry-go-round. 727 Fisher Road, Cornwall.
•  The Oxford Rug Hooking School/Amy Oxford – Hooked rug demonstrations and mini lessons. 4174 Route 30, Cornwall.
•  Stratford House Pottery/Stacey Stanhope – Highly decorative, functional salt-fired pottery. 296 Route 22A, Orwell.
Brandon, with 12 open studios, will offer an array of artists any many different media:
•  Caleb Kenna Photography – Vermont photography, images, prints, notecards. 40 Old Farm Road.
•  Judith Reilly Gallery – Fabric Artist. Unique fabric paintings, prints, notecards, accessories. 24 Conant Square.
•  Art on a Whim: Stained Glass Studio/Laura Rideout – Stained glass, original “clouds,” panels, suncatchers. 8 East Prospect St.
•  Brandon Artists Guild – Cooperative gallery for Vermont artists and artisans. 7 Center St.
•  Mobiles and More/Patty Sgrecci – Kinetic sculpture, mobiles. 29 Union St.
•  Joan Curtis – Mixed-media artwork. 10 Union St.
•  Kim Zoe Potter – Oil paintings and monoprints. 29 Union St.
•  Big Sky Farm Handweaving/Lee Greenewalt – Blankets, rugs, towels, hats, color. 29 Union St.
•  Smith-Hunter Studio/Susan Smith-Hunter – Ceramic sculpture. 4 Railroad Ave.
•  Fran Bull Studio – Painting, printmaking, sculpture, books, works in progress. 685 Arnold District Road.
•  Dancing Ear Design/Jill Listzwan – Colorful, eclectic, fun, jewelry. 519 Lovers’ Lane.
•  Fluff and Peachy Bean Designs/Nancy Jewett – Rug Hooking, patterns, hand-dyed wool. 1736 Wheeler Road.