Despite the county’s expansive geography, this region is thick with artistic collectives that enrich the cultural landscape.
With four different studio tours in Wellington County, artists open the doors to their creative spaces, inviting visitors to travel the back roads and main streets dotted with artist locations, some as unique as the artists themselves, on maps that spell out a cultural adventure.
The Hills of Erin Studio Tour, part of the Hills of Headwaters region, features 20 artists, including 11 new talents at seven locations spread out across Erin and Hillsburgh and the surrounding areas.
The tour kicks off the studio season with two weekends, beginning Sept. 15 to 16 and then Sept. 22 to 23.
Fibre artist Benitta Wilcox has participated in the tour for the past seven years. She is co-chair, treasurer and brochure coordinator for the tour as well, a role she enjoys because she believes in the quality and the diversity of the artwork on the Erin tour.
“Visitors get to see what local artists are doing,” Wilcox said. “And it’s not just the pros. There are people with full-time jobs who do their art on the side. The artists are interesting and the visitors get to see how we do what we do.”
Wilcox’s work includes knit shawls, scarves, spinning fibres and wall-hangings produced in her home on the village’s main street. Welcoming people into her studio is something she enjoys.
“I like meeting new people and hearing their story,” she explained, describing how visitors experience her wall-hanging pieces.
“It’s nice to hear their perspective and to get their interpretation on my work – especially men, who tend to want to make something out of it. It’s interesting what they get from the work.”
Wilcox said the tour provides her with a “good outlet” for her work.
“When you do the kind of work I do, you need an outlet to create. If you don’t have an outlet, you become a hoarder,” she said, laughing. “It’s nice to see other people enjoy your stuff. I really like that, especially when they give your art as a gift.”
This year, several of the participating artisans will host guest artists. Wilcox has invited Beth Grant, a glass artist, to join her during the first weekend of the tour, and Martha Pagel, a potter, for the second weekend.
“Having guests brings in everybody’s fans and that’s good for everybody,” Wilcox said. “People have been coming to my studio for six or seven years. Now people who come to see my work will see my stuff and see theirs too, and vice versa.”
Exposure to these kinds of connections helps artists not only sell their art during the tour, but also opens doors for them afterwards.
Wilcox received a commission to produce a wall-hanging after a visitor to the studio tour browsed through her shop and, admiring the work, contacted her later.
“You make art for yourself, and when others like it, it’s really cool,” she said.
Wilcox believes there is something about the experience of seeing art in a studio and gallery settings that draws people in.
“You make them love art even more. Everybody’s life needs art in it … I think there is a ground swell movement that the more people see art, the more it makes life better,” she said.
She adds the pressure is not to buy the art, but simply to experience it.
“You don’t have to buy it. Just seeing it, meeting the artists and talking to others is great, and the people go home with smiles on their faces,” Wilcox said.
Part of the success of the Erin tour is the support of the community that surrounds it.
“This area touts the arts community,” she said. “They support it and say to the world, ‘we’re horsey, we’re artsy’ and the more people that participate in the tour, the better it is for the restaurant down the street, the bed and breakfast, the shops. The visitors have lots of places to go.”
Next year the Hills of Erin Studio Tour will celebrate 25 years of connecting its community through art.
Nearby, nestled in the hamlet of Eden Mills, more than 25 artists participate in a walking studio tour over two-days during the final weekend of May known as the Eden Mills Arts Festival.
The walking tour, formerly known as Art in Eden, began in 2001 and has been a successful annual spring event since 2006.
“We always have some artists who come out by invitation, invited by members of the group and it’s been going on well over ten years,” said Michael Coull, owner of A Heartbeat Gallery.
“I think it’s successful because it is a little, quiet tour in a magical village and people come back year after year,” he explained, noting that he is not an artist himself. “I am a gallery owner, but I have to say, I am blown away by the talent in this village.”
Since fine artist Kreso Cavlovic moved to Elora three years ago, he too has been impressed with the artistic talents that thrive throughout Centre Wellington. This year, he has joined in with the Elora Fergus Studio Tour.
“I saw the professionalism of the organization,” he said. “I also saw the professionalism and the level of artistry in this area, which is fantastic.”
Chair of the tour Heather Wood explains, “Our tour has given rise to the reputation of Elora and Fergus as being an artist community, and it has added to our community’s identity.
“It’s an established tour with a very strong, committed group of artists who ban together and make the commitment to work together to present this face of a place that embraces art as something meaningful.”
Cavlovic owns Gallery Vernissage on Elora’s main street and while he is used to people in his space, he appreciates the emphasis the tour, which runs from Sept. 22 to 23 and Sept. 29 to 30, offers his community and fellow artists.
“I think it’s an asset for art lovers and the artists themselves,” Cavlovic said. “The art lovers are exposed to many mediums and that gives them exposure to different art forms, with artists at different stages of their career, and offers different price points.
“For the artists, it’s an opportunity to hear a new outlook on their work, be it negative or positive,” he said, adding feedback is an important part of the dialogue between the artist and those visiting on the tour.
“I get a lot of questions about the symbolism of my work. People really like my story-telling. And the colour. The best reaction I get is ‘wow’ and I get that reaction that they feel towards my work.”
Cavlovic, a professional artist, realizes his paintings, produced with oil on canvas and some acrylics, are not for everyone.
“Hopefully people have a positive experience. There is a percentage who find my symbolism difficult, but my philosophy is to take everything on the positive.”
Cavlovic’s work follows a series of themes. His Croatian/Slavic paintings depict his family heritage, with bold vibrant colours. Yet he also has contemporary figurative pieces that explore spirituality, as well as abstraction art pieces and an ocean series.
With collectors around the world supporting his work, Cavlovic understands that an event like a studio tour broadens not only the landscape of the audience, but also the network of the artist.
“The goal is to sell work, but it is also to expose people to your work and make ongoing connections,” he said. “Most people will come and observe, then go away and come again another time to the town.
“I like interaction, the reaction of people who come in. They see the colour and I see the smiles. They see what I’m trying to accomplish and that is a celebration of life.”
The exposure of artists and audiences is an important aspect of the process, and Cavlovic notes, “it won’t deviate the path the artist is on … but we are always trying to evolve.”
He credits the support of the surrounding community, shops and restaurants along the tour route that make visitors feel welcome.
“I think the whole atmosphere is really positive for everyone who comes here. There is something for everyone to do. They can make it a day out.”
The Elora Fergus Studio Tour begins with a group show held annually at the Elora Centre for the Arts.
“The fact that the Elora Centre for the Arts supports us with the exhibition space is invaluable,” Woods said.
This year, the show will begin with an opening reception on Sept. 13 at 7:30pm in the Minarovich Gallery. The show will run until Oct. 7.
“In return the artists are going to reach out and support NeighbourWoods,” said Wood, of the local environmental group.
“I hope all the artists have great success,” Cavlovic said. “I hope all the patrons have a really wonderful experience so they’ll come back.”
Return business is a big part of the success of the 19th annual Saugeen Autumn Leaves Studio Tour, and is the reason artists such as Paul Kaye and Elsa Mann, owners of Night and Day Pottery Studio, joined the tour in 2004.
Located in Mount Forest, the couple applied to the tour before they even moved to the community.
“We know the value of a studio tour,” said Kaye, noting they were part of the Elora Fergus Studio Tour for six years. “There are a number of artists out there that nobody else knows about, so it’s good to get people out to the studios.”
Their experience has been an asset to the Autumn Leaves tour. Mann took on the role of marketing chair of the tour, working with a committee to handle publicity and social media.
“Elora is established as an arts town. Mount Forest is not. We know the value of a studio tour to get people out to us,” she said, adding, “It lets people know we are part of the cultural fabric of their community.”
Now bordering the Saugeen region, both Kaye and Mann are eager to see the tour promote their area of the tour map.
“The geography here is massive,” said Mann. “To accommodate that, they’ve made the tour three days long.”
The tour runs from Sept. 28 to 30. Encouraging more participation, the Minto Culture Bus is coinciding with the tour as part of National Cultural Days on Sept. 29 from 10am to 4pm.
The bus will include various artists and studios as part of its culture adventure, along with other regional events.
“Studio tour gives people who are intrigued by the arts and crafts permission to come,” said Kaye. “The open sign is definitely there. It’s comfortable for them to come and check it out.”
Kaye and Mann are potters with uniquely independent styles.
“Our sense of shape, form, glaze; everything is different,” Kaye said. “When people come here they are seeing two different artists.”
Mann adds that this year, the tour includes guest artists and the couple are proud to host silver jeweler Jennifer Nicholson and Christine McGrath, a mixed media artist, at their home studio.
“It may take a long time to drive to the places, but there is a richness to the diversity you will see,” Mann said. “It’s not unusual to have 23 studios on the tour but have more than 50 artists to see.”
“We have old school houses and renovated old barns … it’s equally impressive to see the artwork in these incredible studio settings,” she said.
The duo enjoys meeting people and talking about their trade. They have added a pottery area where guests get a “hands-on” turn with clay.
“We tend to sell a fair amount that weekend, but it’s still about introducing people to the studio and what we do and how we do it … even if they never buy from us, this will bring people back, and that matters,” said Kaye.
“We’ve always had a strong philosophy about educating. If people don’t come and see what we do, how will they ever understand it?” Mann asks. “It’s an ancient craft. Making the connection as to how things are made is important.”
Kaye agrees. “My job isn’t just to make pottery; it’s to explain it to others so they appreciate it,” he said. “When people value what we’ve done and they love it enough to buy it for themselves or someone else, that piece has an importance outside of my own studio now.”
“Once they come out and get that first introduction, it gives them an incentive to come back,” said Mann.
Mann and Kaye are also hoping fellow Wellington North artists are well attended that weekend.
Cliff Smith is an artist/photographer in Mount Forest.
“His work is like photographic painting,” said Kaye.
Wesley Bates, of Clifford is wood block artist, painter and author. “He is a phenomenal artist,” Kaye opined.
That kind of artist collective support is evident as they give back to their community.
“As a group, we make donations for Camp Quality, a camp for kids with cancer that is in our geographic area,” said Mann.
Studio tours are more than just shopping trips. It is a cultural celebration of community and art.
“Art, like theatre or food, is one of the pleasures of life,” said Wilcox.
Mann agrees. “When people make the time to stop in, you make the time to be with them. And it’s great.”
For more information visit:
– the 19th Saugeen Autumn Leaves Studio Tour 2012 at www.autumnleavesstudiotour.ca;
– Elora-Fergus Studio Tour 2012 at www.elorafergusstudiotour.com; or
– Hills of Erin Studio Tour at www.hillsoferinstudiotour.com.
