happy Thanksgiving and your weekend plans

October 10th, 2014 Newsletter excerpt...

First up, I want to wish all of my fellow Canadians a very happy Thanksgiving. (It is our Thanksgiving holiday weekend here in Canada if you didn’t know.) And as my American readers are celebrating Columbus Day, I think many of us are planning busy long weekends!

A very small, quick study of the Carp Ridge in autumn, coloured pencil on Colourfix paper, copyright Teresa Mallen

Because many of you are planning family get togethers (or making pumpkin pies and stuffing a turkey) I shall keep this newsletter rather short.

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 As this is an important holiday weekend in both Canada and the U.S.A. I have an invitation to extend to you –

I invite you to spend some time this weekend visiting artists! I know you are busy but seriously this would be a huge amount of fun so keep reading...

Here is how: look around for a local studio tour or for open studio events. If you don’t know of one, see what you can find on Google.

This holiday weekend is seen by many artists (in both Canada and the U.S.) as the perfect time to invite the public into their homes and studios. For those of us who live in areas where the foliage is changing colour, taking advantage of the leaf peepers driving around makes perfect sense.

What’s in it for you? Well, visiting artists gives you inspiration, fuels your creative ideas and many artists will share their know-how by offering demonstrations. How cool is that? They are also happy to answer questions. You might even decide to sign up for some classes!

You might find a gorgeous hand painted silk scarf, some ear rings made by a local metal smith, a new coffee mug from a fabulous potter or perhaps a must-have painting. And it is never too early to find something to tuck into a stocking – cause yes that season is coming.

Artists would really appreciate your support even if you don’t buy. Please remember that working tucked away in a studio can be a rather isolating experience. Offer feedback, tell them how great their work is, let them know what you like and why. Artists have done all of the prepping, now they are just waiting to meet you. J

As someone who has done her share of studio tours, I am very familiar with the work involved. Please keep in mind that these people advertise, turn their homes or studios into galleries, they arrange for parking, they set up merchant accounts so they can accept credit cards, they find someone to take care of their cats, dogs and children for days, they invest in display racks, they price and tag everything, they often buy apple cider and food goodies to offer guests, they buy additional insurance so they are covered to host the buying public at their home and they paint, frame, throw pots, etc. like mad in order for you to have something to see.

 So this weekend, give yourself the gift of a road trip. Look for a studio tour or for some open studios within driving distance of your home. Take a friend or plan a family event. Make a day of it. Do some sightseeing along the way. I promise you won’t regret it!

 For those of you in the Ottawa area, here are three studio tours for you to check out this weekend:

Crown and Pumpkin Studio Tour – Mississippi Mills (Almonte, Clayton)

www.crownandpumpkin.com

Perth Autumn Studio Tour www.perthstudiotour.com

Fall Colours Studio Tour – Westport area, www.westportstudiotour.com

 See you on the gorgeous tree lined back roads! J

some of our autumn coloured hennies (we also have white ones, barred ones and black ones)