A panoply of artistic visions

Wayne County Arts Alliance holds fifth annual studio tour

WHEN: Friday, July 27, Saturday, July 28 and Sunday, July 29.

WHERE: Wayne County, selected locations. Maps available at Wayne County Arts Alliance on Main Street, Honesdale.

COST: Free.

CONTACT: wcaa@waynecountyartsalliance.org .

WAYNE COUNTY, PA — For the fifth year, the Wayne County Arts Alliance (WCAA) will invite the public into the studios of an eclectic array of talented local artists and artisans for three special days. With a total of 27 artists on the 2006 tour, this year’s event features more artists than ever before.

During all three days of the tour, each studio will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Products of the creative imagination in a wide variety of media may be found, from traditional art forms like painting, photography and sculpture to dolls and quilts.

All you need to participate is a map, which you can request from the arts alliance using the contact information above. You can also pick one up at the Studio Tour Headquarters at the Central Park Gallery located at 914 Church Street in Honesdale, PA, where samples of all the artists’ work may be found and WCAA volunteers can help you plan your tour.

The Open Studio Tour began five years ago when several local artists were looking for a way to highlight the arts in Wayne County. Tamara Murray, WCAA director, said, “It was such a big concept, to educate the public about the fascinating diversity of the arts and studio spaces in our local and regional community. Out of this original vision, WCAA has grown into a vital and creative grass-roots organization whose vision is to ‘enrich the community through the arts.’”

Pennsylvania Council of the Arts artist Hana Gorman, one of the original Studio Tour artists, feels that the tour “maintains the connection between me and the community. I feel appreciated and sometimes out of that give and take exchange, a whole new line of work develops.”

When you step into the studio workplaces, you can see the tools, techniques and creative vision of the artist. One such artist is photographer Rob Townsend who defines his art as “practicing Zen with a camera.” Townsend said that he first picked up a camera shortly after he returned from Vietnam in 1966. “I have over 40 years of photographic work to share. I have a lifetime of work, but I choose to live in a rural area where there is no art market. The Open Studio gives me an opportunity and a community of diverse people to connect with who are artists or supporter of the arts.”

The event is juried and open to artists who maintain a studio in Wayne County.