15th Brown County Studio and Garden Tour

June 28–30, 2013

June in Brown County is always a welcome getaway, but when you combine the scenery with an open invitation to visit the studios and gardens of 15 working artists, you have an event.

The Brown County Studio & Garden Tour will be held June 28–30. It is a free, self-guided journey of 10 sites located throughout the county. All art is original and includes acrylic paintings, painted glass, watercolors, mixed media and folk-painted gourds, jewelry, metal art, handwoven garments and accessories, fiber art, traditional stoneware, sawdust-fired and raku pottery, crystalline glazed porcelain, and glass art. The artists are Rosey Bolte, Amy Greely, Brad Cox, Adam and Barbie Egenolf, Carrie Foley, Joan Haab, Amanda Mathis, Judy and Tom Prichard, Monique Cagle, Elizabeth Parrock, Martha Sechler, Anne Brahaum, and Larry Spears.

The Brown County Studio & Garden Tour was created 15 years ago by artists and it continues to be sustained by the participating artists. These artists plan, execute, and bear the majority of the cost of the tour with some additional help from sponsors. Brown County’s century old art colony tradition is being carried on by the current tour’s artists and is connected to the past through the T.C. Steele State Historic Site, the designated tour headquarters.

Although the tour is not one’s only access to this art, it is a unique way to explore rural Brown County and experience a more personal connection with art. This June tour, and the month-long Back Roads tour in October, make it possible to build a personal history with artists and studios—to watch the evolution of an artist’s work over time, to see the growth and changes in their environment inside and outside the studio, and to gain insight into the creative process. As a result, the buyer may find the art purchased has been invested with a greater, more personal value rooted in memory, insight, and relationship. Art is a very personal thing.

Participating tour studios are open Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Maps and signage make it easy to navigate along the Brown County roads. The studios and gardens will be spruced up for your visit and the artists will welcome the opportunity to speak and listen to those who come.

This year’s sponsors are Cornerstone Inn, Story Inn Bed and Breakfast, The House at Stone Head, Brown County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Bloomingfoods Market & Deli, T.C. Steele State Historic Site, Hobnob Corner Restaurant, Nashville House Restaurant, The Women’s Resource Center, Austin Insurance Agency, WFIU, the Brown County Democrat, INto Art, and Our Brown County.

A map and additional information about the artists and their work is available at <www.browncountystudiotour.com>. The tour is on Facebook at <www.facebook.com/bcsgt>.