2005 7th Annual
Studio and Garden Tour

by Chris Gustin

Now in its seventh year, the Brown County Studio and Garden Tour is a must-see destination for hundreds of visitors to the area. Participation in the tour has doubled since those humble beginnings and activities are educational as well as entertaining. One thing that has not changed is the cost to visitors—it is still free.

During the last weekend of June, art lovers have the opportunity to explore the lifestyles of working artisans while enjoying a scenic drive around the area. This year’s tour will be June 25 and 26, giving visitors a chance to watch artists at work in their studios and wander the gardens that renew and inspire them.

Eighteen artists’ studios and galleries will be open for this free, self-guided tour and the T. C. Steele State Historic Site serves as tour headquarters.

All artists will give ongoing demonstrations of some aspect of their art during the tour.

As a way to give back to the community, most tour members will be donating works of art for a silent auction with proceeds providing an art scholarship for a Brown County high school senior in 2006. The silent auction will be in the lobby of the Brown County Visitors Bureau in downtown Nashville prior to the tour and patrons can leave bids for the items of their choice from June 16–26, 2005.

There are five new (*) studios on this year’s tour.

Jennifer and Michael Burt have been professional artists for 10 years. The Burts design and create contemporary stained glass, jewelry, hanging candle and flower holders and garden art at Burt Studios.

Mary Jo Conley* is a stained-glass artist in the Tiffany tradition at Bear Creek Glass Designs. She creates lamps, panels and custom designs.

Chris Gustin is a fiber artist and weaver. Chris designs and creates functional rugs, placemats, runners and wearable art on her many looms at Homestead Weaving Studio. Chris focuses on recycling, using unique new material that is waste from textile mills.

Joan Haab* creates hand-woven clothing from rayon chenille yarn in exciting colorways at Country Mouse Weaving Studio.

Sandee Hazelbaker* is an artist and teacher at Cabin Ridge Studio & Gallery, creating original paintings, prints, cards and hand-painted ornaments.

Rick and Debbie Henson* are both weavers at For Simplicity’s Sake and specialize in ponchos and outerwear as well as vintage soaps.

Lynn Lynch Hughes does pen-and-ink and colored pencil drawings of homes, historic sites and pets at her Memories to Keep, Ink studio. She can work from photographs and accepts private commissions.

Mindy Knapik Weddle makes hand-thrown, salt-glazed stoneware and porcelain pottery at Carmel Ridge Clayworks. She also has her photography on display.

Amanda Wallace Mathis paints in the primitive style, using her imagination to incorporate past and present in images of town scenes and family events.

Cheri Platter makes wheel-thrown and hand-built porcelain pottery with original painted floral designs at Faerie Hollow Pottery Studio. She is currently doing tile work, designing ceramic garden sculptures, and pioneering some work in paper clay.

Brenda Roberts uses oils and watercolors to depict landscapes, flowers and people. When painting, she allows the subject to determine which media she will employ to create the piece … drawing, watercolor or oil paint.

Greg Schatz makes richly glazed functional pottery and wood-fired stoneware with ash glaze at Schatz Studio and Gallery.

Susan W. Showalter* is a photographer and is producing handmade art papers with unusual inclusions at Goat Hill Studio.

Larry Spears’ stoneware and reduction-fired pottery encompass a variety of functional forms, textures, richly colored hand-mixed glazes and various firing methods. Kyle Spears is a fine art photographer at Spears Gallery.

Sandy Taylor combines calligraphy with stained glass to create unique boxes and hanging pieces at Godly Glass.

R. Thomas Tedrowe owns Tedrowe Furniture Studio, where he makes wood furniture and decorative objects, including boxes. Tom is traditionally trained and his designs incorporate an expert knowledge of wood.

Sheryl VanVleck is a trained painter and potter. At VanVleck Studio, you will see sculptural clay work, paintings in oil, pencil drawings and wheel-thrown pottery, often with whimsical animal sculptures.

George and Phyllis Zajicek both design and create glass objects at their Tippers Willow Art Glass Studio. Phyllis makes three-dimensional pieces using a kiln-fired technique and George designs and builds glass lamps, and does antique glass restoration.

Brochure/map pickup sites include the Brown County Inn, Crouch’s Market, Brown County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, area hotels, restaurants, businesses, and at each artist’s studio. For further information and to view images of each artist’s work, visit the tour’s website at <www.BrownCountyStudioTour.com>.