WEST BRATTLEBORO — The leaves are turning in the hills of southern Vermont, and that means it's time for the members of Brattleboro-West Arts to open their studio doors and offer the public a window on the creative process - and an intimate look into some of the environments where art takes shape.
During BWA's fifth annual Open Studio Tour on Sept. 28 and 29, 20 artists and craftspeople will show their work from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at 14 locations, many of them along the dirt roads that wind among the wooded hills of West Brattleboro and Marlboro.
Visitors will have the chance to view, buy, and learn about a diverse selection of art and craft items, including blown glass, pottery, metalwork, paintings, sculpture, woven baskets, woodworking and jewelry. Some participating artists also will give demonstrations of their techniques.
Visitors to any tour stop can enter a drawing to win one of two prizes made by participating artists. Josh Bernbaum donated a pair of his blown glass ornaments, valued at $45 each, and Jackie Abrams is offering a singular woven vessel titled “A Woman of Many Cultures,” valued at $650.
The prizes will be on display at their respective sites during the tour.
A map of the self-guided tour appears in brochures available at any stop on the tour, as well as in various businesses in Brattleboro and surrounding towns. The brochure is available at brattleboro-west-arts.com. Also on the website, get a preview of the tour's offerings, past and present, in BWA's new video, “Things Made with Wakened Hands,” which was produced locally by Rolf Parker-Houghton of Stanzas of Light.
The stops on the 2013 tour, in the order listed on the map:
• Potter Walter Slowinski, 658 Orchard St., West Brattleboro.
• Potter Naomi Lindenfeld, 330 Meadowbrook Rd., West Brattleboro.
• Photographer Gene Parulis at the Mahalo Art Center, 972 Western Ave. (Route 9), West Brattleboro.
• Painter and metalworker Ron Karpius, 259 Greenleaf St., West Brattleboro.
• Painter Janet Picard, 495 Marlboro Rd., (Route 9), West Brattleboro.
• Architect and painter Stephen Lloyd and basket maker Jackie Abrams, 362 Sunset Lake Rd., West Brattleboro.
• Silversmith Chris Lann, 1420 Sunset Lake Rd., West Brattleboro.
• Glass artists Josh and Marta Bernbaum, 119 Hescock Rd., West Brattleboro.
• Potter Matt Tell, 163 Potters Hill Rd., Marlboro.
• Painters Petria Mitchell and Jim Giddings and author/chef Susie Crowther, 447 Stark Rd., Marlboro.
• Potter and sculptor Malcolm Wright, 88-90 Turnpike Rd., Marlboro.
• Painter Charles Townsend, 1854 Ames Hill Rd., Marlboro.
• Multimedia artists Tim Segar and Cathy Osman, 2604 Ames Hill Rd., Marlboro.
• Woodworkers David and Michelle Holzapfel at their Applewoods Studio, 2802 Molly Stark Byway (Route 9), Marlboro.
In conjunction with the tour, the Chelsea Royal Diner in West Brattleboro is hosting a localvore buffet dinner from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 28. In addition to sampling a selection of locally produced foods, the public will have a chance to share a meal with BWA members and the community at large.
Since 2009, the annual tour has been organized and promoted by the participating artists and made possible in part by the support of local businesses and organizations.