For the past 24 years, artists in Highlands East have been forging their own path when it comes to opening their studios and inviting the public for a peek behind the proverbial creative curtain.
The Highlands East Studio Tour returns this weekend (Aug. 22-23). There will be eight artists stationed at four studios in Irondale, Tory Hill, Highland Grove and Wilberforce from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with creators showcasing their methods and techniques via live demonstrations. Art will also be available for purchase.
“We pride ourselves on being the ‘friendly tour’,” said chair, Jan Simon. “There’s no high-pressure from the artists pushing you to buy our works. We’re usually in our own unique settings and it’s more personal – we can talk about how we do what we do and then actually put it into practice. It’s great for learning.”
Simon said talks about starting a Highlands East-specific tour began in summer 2002. It was sparked by Evelyn Saxby, a fabric artisan, who had tried for years to join one of Haliburton County’s existing tours. When she was turned down, she reached out to her friend, Elva Bates, to help launch a new one.
Other prominent local artists, Jack Linkert and Sabina Lohrbach, also joined the effort. After months of planning, the inaugural tour ran in August 2003.
“It was daunting going out on our own, but there are so many talented artists in Highlands East who felt like they were always being shunned by the other tours,” Simon said. “Now, we have this great event we get to call our own.”
The longest-tenured artist on the tour, Simon will be at Studio J, which is her Dreamweaver Country Boutique location, located at 1151 Dark Lake Rd. in Wilberforce. A mixed media artist, Simon specializes in making clothing for children and infants.
Joining Simon at Studio J is Chuck Lewis, a self-taught artist with 40 years of experience in sepia drawings and oil paintings.
There will be three artists at Studio E outside Irondale (9076 County Rd. 503). Elaine Beetison will offer mobile and in-studio beginner to advanced art classes and flower arranging workshops for adults and children; Deborah Ann Morris will encourage people to “embrace the artist within” by choosing from earth paint, clay and found/natural materials to create their own piece of art; and Alex Mark will show off his pyrography, which is all about burning images into wood.
Multi-disciplinary artist Biljana Banchotova will be at Studio H (18378 Hwy. 118 in Tory Hill) alongside John Tatham, who specializes in portraits and caricatures of pets and people.
The final stop, Studio K (1105 Rowley Rd. in Highland Grove), will bring people faceto-face with George Calfas, who recently retired from his contracting career to open his “dream shop” selling artisanal end grain cutting boards, charcuterie boards, lazy Susans and more.
“It’s a great spread of mediums. Some tours are too heavy into featuring just painters, so everybody is vying for the same attention. We try to arrange things so that the artists complement each other,” Simon said.
For more information, visit highlandseastartour.com.
