From Oct. 16 to 18 2015, artists and artisans across the city of Guelph opened their studio and exhibition space doors to the city’s many Guelphites. Studio tours occur in many cities, and this past weekend was Guelph’s 30th annual Studio Tour event. During this event, all of the local artists that have registered in the city of Guelph open their doors to the public for the duration of the tour. The studios were spread across the city, with a fair amount of them within walking distance from one another throughout the downtown area. Brochures and maps to guide tourists from place to place could be found in certain businesses and online.
The work media ranged from pottery to jewellery, glasswork to sculpture, as well as sketches, paintings, and leatherwork. The subjects differed from studio to studio, and each had its own original atmosphere. Some studios belonged to the individual artists, while other spaces were shared and became hubs of creativity and innovation, where artists fed off of one another’s passion. Every studio was unique and immensely different from the last, both in works of art and in spirit. Some served warm apple cider, while others had cookies and snacks for the many people wandering in from the autumn chill to appreciate their works. Some even had dogs that greeted you as you walked in. The works themselves portrayed a variety of subjects, including nature, landscapes, animals, close-ups of trees and flowers, people, the city of Guelph, everyday objects, and more in an unlimited amount of ways.
The artists themselves were hospitable and enthusiastic, eager to share the magic of their creative spaces with anyone who stopped by. One artist, Laurie McGaw, oil painted portraits and created sculptures with great accuracy. Her studio-mate, another artist by the name of Janette Hayhoe, painted everyday objects such as a pile of apples, or the way the sunlight streams through a window and hits your hanging raincoat. She attempts to portray the beauty in the mundane.
Many other studios took part in the tour despite not even being registered as a result of the limited amount of spaces. This made the experience feel somewhat more like a spontaneous adventure. To add to the sense of adventure, some of the studios were in hidden nooks of the city. It was in one of these that my friends and I ended up spending some time, enjoying the atmosphere and entertaining ourselves singing along to a sculptor’s piano playing.
This tour allowed us to discover the hidden riches of the city of Guelph. It was a greatly inspiring experience, and a lovely way to spend a weekend.