Oxford Studio Tour planned for May 3, 4

Barbara Lowik. (Contributed Photo)

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

The Oxford Studio Tour allows residents and visitors to tour the county, view some great art, and converse with the artists.

Planned for May 3 and 4, the event includes stops in 13 locations across the county. While some of the stops are studios, as the name suggests, others, like the Station Arts Centre, are hubs where several artists will be displaying. The event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. While the name studio tour may conjure images of painters at an easel, it is much more than that. Potters, stained glass creations, jewellery, and decorative and functional pieces are all part of the tour.

The tour spans the county from north of Woodstock to Ingersoll to south to Tillsonburg.

“You get to see it, experience it, have a great weekend meeting all these great individuals,” said Tabitha Verbuyst, Station Arts Centre Executive Director and co-coordinator of the event. “It’s a way to meet and understand the cultural portion of Oxford County.”

She said the tour presents a unique opportunity to visit the artists’ studios.

“You have the experience of walking into some of the artist’s actual studios and talking to them,” Verbuyst said.

The hubs, like the Station Arts Centre, were added to the tour because some artists don’t have the ability to have multiple people into their space at the same time.

The Oxford Studio Tour is the continuation of an event that started many years ago. Otterville-area artist Sue Goossens came up with the concept and is the co-organizer with Verbuyst.

She said the event traces its roots back to Welcome Back Otterville, a program that was centred in that village. It grew to cover all of Oxford County.

“A group of artists wanted to do something as a community and studio tours were things back then,” Goossens said, mention cities such as London and areas up north with tours. “It still works for us.”

This year will be the first time Goossens doesn’t have her home studio with her watercolors on the tour. Her home is not on a main road, and she wanted to try something different, opting to be at one of the hubs in Woodstock.

An ever-changing line-up of artists are part of the tour.

“Every year we have new people that join, new artists, new emerging artists that bring something to the tour,” Verbuyst said.

And the art that is part of the tour is for sale, and a way to buy Canadian.

“It’s a nice way if you are looking for new home décor instead of going to Winner’s or Home Sense, you get to support someone local,” Verbuyst said.

The tour is being promoted through the website at oxfordstudiotour.ca, but most of the promotion is through what might be considered old-fashioned brochures. Verbuyst spoke of the virtues of that format, the ability to view all or part of the tour.

“You can punch the addresses in your GPS, but you can also use a map and go on an old-school road trip,” she said.

Station Arts Centre featured artists

Tillsonburg resident Jared Smith has been an artist his entire life, and enjoys creating things.

“Sculptures, paints, photos and film. I made a series of sculptures I call ‘The Time Machine Series’... they are pieces of time machines, that are both wooden and metal, and contain recycled electronics and levers and mechanics from various sources,” he said. “I use a lot of barn board and tobacco slats, and rusty metal and nails in my work.”

With the wind, rain, and sun constantly altering everything we see, Smith tries to mimic that with his art. He scratches, burns, carves, sands, and stains the wood to replicate what Mother Nature does.

"In my work I try to capture fleeting memories or reflective moments in time,” Smith said. “Those colours and feelings of forgotten days. The warmth of the sun on my face or the way it dances across the water or through the trees. These are the moments that fill my soul and influence my work.”

Tillsonburg artist Megan McKiernan’s art should be familiar to local residents as she was one of three artists chosen to be part of a permanent exhibit in the Tillsonburg Town Centre.

She has been a professional artist for about a year, experimenting with different mediums and often composing poetry to accompany her art. She also does commissions.

“I make pieces that are whimsical and peaceful, drawing people in from the heart,” she said. Every evening, I dedicate time in my home art studio creating artworks that feature a cat named Tippy on Journeys, along with art about a black cat named Malachi, who conceals his favourite toy duck in each piece.”

Her artistic process starts with a sketch. Part of the pencil is erased, but part remains in the final piece.

“ When I start to watercolour the art, I leave this world and sort of weave my way through the brush and dance with the watercolour. I have now entered into my art, and the adventure just keeps unfolding,” McKiernan said.

Margaret Trapnell, who is from Woodstock, is a member of the Station Arts Centre. Her preferred medium is coloured pencils. She has been drawing more than five years.

“Animals are my go-to subject when I’m working with the coloured pencils,” she said.

Barbara Lowik, also a Woodstock resident, will be displaying her stained glass at the Station Arts Centre.

“When I retired, I took a beginner’s class and knew right then and there that was what I wanted to do,” she said.

She creates various images in stained glass of different sizes and themes. She also creates bowls and items for gardens.

“The more detailed the better, which makes it more challenging but I think that is what I like about it,” she said.

Working on her stained glass for an hour or two a day, it can take up to six weeks to finish larger or more intricate pieces.