5th Annual Back Roads of Brown County Tour, 2006

As summer wanes and the leaves begin to change colors in Brown County, a devoted group of artisans work long hours in their studios creating their signature artwork.

The 15 artists that take part in the 5th Annual “Back Roads of Brown County” driving tour have spent months preparing for the October-long event.

They are tending their kilns and turning their potters’ wheels, wielding soldering irons, weaving row after row of yarn on their looms, and sitting long hours at easels, brushes in hand. They are laying out colorful palettes of paint, glazes, yarns, stained glass. Still others, with cameras in hand, are going out and photographing the world around them in a slightly different way than the rest of us see.

These artists are all dedicated to their art and they think that a great way for others to experience art is in the studio. They want people to see how they work and what inspires them. They want to be able to talk with visitors and share experiences of life in the county as a working artist. They hope visitors will take home a piece of Brown County art because the leaves will soon be gone, but the artwork will endure.

Artists and studios taking part in this year’s Back Roads Tour are:

Michael and Jennifer Burt – Burt Studios – Stained glass, garden art, and jewelry.

Chris Gustin – Homestead Weaving Studio – Handwoven “recycled rugs,” accessories, clothing.

Sandee Hazelbaker – Cabin Ridge Studio and Gallery – Oil and watercolor paintings.

Anabel Hopkins – Les Nymphéas Studio – Oil and pastel impressionist landscapes.

Dean Howard – Barzillai Forge – Forged steel and copper blacksmithing.

Lynn Lynch Hughes – Memories to Keep, Ink – Pen & ink and colored pencil.

Amanda W. Mathis – A.W. Mathis Primitive Paintings – Brown County’s resident primitive/folk art painter.

Anne Ryan Miller – Anne Ryan Miller Glass Studio – Stained glass and metal overlay.

Cheri Platter – Faerie Hollow Pottery Studio – Floral porcelain and stoneware sculptures.

Judy Prichard – Oak Grove Pottery – Functional and decorative terra cotta

Greg Schatz – Schatz Studio and Gallery – Richly glazed functional stoneware and porcelain.

Larry Spears and Kyle Spears – Spears Gallery – Pottery and fine art photography.

R. Thomas Tedrowe, Jr. – Tedrowe Furniture – Wood furniture and decorative objects.

Sheryl VanVleck – VanVleck Studio – Sculpted fairies and Santas; animal pottery and paintings.

Mindy Weddle – Carmel Ridge Clayworks – Functional and decorative stoneware pottery.

The tour is self-guided and free.

Some studios will have “silent auctions” of art with proceeds benefiting the Brown County Art Scholarship Fund.

Maps are available at the Brown County Visitors Center and the Brown County Chamber of Commerce, at each studio, many local businesses, and most lodging in the area.

More information and a map are available on the tour website at

<www.BrownCountyStudioTour.com>.