Studio Art Tour

The big news around here is the upcoming Studio Art Tour. Scheduled for Saturday, 10 October, it involves 9 different artisans, artists, and galleries between Mathias and Wardensville in rural Hardy County, West Virginia. The idea is to visit the studios to see where these creative people work and how they make their art. In some cases, the large or unwieldy machinery involved in the artistic process makes transport to demonstrate elsewhere impossible. In all cases, seeing how something is actually made prompts appreciation for the handmade, one-of-a-kind items.

Visiting the studios will allow you to get to know 15 year old Clayton whose creativity and imagination are expressed in the unique metal sculptures he creates in his father’s garage. The tour includes Bob’s wonderful rocking chairs that you can melt right into because they are custom made to fit your body, as well as innovative Toni’s West Virginia wine tasting. Other treats include Josh’s charming silverware jewelry and horseshoe art, and Albert’s beautiful stained and fused glass. The tour is rounded out with Joshua Miller’s fine furniture and wood sculptures made in his old church at the edge of the road on the edge of the woods, and my handbuilt stoneware. (I promise cookies to encourage people to cross our streams to get to Lost Hollow.) In addition to these art studios, there is a modern mountain general store with everything from an espresso bar and bakery to antiques, and the Lost River Artisans Cooperative co-housed with the only farming family museum around!

Whatever the weather, it will be a great day and you can see all of the studios between 10 AM and 5 PM. The wine tasting is limited to 1-3 PM, but the rest can be done in any order, at any time during the day, and all at no charge. Visit either one of these websites for the details: www.lostrivertradingpost.com or www.lostrivercrafts.com. All directions to the studios are given from state route 259. It is too beautiful an area and too great an opportunity to miss!