This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the Autumn Leaves Studio Tour's launch.
The Autumn Leaves was formed by a group of local artists (mostly Durham/Flesherton centred) in 1994 when a lot of studio tours were starting up in the province. It was clear that the studio visit/experience was going to be a good way for artist to connect with community, patrons and other artists.
Sunspots was the last of the original members to retire from the tour last year. Wood turner, Larry Cluchey is the longest participating studio followed the next year by potter Richard Mund and then painter Ofra Svorai the year after that. This is Cluchey's 21st year on the studio tour, 3 years as a guest artist at another studio and 18 at his own studio. "I think there were perhaps a dozen original members including Sunspots Pottery, Earthen Vessels Pottery, Toldness Woodturning and Woodcraft, Ann Wylie Toal Designs, Branching Out and a few others", offered Cluchey.
There have been a lot of different studios on the tour over the years, which is a small indication of how rich the area is in artists and crafts people. If you add the number of guest artists who have participated, the count would be in the hundreds.
The tour has collected donations for Camp Quality, a camp for children with cancer since the beginning. Some studio artists also go to the camp and give children art instruction, other artist donate money to the camp.
The tour also provides three $100 scholarships annually to local high school students who are pursuing the arts in college or university. They are awarded at Grey Highlands Secondary School in Flesherton, John Diefenbaker Secondary School in Hanover and Wellington Heights Secondary School in Mount Forest.
The Autumn Leaves Studio Tour, 25th anniversary Art Exhibition at the Garafraxa Café in Durham will be on from Aug 25 to Sept 21. It will showcase a piece of art from many of the studio artists. It'll be a great opportunity to get a feel for each artists work before the tour.
The Autumn Leaves Studio Tour this year is September 28th to September 30th from 10- 5pm each day. With 18 studios and 20 guest artists, there is a great selection of work to see. Visitors will see woodwork, pottery, metal work, fibre, paintings and glassblowing in the artists' working studios.
The Autumn is the best time to enjoy driving from studio to studio with the amazing scenery in the Beaver Valley, the rolling hills and dales on farmland dotted with small villages.
Check out our community supporters who have great local food on offer and local accommodations for out of town visitors.
Visit www.autumnleavesstudiotour.ca for all the details you need to plan and enjoy your tour.
source: media release, Autumn Leaves Studio Tour
