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Thanksgiving_Craft

Feature Article October 9

Feature Article October 9, 2002

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Thanksgiving Craft Tours I cant believe its October. The summer has passed too quickly. Were in the period of warm days mixed with cool ones. The lake is quiet. Geese are flying overhead. I pause at their honking and look skyward. Ducks alight on the water to spend the night during their fall migration. The trees showcase their fall colours. Thanksgiving will be here in a few days. Its a beautiful season.

What better way to enjoy the colours and our unique area than to participate in the fall studio tours? There are two excellent ones Thanksgiving weekendthe Perth Autumn Studio Tour and the Westport Fall Colours Studio Tour. Both tours run from 10 to 5, Saturday through Monday. Local artisans and those of national reputation will display their works. They include potters, furniture makers, artists, printers, jewellers, sculptors and woodworkers. Youll see stained glass, quilt artistry, leatherwork, carved birds, clothing and unique photography. The artisans are close enough that you could complete either tour in a day.

The Perth Tour encompasses an area from Maberly eastward along Highway 7 to the Harper Road in Glen Tay. Many of the craftspeople are in Brooke Valley between Christie Lake and Highway 7. You can enjoy lunch at the Brooke Valley School midway through the tour. Among the artisans are Bridget and Kathleen OFlaherty, quilt artists. Nature and landscapes are Bridgets primary subject matter. Kathleen creates her impressionistic textile landscapes with hand appliquembroidery and contemporary quilting techniques. Amanda Lewis, a calligrapher and book artist, participated in the Authors in the Park Festival in September. Franc van Oort is a printmaker whose drawings are etched into copper plates and hand-printed in limited editions. Dunn Sohn, furniture-maker, makes creatively turned and sculpted wood pieces and heritage rocking chairs. Guests at his studio include a batik artist, a photographer, a leather worker, and a bird carver. The latter, Jan Fitch, carves basswood into detailed miniatures of wildfowl that capture their behaviour as seen in nature. Additional information on the Tour is at perthstudiotour.com. Altogether there are 28 artisans at ten locations.

The Westport Tour covers an area from Burridge through Westport to Newboro. There also are artisans near County Road 10 a few kilometres toward Kingston. Marty Humphrey, a woodworker, makes Quilts n Wood, a unique, new concept that transforms the beauty of an antique quilt into the media of wood. Brian Mantrop, artist-photographer, invites guests to enjoy his fine art photography from his 26th year of creating with a camera. William Maidansky, of Shining Tree Woodworks, says, Realizing there were so many fine hardwoods in various shades, I decided to use wood as colour. Stephen Rothwell, watercolour artist, describes his work as, a series of acrylic paintings which include impressionistic water scenes, urban streetscapes, markets and beautiful gardens. The Maple Lane Studio will host an artist, furniture maker and a clay sculptor. Elizabeth Truelove, a creative weaver, describes herself as sharing my passion for natural fibres by dyeing, spinning, and weaving unique blends into hand-woven clothing. There will be tour signs in Westport and the vicinity and brochures containing a map should be available at any of the hosts.

This will be a wonderful opportunity to visit artisans and enjoy the brilliant fall colours in our area. And who knows, you might just find the perfect present for a special person.

With the participation of the Government of Canada