2009 Brown County
Studio and Garden Tour

A Driving Tour of Artists’ and
Craftsmen’s Studios Last Weekend in June

The Brown County Studio and Garden Tour kicks off its second decade this summer with an expanded roster of artists and the return of some old favorites. The free tour features 36 working artists who live and work in studios hidden along scenic roads and nestled among the wooded hills, making everything from woven rugs to fine furniture, from paintings to functional pottery.

During the last weekend of June, you can meet many of the artists, watch them work, and actually take a piece of Brown County art home with you. The 11th annual tour will take place Friday through Sunday, June 26–28. More than 20 artists’ studios, some of which are usually private spaces, will open their doors and gardens to the public. The artists will be available to answer questions, demonstrate their art or craft, and show you around the spaces that inspire them.

Studios will be open Friday and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Some of the studios are surrounded by impressive gardens, which visitors are invited to explore.

This year’s tour welcomes some new artists. Monique Cagle’s Sleepy Cat Studio will feature paintings, jewelry, painted glassware, and more. Steve Yochum’s woodworking studio will showcase clocks, furniture, and decorative items. Martha Sechler, watercolor and gourd artist, has also added her home studio to the tour. And Dallas Platter will display his lampworked glass beads alongside his wife Cheri’s jewelry and pottery at Faerie Hollow Studio.

Several artists will be guests in another artist’s studio. Laura Stuart’s intricate hand knitting can be found at Oak Grove Pottery. Bill and Jan Swigert will display their fine furniture and stained glass at Homestead Weaving Studio. And Connie Simmonds and Susan Threehawks of Smashing Designs will have their mosaic art at Faerie Hollow Studio.

Many past favorites are returning again this year, including three stained glass artists: Michael Burt, Anne Ryan Miller, and Sandy Taylor—who also displays photography. Kyle Spears will show his photographs at Spears Gallery, alongside his father Larry’s pottery. Other potters include Judy and Tom Prichard, Greg Schatz, Mindy Weddle, and Cheri Platter—who also hand crafts jewelry. In addition, jewelry artist Jennifer Burt has returned to the tour at their new home and studio.

Michael Evans and R. Thomas Tedrowe will each be featuring fine woodworking in their home studios. Sharon Jungclaus Gould will display her gourd art. There are four weavers returning to the tour: Chris Gustin, Joan Haab, Linda Comstock-Teel, and Sarah Noggle. Barb Brooke Davis, who works in over-dyed vintage wool, is returning this year as well. Dean Howard will show his blacksmithing and metal work.

Lynn Lynch Hughes does pen and ink drawings as well as colored pencil work. Painters Amanda Mathis, Dick Ferrer and Bev Chafey are returning this year. Two artists also work in a variety of mediums: Dixie Ferrer and Michele Heather Pollock.

The Brown County Studio and Garden Tour is free. A brochure and map is available at various locations in Brown County, including the Visitors Center in Nashville. The picturesque back roads are well-signed and flags confirm you have reached your destination.

Stop along the route at T.C. Steele’s home and studio, now a State Historic Site, which will have painter Anabel Hopkins as a guest artist. For more information, visit
<www.BrownCountyStudioTour.com>.