South Newfane in Vermont is nestled in a scenic region in New England. But a visit to this jewel of an area will also uncover other gems if you’re an art lover.

Many artists call Newfane and the area surrounding the Rock River home. For the last 16 years the annual Rock River Artists Open Studio Tour has provided Vermonters and visitors alike a glimpse into this rich vein of talent. And this year the 17^th tour will be held on Saturday July 18^th and Sunday July 19^th, 2009.

This year, fifteen artists will open their homes, studios and grounds to visitors. Here are a few nuggets from this year’s tour:

• Photographer Christine Triebert will offer on-the-spot portrait sessions for tour-goers. Visitors to her studio can watch the shooting process in action, and participants will receive proofs in their e-mail inbox after the tour. Custom prints will be made on request.

• Leonard Ragouzeos will show a new series of portrait sketches and tool drawings in ink and will demonstrate his signature technique – using India ink on synthetic paper to create dappled, abstract surfaces that come together as images from a distance.

• Roger Sandes will introduce new work for children from a series developed with the New Editions online gallery, which promotes “Art from the Start” for kids.

• Raku artist Richard Foye will demonstrate his hands-on glazing techniques – lots of fire and smoke for the whole family to enjoy.

• Painter Susan Jarvis will unveil Bestiary, a new series of conceptual works including images from medieval and Renaissance bestiaries; this is the first time pieces from her new series can be seen on the tour.

• Lauri Richardson’s memorial installation, Flags of Freedom, Costs of War, will be on the Newfane Common for the month of July, with more than 4000 handmade flags – one for each American fatality in Iraq. (Visitors to Richardson’s mosaic studio are welcome to paint a flag to add to the memorial.)

• Naturalist painter Caryn King will return to the tour this year with new, strikingly colorful bird paintings, which sing to the viewer from found wood and other surfaces.

And this is just a sample of what to expect at this year’s show.

130-years ago there was speculation this area of Vermont held a gold vein just waiting to be tapped. While many came to speculate its discovery has remained elusive.

While you can still get your pan and spend leisurely time in Rock River hunting, may I suggest instead you check out the guaranteed gold discoveries you can find without expending any effort in the Rock River Artists Open Studio Tour this weekend?

Beginning at the historic Old Schoolhouse building in South Newfane, tour-goers can pick up a map and view samples of each artist’s work before setting out. Mid-tour lunch options in the area include the famous Ken’s Hot Dogs and the newly opened Newfane Café and Creamery. Light refreshments are offered at many stops along the tour as well.

The Rock River Artists Open Studio Tour is in its 17^th year. For more information on this weekend’s activities check out the official web site at: http://www.rockriverartists.com/

My appreciation to Paula Melton who supplied most of the information for this blog post.

And for more suggestions and ideas for things to see and do in the area check out our special Vermont destinations page here.

Another New England post by one of our writers is being prepared right now so be sure to visit again or just subscribe to our RSS Feed here and get notified automatically of events and news.

Yankee Traveler
Staff Writer
New England Online Magazine

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