Oxford Studio Tour May 6 and 7

Once again spring has found its way to Oxford County, Ontario, and the artists here, including myself, are excited to show studio tourists what we’ve been up to recently.

I personally have found a fair bit of inspiration lately in the variety of fungi in the world, thanks to my part time job in science, where I am getting to know some of them, and my lasting enjoyment of discovering them on hikes.

Here are a few pieces recently finished, as examples. The one on the top right has already been spoken for by a friend who watched me as I was beginning to paint it.

There are 15 locations on the Tour this year, with 33 artists participating. There is so much beautiful art to see! I happen to be Location #1 this year (same location as usual for me, they are just in a different order this time). Without planning it as such, most of the locations are in the southern part of Oxford County this year, which works well for Sue Goossens (Location #2) and I as we are in the County’s southernmost region, here in Otterville. We welcome all of you.

Another event taking is place in Otterville on the Saturday: to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III, the Woodlawn Adult Community Centre is hosting a high tea on May 6, 2023 from 12 noon to 3 p.m. at the centre, serving up scones, clotted cream, jam, small sandwiches, sweet treats and tea. Cost is $20 per person. Fascinators welcome but not required.

If you need more information about the Oxford Studio Tour, please visit our website, where you’ll find everything you need to know at your fingertips. We look forward to your visit.

Welcome Back 2022

It’s that time of year again!

I will be participating once again in our annual studio tour this weekend. Details are available at www.welcomebacktootterville.ca, or you can rely on what I’ve posted here and pick up a postcard when you arrive at my gallery. The postcards look like this and have a map and list of locations on the back:

Most of us are open 10 to 5 on Saturday and Sunday. If you live in London or Waterloo or Hamilton, we are about an hour away. We’re a half hour south of Woodstock, or northwest of Simcoe. When you arrive, look for the signs and the yellow flags.

I have a number of pieces available, all at my 2020 prices. I think you might find something you’d like to take home. 😉

Below is a quote from an article by Linda DeJonghe, another long-time tour participant who also has a regular newspaper column:

Sue Goossens has created dramatic watercolours on paper and canvas using an intense colour palette, which is unique to the medium. Her original work features pieces from her travels including her latest trip to Newfoundland. Ralph Moore and Sons, have a large variety of birdseed, feeders and houses which make perfect gifts for everyone.

Plaid Shirt Farms Ltd. features yummy haskap, black currant and honey products. Great for stocking stuffers and gift baskets. Mae Leonard’s barn will showcase her nature based acrylic paintings and beautiful wire sculptures for that special person on your list. Lianne Todd’s studio will be filled with both hand painted watercolours on paper and original mathematical renderings on metal and acrylic using vivid colours and realistic textures.

Rooted in Florals has a wonderful selection of unique home décor and interesting gift ideas using rustic finds, dried and fresh flowers. At Shirley Hokke’s  Otterview Art Studio you will be delighted to discover recent abstracts of “Leaves and Fences,” in acrylic and collage, plein air landscapes in oils and unique wet ‘n wet watercolours.  Marlene Long usually works in oils but also enjoys drawing and has recently ventured into watercolours for her realistic landscapes and animals.

-Two Cents’ Worth by Linda DeJonghe, Postmedia Network

Here are Sue Goossens, Patricia van Diepen (of Plaid Shirt Farms), and myself with some of our work:

Oxford Studio Tour starts tomorrow!

Just a friendly reminder here, that the tour is indeed this weekend. I am all set to welcome art viewers here in Otterville!

Tomorrow, since it looks like the weather will be nice, I’ll be keeping my double doors wide open all day, for an almost outdoor experience indoors. In fact I may spend most of my time outside the doors! Of course I will be available for questions, conversation, and purchases.

Hopefully Sunday will be equally cooperative, but even if it isn’t, we can all enjoy the day safely by making sure we don’t breathe on each other, right? Your patience, self-protection, and consideration of others’ comfort and safety is encouraged and appreciated!

It will be so nice to see you. 🙂👩🏻‍🎨 If you need a map, visit our website’s home page for links. Thanks for reading!

Art News!

It’s spring, and new things are happening. One new thing that happened is my son released his second music album! It’s called Adaptation, by Vile Trait, and has 12 original songs. He’s been working very hard on this and I am so very proud. The music is complex and speaks to the experiences and challenges of his generation and exposes the full range of emotion. Stylistically, it is quite varied, but the main genres are rock and metal. One of the songs has been running around my head for the last few days. Here are all the ways you can listen to this young Canadian musician. Your support by listening, sharing, downloading or buying is greatly appreciated!

Soundcloud

youtube

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGcaK46pdVZS0M8O2uaoeLQ

Bandcamp

https://viletrait.bandcamp.com/album/adaptation

Spotify

The other new thing happening is I am getting ready for our Oxford Studio Tour! Yes, we are having a real life tour this year after a 2 year hiatus because of COVID. It is April 30 and May 1, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and I am at Location 3 (my home). Visit www.oxfordstudiotour.ca for details and maps. Here I am with a couple of pieces that will be available.

Welcome Back again!

Sue Goossens and Lianne Todd

Sue and I got together last week for this photo, and we have been ”making the papers” with it and the press release which is below. We hope you’ll be able to visit and enjoy the art, and maybe get some of it to spruce up those walls you’ve probably seen a lot of in the past year and a half. 🙂

Visit the historic village of Otterville for the 25th  annual  ‘Welcome Back to Otterville’ Studio Tour November 20 & 21.   Each year the artists of Otterville open their studio doors to exhibit their original art, photography, art cards and original mixed media pieces as well as steel and wood works and unique floral creations.  Treat yourself to a quiet day in the countryside while you experience a world of creativity.

Rooted in Floral, a shop in Otterville owned by Annette Lilley, creates original floral designs inspired by nature using dried and artificial products. When in season, flowers, herbs and botanicals from her farm are a favourite for that special event. Rooted in Floral will be open for the tour on Saturday only. 

Sean Kilbourne is a millwright by trade and creates unique wood and steel pieces. Commissioned by someone to make legs from steel for a live edge piece, he was impressed with the finished product.  “I set out to find my own live edge wood so I could play around with different styles of legs.  Steel will always be my go to but I have found a way with wood tools. By working with the two combined mediums my knowledge is always increasing.”

Sean will have available some amazing pieces of functional pieces and furniture.  

Sue Goossens, Lianne Todd, Marlene Long, Trudy Verberne and Shirley Hokke are professional artists compelled to create with completely different styles – artists who welcome you into their home studios to share their passion.

The tour website www.welcomebacktootterville.ca has photos of artists’ work and a map to all the studios.  For more information call 519-879-6352

All are welcome to visit each studio in Otterville on November 20 & 21 from 10am to 5pm.  Watch for yellow flags at each location.  A special thank you is extended to the Township of Norwich for their support.

The artists appreciate your support and ask that everyone wears a mask and socially distances.  There will be a limited number of visitors allowed at each location so please be patient.

Real art show coming up!

During what I tend to call “the COVID times” I have chosen not to participate much in the virtual world of posting art, writing blog posts, etc.  This whole situation, the virus, unrest, etc., has proven to be very uninspiring for me.  And I felt virtually overwhelmed ;). While I did paint a few new pieces, my soul was not drawn to the studio the way it usually has been.  A few upcoming art shows were cancelled, and it really took the wind out of my sails.  I focused on other time-consuming activities instead! (In contrast, my son has been very creative – he released an EP! – see my previous blog post).

But now that we are opening up, somewhat, I have an actual art show coming up!  I will have two pieces in the “Oxford Studio DETOUR” coming up at the Tillsonburg Station Arts Centre.  It is meant to be a sampling of the participants in the annual Oxford Studio Tour which was cancelled in May 2020 and will be held May 2021 instead.

For more information, please visit the most recent blog post at the OST site.

Here is your invitation to the show:

Thank you!

Last weekend’s Welcome Back to Otterville studio tour was a great success.  We had beautiful weather and a constant stream of activity in our galleries and studios. It was wonderful to meet so many newcomers!  Thank you to everyone who took the time to come out.

Here are a few photos of my gallery last weekend, in case you’ve never been here or it’s been a while:

I have a new online presence at a site called ParkBench.com.  They did a promotional video for the tour which didn’t exactly air prior to it, but if you’ve never met me… well, I am the one being interviewed in my gallery.

Here is my profile page on the site: https://parkbench.com/directory/naturaliart.  As you will see, there are hours posted to the side for my gallery.  Don’t be discouraged by the number of “closed” days – I am, as usual, open by chance or appointment after 1 pm on most days.  But not all of them!  I am starting a new part-time job which will take me away a bit more often.  So, I am going to try to post “definitely open” times, on a week-by-week basis on the ParkBench site.  They will appear at the bottom of the daily hours as special dates.  You can also check my artist page on Facebook or my Twitter posts for these special times.  Otherwise, just contact me or drop in if you’re in town and you would like to check out the art.

This weekend! Welcome Back…

Just a reminder – this weekend is our 23rd Annual Studio Tour here in little historic Otterville.  The weather has cooperated to make Otterville look exactly as it does in the image on the postcard. That was not my intention when I designed the postcard!  Sorry folks… but guess what?  The forecast for the weekend is – SUNNY!  So the snow currently present should at least look pretty.  And most of all, you shouldn’t have any trouble driving here!

Once you arrive (here is a map of where I am), if you haven’t acquired a postcard from the multitude of places we’ve all left them, or printed a map from either here or the website, just look for the yellow flags to show you where participating studios are.  There is no admission charge, and each of us will have some postcards available.   Sometimes there are extra places open in town just for the weekend, which is great too, but the yellow flags indicate those who have actually paid for our advertising, so we hope you will definitely visit all those with flags.  You never know what unique and perfect item you might find if you go, or miss if you don’t!

Just click on the image below, and then save and/or print:

Look for the yellow flags!

This is my most recently completed painting.  It’s what some of the countryside around here looked like earlier this fall.  I shared it on social media as soon as it was finished, and had interest from more than one potential buyer.  It has now sold, and they’ve chosen to frame it themselves.  They’ve even been kind enough to leave it with me until after the tour, so that I can have it on display.  Although… I’m not sure where I am actually going to do that, as I have so many other recent paintings and fractals to show you!  It’s been a very creative year.

Three Kilns. Watercolour on Paper. 11×15″. Artist Lianne Todd.  SOLD

 

Welcome Back! or welcome for the first time…

Lianne Todd, Annette Lilley, and Sue Goossens with their creations.

Press release:

Visit the historic village of Otterville for the 23rd annual  ‘Welcome Back to Otterville’ Studio Tour November 16 & 17. Each year, the artists of Otterville open their studio doors to exhibit their original art, photography, art cards and original mixed media pieces as well as bird houses, steel and wood works and unique floral creations. Treat yourself to a quiet day in the countryside and enjoy some hot apple cider or cranberry wassail and homemade cookies while you experience a world of creativity.

Ralph Moore & Sons specialize in birdseed and seed mixtures. They offer a variety of bird-feeders including Droll Yankee, Squirrel Buster, Perky Pet, Pinebush, Going Green, Chapelwood, and some handcrafted by local artists. Stock up on quality bird seed while in their shop.
Rooted in Floral is a new shop in Otterville. Annette Lilley creates original floral designs inspired by nature using dried and artificial products. When in season, flowers, herbs and botanicals from her farm are a favourite for that special event. Rooted in Floral will be open for the Tour and the following Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Christmas. The Shop will be open by appointment as well.
Sean Kilbourne is a millwright by trade and is new on the tour with unique wood and steel pieces. Commissioned by someone to make legs from steel for a live edge piece, he was impressed with the finished product. “I set out to find my own live edge wood so I could play around with different styles of legs. Steel will always be my go to but I have found a way with wood tools. By working with the two combined mediums my knowledge is always increasing.”  Sean will have available some amazing pieces of functional pieces and furniture.

Sue Goossens, Lianne Todd, Linda Hoffman, Marlene Long and Mae Leonard are professional artists compelled to create with completely different styles – artists who welcome you into their home studios to share their passion.
Sue has a large collection of watercolours both on paper and canvas. Landscape, architecture and a few florals! Her subjects represent scenes from northern Ontario, British Columbia and visions from her trips to Scotland and Italy.
Lianne Todd creates vivid watercolours and digital art reflecting nature. She depicts beautiful scenery from her travels and the life within it, as well as abstract-looking fractal ‘scenery’ and ‘life forms’ from her travels through digital ‘realms’ she creates, using vibrant colours on many different kinds of surfaces.
Linda Hoffman paints what is familiar and emotionally connected to her imaginative mind. She works in a variety of mediums and styles.
Trudy Verberne will be sharing Linda’ studio space. She handcrafts unique and meaningful greeting cards.
Mae puts her whole imaginative spirit into her acrylic paintings. Truly unique! Follow the garden path to Mae’s display in her barn in the village.
Marlene (Young) Long has just moved to Otterville and this is her first year on the tour! She previously lived in the Niagara region. She paints landscapes and various other subject matter in oil.

The tour website www.welcomebacktootterville.ca has photos of artists’ work and a map to all the studios. For more information call 519-879-6352.
All are welcome to visit each studio in Otterville on November 16 & 17 from 10am to 5pm. Watch for yellow flags at each location, as these denote participants who have contributed to advertisement of the tour.  A special thank you is extended to the Township of Norwich for their support.

Upcoming Shows in November

It’s been a busy and and also at times very difficult fall so far, so I haven’t been doing too much blogging.  But I do need to publicize some shows I’ve got coming up.

This year, I’m actually participating in Oxford Creates again.  It’s been a while – I just checked and the last time I did that show it was 2011!  Where did that time go?  This year Oxford Creates is two weeks before Welcome Back to Otterville, making things a bit easier for organizing.  It is also at a different venue, so if you regularly go to that event, note the new place.

I will be around for Welcome Back to Otterville this year, and we have a few new artists/artisans on that studio tour as well.  More on that later!  For now I will present you with the advertising poster and postcard for the two shows.  If you are on social media, we’d love for you to share these images.  You can also email your friends with the link to this blog post if you like, or share it as well.

Oxford Creates Art Expo is November 2nd and 3rd (see hours) at South Gate Centre, 191 Old Wellington St. S., Woodstock.

Welcome Back to Otterville is November 16 & 17, 10 am to 5 pm, at various locations in Otterville (visit our website for a map)