WEST BRATTLEBORO — After six years of hosting its Open Studio Tour on the last weekend of September, Brattleboro-West-Arts (BWA) is shifting the date one week later to coincide with Vermont Crafts Council (VCC) Fall Open Studio Weekend Oct. 3-4.
Building on its Spring Open Studio Weekend, the VCC in 2011 launched another studio tour, to be held annually the first weekend in October. Seeking to recruit more studios and artists to its fall tour, the VCC was eager to have BWA host its tour on the same date.
In deciding to collaborate with the VCC in its Fall Open Studio Weekend, BWA infuses the tour with its members, helping make the Brattleboro area a major destination with an attractively large number of studios at the state's southern gateway. At the same time, the partnership lets BWA take advantage of the VCC's promotional efforts, freeing up energy to be spent on other priorities, such as community and educational events.
The Vermont Craft Council's Fall Open Studio Weekend will include 12 studios and one gallery in Brattleboro, West Brattleboro and Marlboro. Of those sites, 11 are affiliated with Brattleboro-West Arts.
Participating studios will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, offering the public a chance to meet the artists, view the environments in which their art is created, see demonstrations of processes, and have the opportunity to purchase finished works.
In conjunction with the tour, the Chelsea Royal Diner in West Brattleboro will host a localvore dinner buffet on Oct. 3, from from 5:30 to 8 p.m. In addition to sampling a selection of locally produced foods, the public will have a chance to share a meal with BWA tour artists and the community at large.
Here is the complete lineup of tour stops in the Brattleboro area, listed according to their site numbers on the statewide tour. The studios marked with * are those of Brattleboro-West Arts members:
*49. Matthew Tell Pottery: Woodfired Pottery: 163 Potter's Hill Road, Marlboro
*50. JMB Glass: Blown and Flame-worked Glass by Josh and Marta Bernbaum: 119 Hescock Road, Brattleboro
*51. Applewoods Woodworking Studio and Gallery: David and Michelle Holzapfel: 2802 Rt. 9 Marlboro Marlboro
*52. The Turnpike Road Pottery: Clay and Bronze sculpture by Malcolm Wright: Turnpike Road, Marlboro
*53. Charles Townsend: Landscape Painting: 1854 Ames Hill Road, Marlboro
*54. Jason Breen Fine and Custom Woodworking: 1197 Bonnyvale Road, Brattleboro
*55. Ron Karpius: metalwork and painting: 259 Greenleaf St., Brattleboro
*56. Center for Digital Arts: Michel Moyse: 81 Pleasant Valley Road, Brattleboro
*57. Naomi Lindenfeld: colored clay: 330 Meadowbrook Road, Brattleboro
*58. Orchard Street Pottery: Woodfired Pottery by Walter Slowinski: 658 Orchard St., Brattleboro
*59. Laughing Lizard Studio: Encaustic Painting and Jewelry by Jen Wiechers: 25 Highlawn Road, Brattleboro
60. Vermont Artisan Designs: Gallery and Tour Information Center: 106 Main St., Brattleboro
61. Fulcrum Arts: Natalie Blake ceramics and Randi Solin glass, 485 West River Road, Brattleboro
A map that includes all these participating artists is available at any participating site during the tour, or you can download a copy to your device at www.brattleboro-west-arts.com/VCCmap.pdf.
There are more studios in nearby Newfane and Townshend to the north and Wilmington and Dover to the west. For a complete list of tour stops statewide, visit www.vermontcrafts.com.
Brattleboro-West Arts is a group of about three dozen artists who create their art and make their homes within the watershed of the Whetstone Brook. Their goal is to improve the artistic life of the community. They do that by gathering monthly to share their knowledge, experience, goodwill, and a meal.
In addition to hosting a yearly Open Studio Tour, the group has offered seminars and educational presentations to the wider community and produced local shows of members' work.