Artists throughout the County are opening their doors July 30 & 31 for the 16th annual Tour de Forest.
Twenty-six studios are taking part, including painters, sculptors, mixed media creators and more, set to showcase their work from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We really value and appreciate our guests and look forward to seeing returning faces and meeting some new attendees,” said organizer Charlene McConnell, who is also a ceramic artist.
“The tour is free and at this beautiful time of year it’s a pleasant way to see the countryside, meet the artists in their studio setting and see what interesting creative new work has evolved over the past couple of years,” McConnell said.
Collective joins tour
The Limbic Collective, a group of emerging multi-disciplinary artists from Haliburton, are new to the tour this year.
They’ll be showing work alongside Biljana Web at the Whirling Wisdom Art Creations studio near Tory Hill.
Founded in 2021, the collective has been hosting shows and participating in art events such as Art in the Garden in June.
“That’s been a lot of fun: having multiple artists from different styles, from different genres and then finding a way to pleasantly display their work together,” said Poet Ever, a curator and organizer with the collective.
Most of the artists who will be exhibiting work during the show are visual artists crafting drawings or paintings, but there will be sculptors too, interactive art and music.
“I like to do performance and installation kind of stuff,” Ever said. “Just having so many things going on at the same time is really inspiring. When someone thinks of an idea and you might have had an idea last week that goes together with that, it’s really nice to put the two ideas together.”
Co-curator and organizer Scott Duggan will be crafting music during the weekend too.
Duggan said he enjoys reflecting on the environment around him in what he plays.
“I like to improvise in music… I don’t usually have backing tracks,” Duggan said, mentioning how playing music with other Limbic Collective members allows for spontaneity and creative freedom.
“Doing it at Limbic, I kind of have this idea of ‘let’s bring in a visual artist, someone bring in their paintings or something’,” he said. “The environment is essential in how I create.”
Both artists said they’re inspired by the temporary aspect of performance or improvised art.
“I find it a little more fun when it’s ephemeral and fleeting, instead of feeling like I have to archive every moment,” Ever said.
The Limbic Collective regularly hosts creative gatherings at their Highland Street studio, beneath Glecoff’s Family Store, where artists come together to make art, collaborate and hang out.
Alongside Ever and Duggan, illustrator and painter Mo Christiano and Bob Frxst, an illustrator, 3D artist, muralist and sculptor, are curators and organizers of the collective and will be exhibiting work at the tour.
For a full list of artists and their locations across Haliburton County visit haliburtontourdeforest.com.
