{"id":11959,"date":"2019-08-16T19:22:01","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T19:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=11959"},"modified":"2019-08-16T19:22:01","modified_gmt":"2019-08-16T19:22:01","slug":"brush-up-on-artists-studios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2019\/08\/16\/brush-up-on-artists-studios\/","title":{"rendered":"Brush Up on Artists\u2019 Studios"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cindy Kirk works in a studio at her home in the mid-Valley. Kirk will be welcoming visitors during the Wood River Valley Studio Tour. Photo credit: Kirsten Shultz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seventh Annual Wood River Valley Studio Tour To Be Held<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

BY DANA DUGAN<\/em><\/p>\n

The seventh annual Wood River Valley Studio Tour serves a trifecta of participants, said Suzanne Hazlett, participating artist and co-founder of the nonprofit organization. The tour, which will take place Saturday and Sunday throughout the Valley, and includes several associated events, is unique in that it brings people to the artist to view the process, enjoy the space and even purchase something if it catches their fancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an invitation to our community to step into a studio, not as a retail experience, [but] immersion experience,\u201d Hazlett said. \u201cWe\u2019ve always wanted to serve the artist by presenting them in a professional way. For visitors, we want the experience to be approachable. It can feel intimidating to approach artists, and daunting if you lack understanding. But when you\u2019re standing there alongside the maker, hearing about how they were inspired to create, all that melts away. And we serve our sponsors who make this possible. We want to serve each of those elements.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each studio has its own personality, and medium. There are painters, sculptors, tile and leather workers, photographers, mixed-media artists, jewelers and woodworkers.<\/p>\n

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A piece by Sally Metcalf is made from bigleaf maple bark with woodpecker holes. The bark was sustainably harvested and dried. Metcalf then soaks and bends the wood into shape, before pinning it with hand-forged copper pins, and waxed linen, in a method known as twining. Photo credit: Sally Metcalf<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSome of the studios are quite spectacular,\u201d Hazlett said. \u201cSome are rather modest. It\u2019s good for visitors to see what\u2019s possible. Some are within homes, or small outbuildings on their own property. It doesn\u2019t take a commercial space to become invested in one\u2019s creative self.\u201d<\/p>\n

As well, there will be five plein-air artists who work outside. They will be set up together on the east side of River Street, with easels.<\/p>\n

Every event is open, with free admission, including the Mosaic Project exhibit at the Ketchum Innovation Center, which has been \u201cextraordinarily supportive,\u201d Hazlett said. \u201cWith them, we created social media markets for the artists. We want the artist to use their own voice; it\u2019s another opportunity to have exposure, try something new, and experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hazlett said they receive calls and emails from artists who are new to the Valley. The organization also has a \u201cverified list of more than 220 professional visual artists in the Valley, which is 1 percent of the population,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The only criteria for the artists is that they must live and work in the Wood River Valley.<\/p>\n

This year, there are a few newcomers to the tour. Cindy Kirk, who makes fashionable leather purses and satchels, heard about the tour only last year. Another artist encouraged her to participate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just kind of jumped in,\u201d Kirk said. \u201cThat\u2019s the way I roll.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk, a trained seamstress, made her first bag about six years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I needed to get beyond the hobby stage,\u201d she said. \u201cI was totally self-taught, so there was a lot of trial and error. In 2017, I really went for it, and am now in six stores. I call myself a seamstress-designer-manufacturer-entrepreneur, not a leather craftsman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirk\u2019s studio is at her home in the mid-Valley. She said she will have a small table outdoors with refreshments for visitors.<\/p>\n

Some artists may have locations outside the corridor, and will have the \u201cluxury of fewer visitors, so may offer demonstrations,\u201d Hazlett said. \u201cSome studios might have hundreds of visitors. We greet and discuss, answer questions. That\u2019s the whole point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another newcomer is Sally Metcalf, a fiber artist. Sally and her husband moved to the Wood River Valley two years ago from the McKenzie River Valley in Oregon.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my criteria for finding a new home was a thriving art community in a small town that I could get involved with,\u201d Metcalf said. \u201cThe tour seemed like a good group and I was very pleased that I was able to join.\u201d<\/p>\n

Metcalf, whose studio is in Hailey, said she \u201cdabbled in most mediums until I found my passion in basketry. I have been weaving for almost 30 years and I still\u00a0get so much pleasure and satisfaction out of gathering and manipulating materials into beautiful objects. I think people who see my work are genuinely amazed that basketry can be so much more than containers for laundry, fruit or pencils.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rather than functional, Metcalf\u2019s finished baskets are sculptural art pieces.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s fun and special is we do have evolving and changing artists every year,\u201d Hazlett said. \u201cAvid followers will find a different experience, as artists have evolved, but also participants change.\u201d<\/p>\n

A new tour program makes its debut this year, too. Designed by graphic designer<\/p>\n

Judy Stoltzfus, of Hailey, it\u2019s full of photos, information and maps to each of the studios.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s emboldening about participation is that it\u2019s an opportunity for other people to take their art seriously,\u201d Hazlett said. \u201cThis is us, this is our community. The artists want to receive those visitors. It\u2019s really something that is essential, to me, and has always been important.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seventh Annual Wood River Valley Studio Tour To Be Held BY DANA DUGAN The seventh annual Wood River Valley Studio Tour serves a trifecta of participants, said Suzanne Hazlett, participating artist and co-founder of the nonprofit organization. The tour, which will take place Saturday and Sunday throughout the Valley, and includes several associated events, is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,4,53],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11959","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-calendar-2","8":"category-entertainment","9":"category-calendar-feature"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}