GUILFORD — The back roads of Windham County are filled with creative people who ply their trades quietly off the beaten path. Every year, a group of artisans gather at the weaving studio of Carol Schnabel on the Green River Road to showcase their products and connect with friends at the Guilford Holiday Open Studio.
This event, which Schnabel helped launch, is both an opportunity for visitors to start their holiday shopping, and a chance to catch up with community members. Artists range from those who make things as a complement to another profession to those who work full-time at their craft.
This year's artisans include:
• Susan Rosano, a mosaic and mural artist, sells her work in galleries, at craft shows, and online. She recently has been accepted as an artist-in-residence at the Ocean House Resort in Westerly, R.I.
• Vicki Houghton has worked in a jewelry store for 10 years and, after taking classes in restringing pearls, found herself smitten with the whole creative process.
• John Dimick, a retired teacher, is a watercolor artist who will have notecards, prints, and original paintings available for sale. This year, he attended the Vermont Artists Week, a residency program at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson. A presenter at the spring meeting of the Vermont Watercolor Society, Dimick has had his work accepted at several juried shows.
• Mary Ellen Franklin will be representing the Franklin Farm on Weatherhead Hollow Road, selling wood-fired syrup, homemade sugar candy, maple cream, maple butter, and the Zesty Blend Salad Dressing.
• In her free time, Hanako Jones creates bath and body products from her home on the Green River Road.
• New to the area is Susan Fenton, a freelance graphic artist who recently moved from Indiana, who will sell collages, bookmarks, and cards, as well as Chi-Swirlers, formed from repurposed chandelier prisms, crystals, and beads. She also plays with fabric and paints old furniture.
• Carol Schnabel has been selling her work in galleries throughout New England and beyond, since 1980. “I love finding new ways to combine colors and fiber to create pieces that are both useful and beautiful,” says Schnabel, who will sell bamboo scarves and shawls, chenille scarves, cotton placemats, and dish towels.