My View of Life on the Dock
34th Annual Open Studio Tours
Went to the Bart Stuyf studio, www.bartswork.com, on Mussel Point. Beautiful location and great sculptors, some with candles, water falls and stand alones. Even though it was hazy the views are terrific from there.
Cape Ann Artisans Studio Tour is this weekend! If you see this banner while driving around Cape Ann this weekend, ( including Monday), just pull in and check out the art that is being made on our island. Better yet, print this brochure out right now and stick it on the dashboard of your car. Using all three days of the Columbus Day Weekend wisely you should be able to check out all of the fourteen studios that are packed with great stuff to check out and purchase. Get your Christmas shopping done early.
The Rubber Duck and I are going to start at the Annisquam Arts & Crafts Show at 10:AM on Saturday and work my way around the island clockwise. Hmm, that would mean we would have to go all the way around to get to Marty Morgan’s kiln. Maybe I’ll start at the bridge …
| 2011 Cape Ann Artisans | |
| David Archibald Plum Cove Pottery
Leslie Bartlett Photography & Folding Screens Cynthia Curtis Stoneware Pottery Anni Melancon Dogtown Studio Pottery David Montgomery Marine Painting/Portrait Artist Marty Morgan Pottery & Sculptural Tile Marge Rack Sculpture & Wire Drawings |
Mi Robertson Sculpture & Water Colors
Twin Lights Studio Pottery & Sculpture Pam Stratton Mosaics Bart Stuyf Sculpture Beth Williams Jewelry Judy Wright Mosaics, Pastels, Oils & Jewelry Sara Wright Fiber Wrights |
Fueled up with Joey and the crew at Passports in the morning Joey told me a must see on the tour was Marty Morgan. Something about a pulley sending her pots into the river. Sounded crazy and it was. She has a great way of winching her loaded kiln shelves into her big gas fired kiln but I am getting ahead of myself.
To reiterate some of my Day 1 post. Fifteen artists, go here to download pdf map so you can follow the numbers.
1) David Montgomery 2)Marty Morgan 3) Leslie Bartlett 4) Kurt Ankeny 5) Judith Wright, 6) Margaret Rack, 7) Mi Robertson, 8 ) Anni Melançon, 9) David Archibald, 10) Cynthia Curtis, 11) Pam Stratton 12) Eileen Mueller, 13) Scott Place/Erin O’Sullivan, 14) Marilyn Swift 15) Bart Stuyf.
We did 3,8,9 Saturday and I wanted to finish with all the pottery so did 2) Marty Morgan, 10) Cynthia Curtis, and 13) Scott Erin and Erin O’Sullivan today.
2) Marty Morgan; Pottery and Sculptural Tile, 428 Washington Street, (just past where Washington crosses Mill River.). If I had this studio I am afraid I wouldn’t get much done since you could have a kayak into the Mill River off the back porch in a second. If you want to find that wedding gift that they are going to remember you have to check out the tiles and pottery here. I’m drinking coffee as I type from a very large mug I just picked up at Marty’s.
10) Cynthia Curtis, Stoneware Pottery, 80 Pigeon Hill Road, (head to the Paper House and just keep going up the hill to the end.) A huge assortment of styles and what better place to learn pottery but from someone who does something of everything. I want to poke holes in pots and make a berry dish. (Just rinse and put in the fridge and it drains right out. I’m not describing it well you have to check them out.) Cynthia teaches tons of classes in pottery all levels, kids (catch them early) to adults (play in clay, it’s fun). We picked up a beautiful blue lamp from Cynthia on the tour two years ago which goes well with our daughter’s perrywinkle painted room.
13) Scott Place and Erin O’Sullivan; Pottery and Sculpture, 52 South Street , Rockport. I was drawn to the more entertaining pieces on display here. Complete life size busts of some very strange characters. Fish heads, lots of fish heads. A whole school of fish heads seemed to be having a conversation on one wall. One of them is going to be speaking to me in my kitchen. Since I forgot my camera I brought my fish head home and stuck it on a block of clay. Maybe I will make the rest of the fish.
I think I will call him Spot. You can talk to Spot in my kitchen.
Click here for Map and brochure. That way you can follow the numbers. Fifteen artists open their studios this long weekend 10AM to 5PM.
1) David Montgomery 2)Marty Morgan 3) Leslie Bartlett 4) Kurt Ankeny 5) Judith Wright, 6) Margaret Rack, 7) Mi Robertson, 8 ) Anni Melançon, 9) David Archibald, 10) Cynthia Curtis, 11) Pam Stratton 12) Eileen Mueller, 13) Scott Place/Erin O.Sullivan, 14) Marilyn Swift 15) Bart Stuyf.
A high concentration of artisans in Lanesville so I figure I will start there and pick off number 3, 8, and 9, to start the weekend.
3) Leslie Bartlett; 1033 Washington Street, Natural Light Photography, and around here that means Quarries. These prints are amazing. You think you’ve seen quarries but this must be one of those “you got to get up pretty early in the morning” to see them like this. Les has a huge printer which makes enormous prints, paper and cloth. The studio was a Catholic Church– while we were there a couple came in to see what had been done to the place where they were married. Amazing space. I extracted quite a lot of information about Lanesville and Rockport quarries from Les that I will follow up in future posts.
8 ) Anni Melancon; Dogtown Studio Pottery, 1181 Washington Street, broad range of pottery and porcelain from the fine to primitive. Sue and I met Anni two years ago on the tour and she is getting me all amped up about actually turning on my own kiln. She makes it sound easy, (I know it isn’t), but at least she has convinced me I won’t burn my house down. Anni does terracotta with white glaze that is just amazing. Works of art out of which you can eat. Felt like having some soup in a big bowl but we had to get one more artisan done or we would fall behind.
9) David Archibald; 9 Woodbury Street, Plum Cove Pottery (turn up the hill right before Folly Cove). We met David the same tour two years ago and quickly figured out he knew David Platt (prior owners of our house). This time around he was telling stories of drinking a beer in the kitchen. David has been working on his glazes applied to porcelain and stoneware for fifty years and he has figured out a few things. Not exactly sure what he is going to pull out of the kiln but the depth and richness of the cobalt blues, the copper reds, the celadon, make pieces you have to just stare at for a while. Galaxies and waterfalls are in there. We escaped with just one white milk pitcher that has a light red glow to it that I might post a photo of (when I find my good camera).
And my cell phone only took one good shot the whole day. Tomorrow onto a dozen more artisans.
Then it was on to Alchemy for some French Onion Soup to refuel.
Looking For Something to do today?
Check out the Cape Ann Artisans Open Studio Tour. They are celebrating their 25th year. Today is the last day although they would welcome you year long. Look for the magenta banners-
Click here for a link to their brochure
Good Morning Gloucester 