CENTRE WELLINGTON – Elora, Fergus and the surrounding areas will have a chance to step into the mind of an artist next month with the return of the Elora Fergus Studio Tour for its 36th year.
The tour features a lineup of 36 artists across 27 locations, showcasing a broad spectrum of artistic expressions.
The event will begin with a free admission opening gala on Sept. 19 from 7 to 9pm at the Elora Center for the Arts (ECFTA), where each artist will place one piece of artwork, giving guests a sneak peek into their studios.
“It’s a good place to start, you can get a map and see everybody’s work then you can make a plan of where you want to go,” tour chair and artist Heather Wadsworth told the Advertiser.
The gala night consists of catered appetizers, meeting the artists, viewing samples of their work, a cash wine bar, live music and a $500 door prize.
Studio tour
During the tour guests will be given a ballot for another draw of $500 towards art from any of the 36 artists.
This draw will take place after the tour in October where a winner will be announced.
Those interested can visit the artist studios for two weekends – Sept. 28 to 29 and Oct. 5 to 6 from 10am to 5pm – and will be met with an abundance of different art mediums.
Ceramic sculpture, oil painting, jewellery, mixed media, watercolour painting, woodwork, blown glass, pottery and fiber art is what one can expect when visiting different studios.
“A few of them have a dedicated studio but most people work from their homes,” she added.
Wadsworth has been on the tour for three years and will be running the event for her first time with her committee partners James Embrey and Grayce Perry.
She specializes in watercolour and oil paintings with her main focus being botanicals.
Her artistic journey began after high school as she joined art school, but paused as she got married and cared for her eight children.
“Maybe 20 years ago I started painting again … a couple of classes a year just to get back into it,” Wadsworth said.
It was seven years ago when she started studying with botanical artists from the United Kingdom and the United States where she felt it was time to “put herself out there.”
Many of the studio locations based in Elora are within walking distance of one another.
“I get about 150 (visitors) over the time but people in downtown Elora might get 300,” added Wadsworth.
Her studio is located at 244 First Line in Elora, just a five-minute drive from the downtown core.
“I feel very honoured that 150 people choose to come out here.”
And after 50 hours spread across several months, Wadsworth has completed her opening gala artwork which will be kept unseen until the big night.
Application process
“We have a team that looks at the different applications each year,” Wadsworth said referring to the jurying process.
Each member on the tour must be accepted and pay a membership fee.
“It’s quite a big event so it takes each of us participating in different roles to make it happen,” she said.
The studio tour is volunteer run with 35 per cent of the profits supporting the ECFTA and its “diverse programming” for the community, stated officials.
For more information on the artists, event, locations and to view the full map of studios visit elorafergusstudiotour.com.
