PUTNEY — Traditionally held during the long Thanksgiving weekend, the Putney Craft Tour - now in its 33rd year - gives shoppers, visitors, and collectors another reason to be thankful.
Blacksmiths, glassblowers, potters, jewelers, weavers, woodworkers - even artisan cheesemakers - invite visitors to come in, discover, ask questions, sip hot cider, and find that one-of-a-kind gift, for themselves or others.
With more than 26 artists and craftspeople spread out over a 12-mile radius, it's worth making a weekend out of it, suggests Ken Pick, who creates evocative functional and sculptural pottery and is one of the original members of the group that gathered to organize the first tour.
Make it an experience, he said. “Experience the rural environment and take the tour in a leisurely fashion. You can't do it all in one day. Spend at least a couple of days and enjoy the rich community of artists.”
“Putney rocks,” said weaver Dana Gartenstein. “It's got so much art and crafts to choose from, and it's high quality.”
The tour has helped put Putney and surrounding towns on the map, with hundreds of visitors moving through the studios over the course of three days and engaging with the artists - the real draw of such tours - as well as the distinctive, original pieces for sale.
“They get to see how and where it's made,” said Gartenstein, who added that visitors often develop a relationship with her.
“I give them a lot of attention,” she said.
The artists gain a lot from the tour, as well.
“It feeds me,” said Gartenstein, who also operates the Vermont Weaving School. “My life energy goes into these pieces, and my customers get that.”
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Silver jeweler Jeanne Bennett, who has been on the tour for 10 years, appreciates the feedback she gets.
“It's nice to get the work out in public. I'm up in the woods [in Westminster West], and I love hearing everyone's feedback.”
Bennett, like most of the artists, has customers who return “to see what's new and add to their collection.”
More than anything, she said, the tour is great entertainment. Driving through the Vermont countryside and finding these places is an adventure in itself, she said, although the studios are well marked and the tour offers maps that provide clear directions.
“Not everyone knows what they are getting into when they walk into the studio, as there can often be an element of surprise” said potter Ken Pick.
Pick's studio and gallery are in an old tobacco barn surrounded by gardens and fields as well as a 200-year-old maple. Sculptures and ceramic benches grace the garden, and large, colorful platters are showcased inside and out.
“I always ask people if it's their first time if I don't recognize them,” says landscape painter Judy Hawkins. “I try to touch base with every person who comes in. I find people love to have a conversation. It opens their eyes to my work. Sometimes people stay in the studio for an hour; it's not just in and out.”
For Hawkins, the bond that develops between the craftpeople and the visitors is what makes the Putney Craft Tour so meaningful.
For Gartenstein, it's also about community. “I feel part of this bigger whole.”
And while there are other art and craft tours, she said, “this is different. There's a magic that happens here. There's a little bit of fairy dust that makes the magic happen.”
Artists represented on the tour:
• Ian Eddy, Pleasant Valley Forge, Saxtons River (hand-wrought ironwork).
• Jeanne Bennett, Shila Designs (silver jewelry).
• L. Carlene Raper, Colorquilts (hand-dyed cotton fabric and quilts).
• Judy Hawkins (landscape paintings).
• John Ewald/Peggy O'Toole (sculptured handmade tile).
• Nancy Calicchio (oil paintings).
• Zachary Weinberg, Firecircle Studio (metalwork).
• David and Yesenia Ielpi Major, Vermont Shepherd (artisan cheese).
• Noriko Isogai (fine wood carvings).
• Josh Letourneau (freestyle hand-blown glass).
• Maggie Lake, Vermont Botanical (botanical prints).
• David Mischke (decorated functional pottery).
• Joshua Laughlin, Tavern Hill Woodworks (wood furniture).
• Nathaniel Hall, Everyone's Drumming (percussion instruments).
• Ruth wplk (metalworking and jewelry).
• Ken Pick (pottery).
• Abijah Reed (woodworking).
• Susan Wilson (functional pottery and ceramic sculpture).
• Dena Gartenstein, Vermont Weaving School (handwoven garments).
• Green Mountain Spinnery (natural fiber yarns).
• Edel Byrne, Edel's Art Glass (stained glass).
• Deborah Lazar, Artworking (oil painting).
• Robert Burch, Brandywine Glassworks (hand-blown glass).
• Caitlin Burch, Glassworks (lamp work jewelry and hand-blown glass).
• Catherine Connor McKenny, Ibiwisi Alpacas (alpaca yarn and products).
• Julia Brandis, Julia Brandis Glassworks (stained glass).
On the tour posthumously is Jill Noss, who died in January. A retrospective exhibit and sale of her pastels and painting on wood will take place at her house at 22 Hickory Ridge Rd., #12 on the tour, with proceeds going to her granddaughter's education fund.