ArtEast Open Studio Tour

Dutchess County ArtEast's 9th Annual Open Studio Tour

Art lovers and leaf peepers agree that October is prime time to take in an open studio tour along country roads. Held on two weekends in October ArtEast's Open Studio Tour features art studios along New York's Route 22 corridor, stretching as far west as Hopewell Junction and Stanfordville, as far east as Wingdale, and north to Amenia. There might be a studio in your neighborhood or one you'll find at the end of a winding dirt road!

Opening weekend is October 17 & 18 and October 24 & 25. For some artists, the studio is their whole house, with works in progress spread throughout. Others have workspace in the garage or a room or two dedicated to art production. Still other artists are fortunate enough to have freestanding studios. The variety is endless as is their artwork. From traditional to contemporary, watercolor to stone sculpture, the art made by area artists is diverse and vibrant.

At a few stops you'll be able to see more than one artist: Front Street Gallery, Fountains at Millbrook and the Harlem Valley Arts.

Artists are a mixed group, including those at an early stage in their careers, to accomplished artists with pieces in private collections and regular gallery shows. Prices also run the gamut, with specially priced works for this open studio tour such as cards and small pieces, to more expensive, larger pieces with a value from the low hundreds and up. Videos of interviews with many of the artists are posted on their page of the ArtEast website at ArtEastDutchess.com

Plan your trip this year by visiting www.arteastdutchess.com. Pages for each artist are available, along with map locations. Pick up from a local store, or print from the website, the full color brochure, and you'll be on your way. You'll know you're close when you see the black and yellow signs and arrows directing you toward an open studio.

This tour is supported by business sponsors, including George Apap Painting, Eastern Hay & Grain, Inner Balance Studio and Freshtown of Dover Plains. For more information call Lonna Kelly at 845-855-1676.

Close-up Look at Participating Artists

Contributing artists are painters Gretchen Hoffman Abene (watercolors, pastels), Peter Cascone
(multi-media painter), John Colantuono (abstract painter), Ann Godesky (oil and watercolors), Duncan and Julia Brine (botanical watercolors and photography), John Galaskas (graphic artist/handmade paper), Michael Garland (painter, graphics), Susan Hennelly (watercolor and collage), Mary Smoot Souter (traditional and impressionist oils), Doreen O'Connor (muralist, decorative painter), and Liliana Washburn (works on Yupo paper).

Each painter brings a different esthetic to their work. Liliana Washburn and John Colantuono both are guided by their emotions yet their results are worlds apart. Liliana's work on Yupo paper is mainly light in color and free flowing. John's recent black and white series are stark and dramatic and lend themselves to a great deal of viewer interpretation.

Photographers are mixing things up with some hand-pulled black and white and color digital work: Lori Adams (contemporary photographer), Terry Ariano (black/white silver gelatin and color), Lonna Kelly (night time and street scenes, video), Karen Presser (photo collage), Bill Prickett (photography, video), and Rebecca Tocci (nature, cityscapes).

As with all the photographers, nature studies abound, but they're tempered by contemporary interpretations and street photography. Lonna Kelly and Lori Adams find inspiration, and show photographs, that include the magnificent  night sky!

Potters are creating a range of work from functional to decorative wall hangings to whimsical. You can stop at the studios of Amy Brenner (art and functional potter), Kathleen Heidemann (art pottery), and Drew Montgomery (functional potter).

Art potter Kathleen Heidemann's hand built pottery is graceful, at time humorous and whimsical. Her strong attention to detail often results in the back of a piece being as well-crafted as the front, with additional decorative touches. A mix of functional and more eccentric pieces her work is based on animal and human forms.

In their own categories are Rick Gilstad (ERIX) (folk artist, assemblage), Bob Madden (stone sculptor), and Karen Madden (fiber artist).

Stone sculptor Bob Madden and fiber artist Karen Madden are truly working opposite ends of the spectrum. Their aptly Rock and a Soft Place studio shows their individual work, but also their interpretations of a shared subject, for instance a Nautilus, depicted in marble by Bob and in fiber by Karen.

Watch interviews with these artists on the ArtEast website, www.arteastdutchess.com

Dutchess County Tourism

ArtEast and the Pawling Community Foundation are also bringing original artwork from 16 ArtEast artists on banners to the first public temporary artist installation in the Village of Pawling. View the banners on Charles Colman Blvd., adjacent to the village green, when you visit Pawling.