Two days, four venues, 22 artists - the BWG Studio Art Tour gave local artists an opportunity to showcase their talent, and the public an opportunity to meet the artists, learn more about the arts, and purchase unique and one-of-a-kind works.
This past weekend was the 10th anniversary of the self-directed tour, founded by Bradford artists Stella Wadsworth and Maureen Joyce.
At the time, said Wadsworth, “I wasn’t even an artist” – just a talented amateur, exploring a hobby in retirement. The tour, supported by the town’s Economic Development Office and the South Simcoe Arts Council, quickly attracted a range of creative artists and artisans who had been quietly working in their home studios.
Over the years, the tour has continued to engage artists and the community. The public was invited to drop by the Girl Cave of Echoes in the Attic, where designer fabrics diverted from landfill were transformed into eco-chic bags and totes; Art in the Barn, where Wadsworth and Joyce were joined by fellow-artists Kathy Bury and Angie Horsley; the BWG Public Library, which featured painters Jim Woods, Marian Leeper, Jean Tranmer, Ingrid Schienke, Sylva Sroujian, Mary Espinosa and Chad Williams, photographer Safani Gunasekera, and jewellery artist Vicky Topp; and the BWG Leisure Centre.
The leisure centre, a new venue for the tour, not only displayed the unique art batik work of Corrine Donnelly, turned wood by Bill Burlton, Kirsten Bindsell’s pottery and handmade clocks by Jim Craigmyle, it welcomed four youth artists.
Jacqueline Gross, a Grade 12 graduate, started painting when she was only 10 years old. She said, for her, art is an exploration – each painting is a lesson in capturing the effects of a setting sun, crashing waves on a beach, reflections in water.
“Everything I do is practice. I’m playing, to be honest – just trying to get better,” said Gross, who plans to take a year off to pursue her painting and writing before continuing her studies.
Brianna Boughner promoted her sideline and hobby – creating pet portraits. The Bradford District High School Grade 12 student has been artist ever since “I could hold a pencil,” but, for her, the arts are definitely a sideline and not a career. She plans to study computer science.
Juliann Frampton has had an interest in the arts “always - since elementary school,” but also is looking toward a different career in clothing design - one that will allow her to use her creative skills and still allow her to draw and create.
The youngest in the group was Ava Fahlgren, a Grade 10 student. For Fahlgren, who has been drawing “since I was about six years old,” the arts will be a definite career choice in the future.
Interest in the arts continues. On Sept. 18, the Town of BWG announces the winners of the 2018 Art Competition, at the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library and Cultural Centre. Twenty works of art were entered in the competition. Entries will be on display at the library from Sept. 18-31.
Drop by the library’s second floor gallery on Sept. 18, from 6-7 p.m., to see a preview and meet the winners: artists Les Buxton, Jim Woods and Diane Gray. Congratulations to youth competitors Natalie Bacha, Apisha Satheeshkumar, and Ashmenaa Satheeshkumar.
