John Griffin
Tour des Arts celebrates its 35th anniversary in our corner of the Townships, July 13 to 21.
Fittingly, 35 artists and artisans are throwing open their studio doors to show tourists and locals the fruit of their long labours in disciplines as varied as pottery, jewellery, mixed media, garden and sandstone sculpture, contemporary furniture and glass mosaics. There are also representations of instrument making, quilting, textile art, embroidery, and the ancient established arts of drawing and painting.
All are set in the spaces where the art and craft is created. Their work is for sale every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In many cases, tour sales drive the artists’ ability to continue doing what they love to do. Buy early, buy often. Some tour participants, like potters Stanley Lake and Robin Badger, have been mainstays of the Tour for many, many years. Others, like metal artist Reginald Landry and woodworker John Murphy are returning from hiatus. Still others, like painter Gisele Dallaire, mixed media artist Anne- Francoise Wauthy and textile artist Anne-Sylvie Denard, are new to the event. All experience the joy and rigours of having their creative lives put on public display. The former Tour participants felt the restraints of being confined to their studios during the sweet spot of our too brief summers was a sort of house arrest.
But Mt. Foster potter John Davidson welcomes the event. “It gives me an outlet to show my work and encourages me to keep improving. It’s great to see new people and meet other artists. They give me justification to keep doing what I do.”
Brochures are widely available and highly recommended.
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