subscribe | contact us

2005 Chatham Studio Tour looks to be better and more diverse

By Forrest Greenslade
Posted Tuesday, August 2, 2005

Pittsboro, NC - For the past twelve years, art lovers from across the Triangle and North Carolina have traversed scenic rural Chatham County, visiting its foremost visual artists in their studios during the first two weekends of December. This year's dates are December 3rd, 4th and 10th, 11th.

The Chatham Studio Tour is one of the oldest in North Carolina, a prototype for other area studio tours, and highly respected. Established in 1992, participation in the tour has grown from 32 artists in its first year, to nearly 60 artists in 2005. Founded by the Chatham County Arts Council (also known as ChathamArts) the tour has always been an artist-run event. This year, participating artists have formed their own organization, the Chatham Artists Guild. The Guild will continue the Studio Tour as a high quality art venue where the public can experience the personal environments and creative processes of professional artists and the thrill of owning original art.

ChathamArts President, Gilda McDaniel, states, "All of us at ChathamArts are proud to have nurtured the Chatham Studio Tour, which has become such a successful arts event for our community." Guild President Mary Lucas notes, "The Tour artists very much appreciate the many years of leadership that ChathamArts has provided, and look forward to a collaborative future." One of the Guild's goals is to support emerging and established artists in developing the skills needed to sustain themselves with art as their full-time careers. A second goal is to create partnerships with other entities for artistic exchanges, sponsorships, patronage opportunities, educational programs and fundraising.

Longtime Chatham Studio Tour Coordinator Maggie Zwilling now serves as the Guilds' Executive Director. Zwilling says, "The Studio Tour is a strong, viable business entity in Chatham County. As well as the excellent publicity the County receives from the Tour, artists significantly contribute to the economic development of our community"

A selection of original works by artists of the 2005 Studio Tour will be shown at the Side Street Gallery in downtown Pittsboro from September 6 to October 2. This fall preview show will open with a "meet the artist" reception from 7-9 PM on September 9, 2005.

Michael Mosca, Co-owner of Side Street Gallery states, "We are excited about being able to provide a venue for the artists of the Studio Tour in Chatham County. Sister and business partner Michele, adds "When we had a Tour Preview Show last September, we had a great response from the public. People were really pleased to see the work of so many talented Chatham artists in one venue."

FMI: email artstour@blast.com

58 Participants of the 2005 Chatham Artists Guild Studio Tour:

*Herb and Connie Allred -- Clay

Mark Bashista -- Photography

Vidabeth Benson – Screen Printing

Anne Botto – Water Color & Collage

Marty Broda -- Gaia Sticks

*Jane Bruce -- Clay & Porcelain

Joyce Bryan -- Pottery

Shannon Bueker -- Acrylic, watercolor clay

*Jeff Christian -- Oils & watercolors

Salinda Dahl -- Clay Sculpture

Martha Danek – Decorative Gourds

Doug Dotson -- Functional soda glazed pottery.

Susan Draughon -- Sculpture

Doris Dunlop -- Oil, watercolor & mixed media.

Jane Eckenrode -- drawing & painting

Kevin Eichner -- Bronze, steel, cast iron

Tuesday Fletcher -- Metal

Eva Green -- Baskets

*Forrest Greenslade – Cement, Clay Sculpture

*Paul Harrell -- Handmade Guitars & Furniture

Norma Hawthorn -- Fiber and Jewelry

Mark Hewitt -- Pottery

Louise Hobbs -- Raku Figures

Ruffin Hobbs -- Metal

*Julia Kennedy -- Oil Painting

Katherine Ladd -- Floorcloths & Furniture

Sonia Landwehr -- Ceramic sculptures, drawings and flowers

Gretchen Lothrup -- Sculpture: Various Metals

Mary Lucas -- Textiles, Fiber Art, Quilts

*Al McCanless -- Pottery

Jeff McFall -- Oil and Watercolor

*Dini Mitchell -- Stained Glass

William Moore -- Marble, Wood, Ceramic, Bronze, Stone

Tamera Mulanix -- Steel

Gretchen Niver -- Fused & Stained Glass

Carol Owen -- Mixed Media, Painting

Zen Palkoski -- Wood, Metal, Plaster Castings

Leslie Palmer -- Drawings, Paintings

Doug Peterson -- Functional/Artistic Wood Bowls

Juan Pons -- Photography

Dmitri Resnik -- Blown Glass

Janet Resnik – Pottery

Janice Rives -- Glass Mosaic, Sculptural Lighting, Cement Sculpture

Sally Rockriver -- Blown Glass and Ceramic Sculpture

Siglinda Scarpa -- Clay and Mixed Media

Fran Schultzberg -- Silver, Gold and Other Materials

Kerry Sherrill -- Stained Glass

Rusty Sieck - Pottery

Rita Spina -- Multi Media/3-Dimensional

Annabelle Stein -- Textiles

Sally Sutton -- Oils, Watercolor, Pastel & Giclee Prints

Holly Taylor -- Ceramic Sculpture

Karen Tiede -- Wood

Melody Troncale -- Clay

Jean Vollrath -- Fiber

Monnda Welch -- Jewelry / Metal

Cherie Westmoreland -- Clay

Edwin White -- Metal Sculpture

* 2005 Juried Artists added to the tour in 2005