May 13 -14 is Mother’s Day weekend and what better way to spend time with Mom than on the annual tour featuring a wide range of artists and crafts people.
The setting is perfect – the rolling hills of the Oak Ridges region of the City of Kawartha Lakes. Admission is free. Travel along the Rolling Hills Studio Tour path to create your own self-guided tour. There are 7 Studios along the way, featuring the work of 11 artisans.
There are a number of reasons why you should make plans to attend this unique event.
First, the variety of art work includes copper and silver jewellery, pottery, soapstone carvings, leather sculpture, brass & copper fountains, wildlife art in oils, acrylics or beautiful watercolours, photography, amazing paintings on feathers, wood sculpture, and even decorative gourd art.
Second, there will be demonstrations at some of the studios. You will get a first hand look at the amazing artists in action. Many of these artists have their work in collections around the world.
Third, you will be purchasing unique one-of-a kind items, all made in Canada!
And fourth, you can visit one of the many restaurants along the way, or even stay in a local Bed and Breakfast.
Let’s take a look at two of the Studios you will find.
Studio A is at “From the Heart Quilts” on Hwy 7A in Bethany. I have featured From the Heart Quilts in an earlier Blog. Since then, the variety of new fabrics has grown, including Japanese fabrics, hand dyed wool, organic cotton, unique patterns – and of course the friendly staff continue to offer classes and answer your questions.
Studio B is the home of Clayworks Pottery and will feature Jodie Hames and Holly McClellan.
Clayworks Pottery was created by Jodie Hames. The studio originally opened in 1997 at the entrance of Kilbear Provincial Park. Lucky for us, Bethany has been her home since 2012. You can find Clayworks Pottery on Mothers Day weekend – or any other time of the year at 112 Weston Rd. The studio offers hand made original designs including functional pottery as well as sculptured pieces of art. Examples of unique pieces such as the Dragonfly plate can be found on Jodie’s website at clayworkspottery.ca
Holly McClellan is a photographer whose art has been shown in public galleries, arts festivals and events across Ontario, Quebec and the USA. Holly’s work will also be featured at Clayworks Pottery studio.
I will highlight features from the remaining studios featured on the tour in the weeks coming up to Mother’s Day. In the meantime you can download a map of the tour area at http://www.rollinghillsstudiotour.com
Bethany Ontario 