Gabriola Studio Tour
Gabriola studios welcome new and returning friends
Tulips by studio tour artist Judith Madsen
Dreaming of a weekend escape, a girls' road trip or a night away with you sweetheart?
Mark your calendar for a Gabriola Studio Tour. Island artists will throw open their studio doors to tempt your senses with a dizzying array of art, art, art!
Start your trip with a visit to the Gabriola Arts Council's website - www.gabriolaartscouncil.org - to view our studio listings, online brochure and map.
Once you're "on-island," don't miss a visit to Artworks in the Village, where work by island artists is featured - and the coffee is great.
Pick up a copy of the full-colour tour brochure - or have one sent to you by calling or emailing the arts council - grab a coffee, a triple-berry organic scone and head for the road. Don't forget to check the update board outside Artworks to see where some of Gabriola's famed musicians, poets and authors may be playing and speaking.
Fascinated by things that shimmer? You'll definitely
want to scope out the studios featuring the many award-winning jewellers. Or do canvases make you swoon? From contemporary to landscape, Gabriola has a painter for every taste.
Driftwood furniture, woodworking, photography . . . it's all here, waiting just for you! Everything from leather bags, hand-woven textiles and stonework are just waiting to add culture and beauty to your life, garden and home.
These treasures will be with you for years to come, and the memory of talking to the artists will stay with you forever. Knowing where and how your unique purchases were lovingly coaxed into being will add so much value to anything you take home. It is truly enlightening to hear an artist speak of their passion and drive to create. For first-time tour goers, you'll find yourself with a whole new perspective on how art is produced. For those devotees who are making their annual "pilgrimage," it's a chance to see the evolution of a favourite artist and catch up with the friends you've made during tours past. Thanksgiving 2010 will be the 14th annual tour!
We're positive that once you've done the tour, you'll be back next year, all charged up with a renewed gratitude and appreciation for the arts.
Staying connected with the Gabriola art scene is easy with the weekly e-letter put out by the Gabriola Arts Council - yours when you purchase a $10 annual Gabriola Arts Council membership.
The 2010 Gabriola Studio tours run anytime by appointment, weekly in July and August, and at Thanksgiving from October 9 to 11, 2010, when studios are open from 10 to 4 daily (and some may be open even later).
A full-colour brochure is available online and in print; it gives details about all of the studios on the Thanksgiving tour and those that are open during the summer months. For more information, contact Liz Steele, the program coordinator, at info@gabriolaartscouncil.org or 250-247-7409.
- LIZ STEELE