Our self-guided tour
Our Self-guided Tour
by Arlene Distler
On a recent Putney Craft Tour I made my way on a chilly autumn day along the winding roads of this art-centric town just north of Brattleboro. A pioneer in the concept of Open Studios, Putney has a density of artists and artisans that few towns can equal.
This may be due to its being the location of the Putney School, a private high school dating from 1935 that is known for its strong arts curriculum, as well as a summer program that has drawn artists of great accomplishment for many decades. It is also a pioneer in earth-based, environmental culture (barn-duty credits are needed for graduation!). In addition, located in Putney during the 60’s and 70’s, was the free-wheeling Windham College that attracted many creative types who, even though the college has folded, stayed.
Joined by my son and his wife, we went into the studios of fabric artist Dena Gartenstein, potter Susan Wilson, painter Nancy Calicchio and wood-worker Abijah Reed. We were reminded why the concept of Open Studio is such a win-win, and why the model Putney created has been taken up in one way or another by enclaves of artists and artisans in towns and cities across the country and in many foreign lands.
The smell of raw wood, oil paints, the sight of brightly-hued yarns and glistening glazes on freshly thrown cups and bowls piques the senses. As visitors to the artist’s studio we get to experience a taste of the creative life ourselves. We can take in the sights and sounds that inspire the art; can watch the process in many cases, gaining knowledge and appreciation. Being in an artist’s workspace affords us an intimate connection with the made object. Akin to seeing an exotic and lovely plant in its native habitat rather than a florist’s shop!
I took particular gratification in my son’s appreciation of our tour––he and his wife are both Brooklyn-based graphic designers with all the enticements of Manhattan at their fingertips. They have been known to characterize the goings-on in my corner of the world as not quite up to their sophisiticated tastes. But he and his wife agreed––being able to meet the artist or artisan added something special to a crafted piece. As my son put it, “You relate the personality of the artist to the piece and it adds a whole other dimension.”
And you can’t beat the customer service! Some artists and artisans are great story-tellers. The how, the why, the when of a particular piece of furniture or sculpture, one-of-a-kind earrings, unusual shape of a blown glass vase. If you are in a buying mood and want something slightly different than what you see, in many cases your wishes can be accomodated —if you can stand to forestall immediate gratification (the wait, depending what it is, often is no more than a couple of weeks).
More and more fine artists are joining Open Studio tours and weekends. On the Putney Tour, Nancy Calicchio showed us recent Vermont landscapes and had a story for every one. It was thrilling to hear about places we have passed many times and see it freshly through her eyes and her enthiusiasm. Painter Judy Hawkins has been a mainstay of the Putney Tour for years.
This is only the second year of Open Studio Weekend for watercolor painter Lynn Hoeft of Brattleboro. A recent transplant from Martha’s Vineyard where she ran a family vineyard for thirty years, Hoeft says there is much to recommend Open Studio from the artist’s perspective. “The internet is ok, but you can’t really see much. Nothing compares to seeing a painting in the flesh!” Besides her original watercolors Hoeft sells prints and small origami boxes she makes from those prints. “The economics are such that mailing out these boxes is not cost-effective. So I only sell them at my studio.” Last year they were a hot item. On a recent visit to her studio, I could see why —made up of delicate renderings of natural objects (Hoeft’s favorite subject), sometimes adorned with a shell as handle, they are unique.
Perhaps best of all are the surprises. While many tours give the participant a brochure with a picture that represents the artist/artisan’s ouevre, there is no way it can tell it all.
One of the most wonderful moments of our Putney tour was going into the studio of Abijah Reed, an engineer and mathematician, whose draw was finely made wooden game boards, musical instruments, and other useful items. But what was memorable was the hanging sculpture that this ex-math teacher made, for the fun of it — a hanging graceful arabesque of a piece that employed wood and string and which illustrated a mathematical equation. None of us can remember the equation. But we sure remember the sculpture.
Head out to the welcoming denizens of Vermont’s artists and artisans and share in the creative journey! There are any number of Open Studio weekends from May into Autumn.
