Foliage Vermont Open Studio Weekend

As I’ve mentioned in other posts, Vermont was hit hard by Tropical Storm Irene. Thankfully, communities are recovering quickly with help from neighbors, friends, and local government.

Vermont is open for business!

Now is a great time to come to Vermont for a weekend getaway. Vermont’s Department of Tourism predicts a spectacular foliage display this year.

For your amusement, I present the Foliage Forecaster. Oohhh…ahhhh…

If you check out the forecast for October 1 – 2, you’ll see that central Vermont will be in mid-peak to peak foliage. That’s good news because…

…the Vermont Crafts Council is trying something new this year – the first (and hopefully annual) Foliage Vermont Open Studio Weekend!

There are 174 artists participating in 147 locations across Vermont.

And that peak foliage in early October? My studio is in the middle of it! This is the perfect time to come visit my studio. I have a great view of Camel’s Hump and you can feel free to enjoy a picnic on my lawn.

On October 1 -2, come for a tour of my studio, demonstrations, and savings up to 50% off seconds and discontinued styles. There will also be selection of bookbinding supplies available for purchase.

I’m studio number #139 in the orange Studio Tour Guide.

There are several ways to get your hands on a map:

• Request a copy from the Vermont Crafts Council
• Print out a full copy
• View detailed maps by county on the Vermont Crafts Council website

Directions to the studio are available on my website.

Depending on your route, you should double-check for any road closures that are still in effect due to Irene. The State of Vermont created this awesome map that has the most up-to-date information on road closures. It also includes other information, such as the location of local wineries and orchards.

In my next post, I’ll talk about the specific studios open in central Vermont.

Worktable Wednesday

Today was spent in Postcard Town. It’s not a nice place to visit and I definitely don’t want to live there.

I’m desperately trying to get a mailing out the door – Foliage Vermont Open Studio Weekend is 1.5 weeks away! I don’t usually do a mailing this early in the fall, but this event forced me to move things up.

I decided to go with a larger postcard this year so I’d have more room for listing upcoming events. Check this baby out:

I so super-love this postcard – my hubby and I collaborated on the design. FYI – He’s my photographer too (the man is talented).

As is my usual modus operandi, I ordered my postcards with blank backs. I fed 200 postcards through my printer today – notsofun.

A nifty addition to the postcard is a QR code in the bottom right-hand corner. If you’re on my mailing list, you’ll just have to scan that dealie with your smart phone to find out what it says.

The mailing should be going out in the next few days. It includes a coupon that you can use when visiting me during Open Studio Weekend or any of the craft shows I’m attending through 2011.

If you’d like to join my snail mail list (at least while the USPS still exists), just contact me and I’ll hook you up.

Open Studio Weekend recap

So now that my sister in-law’s wedding is over, I can finally get to my Open Studio Weekend review. I am so thankful for all of the visitors who braved the roads and weather to visit my studio! I had a great time.

I’m well-aware that there was no way my poor little yellow sign could possibly compete with a big orange sign and a pylon. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out this post.

By the way, the person who painted the other sign is awesome.

My husband and I are now referring to our street as Gallison Hole Road. I’m sure that I lost some folks at the bottom of my hill when they were greeted by the “Road Closed” sign, but I had a much better turnout than I had anticipated. I just found out that it will be at least two weeks until they repair the destroyed culvert. Argh.

Here’s a virtual tour of my studio as it was set up that weekend:

I am looking forward to participating in Vermont’s first (and hopefully annual) fall Open Studio Weekend! Mark your calendars for October 1 – 2, 2011 for some spectacular foliage and super-duper handmade books.

Stay tuned for more information – or if you’d like to join my snail mail list, just contact me and I’ll hook you up. I also have an Email newsletter that launched just last month – click here to sign up.

Note: Your personal information is kept completely confidential and not shared with anyone. Ever.

I’m still on for Open Studio Weekend!

In case you haven’t heard, central Vermont got hammered by a major storm last night. There’s lots of flooding, fallen trees, and mudslides.

As of right now, I have no power. And no internet (I’m at my husband’s office).

Thankfully, my home suffered no damage – we have a rock solid house.

I wanted to assure everyone that I am still participating in Open Studio Weekend this weekend. Unfortunately, the directions that are printed in the Open Studio Tour Guide are no longer usable.

The bottom of my street was torn up. Here’s what it looks like right now:

And this is what used to be under that road:

The force of the runoff water was so great that it ripped the pipe out of the road. I imagine that it will take a while for this to get fixed.

If you come for Open Studio Weekend, you will need to take an alternative route.

Here’s what you do (this is using the Main street Shaws as a starting point):

1. Starting from Shaws on Main Street, head northeast on Main St toward Stone Cutters Way for 0.4 miles.
2. At the traffic circle, take the first exit and continue straight on Main Street for 0.8 miles.
3. Turn right onto Towne Hill Road and drive 2.0 miles.
4. Turn right onto Gallison Hill Road.  My house/studio is on the right side of the road, 0.8 miles down the hill, #846.

I created the Google Map below to help you get to my studio.

Get me to Blue Roof Designs!

Depending on whether or not we have power, you may experience the first annual candlelit studio tour! I look forward to seeing you!

Worktable Wednesday

Today was an awesome day.

I did something that I’ve wanted to do for more than five years – I replaced my studio bookshelves! My library has suffered from saggy shelf syndrome for way too long.

Here are some before shots:

Then all of the books came out…

…which signaled the beginning of total studio destruction.

This project was probably not a good idea to dive into this week. With Open Studio Weekend a few days away, I should be doing the usual studio cleanse.

But no. I looked at the shelves and thought to myself, ooohhh…shiny.

There was no hope for rational thought.

Long story short – look at my rocking new, neat, well-organized shelves!

And yes, I’m well aware that these new shelves are already sagging slightly…but ooohhh shiny!

If you come by for Open Studio Weekend, feel free to stay a while and go through the library. I’ve acquired many new books in the last year and I’m happy to make recommendations.

Elissa’s Picks for Vermont Open Studio Weekend

Open Studio Weekend is mere days away.

Must.clean.studio.

In this post, I listed the book arts studios I’d visit if I were touring this weekend. Of course, I would also visit studios by artists working in other media. Some of my suggestions are listed below.

I’ll be referring to studios by both name and number – the number refers to a listing in the Vermont Studio Tour Guide 2011. The colors of the studio numbers in this post match the colored markers in the Google map below.

There are several ways to get your hands on a map:

• Request a copy from the Vermont Crafts Council
• Print out a full copy
• View detailed maps by county on the Vermont Crafts Council website

First stop would be Gallery at the Vault, #16. It’s a great place to get oriented for the start of your tour – they’re one of the official regional information centers for Open Studio Weekend. The gallery has been carrying my books for the last several months and they have a wonderful collection of craft work. As the name of the gallery suggests, there’s an actual bank vault in there. And they display artwork in it. I want to live in there. The gallery also has the honor of being one of only three galleries to have received the official designation as a Vermont State Craft Center. Awesome.

Laura Zindel, #37, would be my next stop. I really love her ceramic work – her designs remind me of scientific textbook illustrations.  She starts with pencil sketches and then silkscreens the images onto her pieces using an enamel transfer process. One of my favorite things to do is to explore tide pools and it’s for this reason that I love love love her Sea Life series. Dear Laura, you had me at starfish and spikey urchin.

Next I’d visit Tom Homann Pottery, #112. Tom’s booth was near mine at the 2009 Vermont Hand Crafters show and I was lucky enough to acquire one of his gorgeous steins. It’s my go-to mug for hot chocolate – it has a thumb perch on the handle (love it!). He uses earthy glazes in warm tones that are so lovely.

Lastly, I’d visit #184 - Pikku, a.k.a. Valerie Ormiston. In Finnish, pikku translates to little or tiny. On her website, Valerie says that she enjoys celebrating the simple pleasures of each day – a great philosophy. I love her gift wrap designs. Ooohhhh and the pillows! The patterns are colorful, modern, and elegant. I am aching to use the Crazy Daisy paper on a journal.

Like the book arts studios, these studios aren’t very close to each other either. If you split them up between two days, it should be doable.

Make that map bigger!

Vermont Open Studio Weekend – Central VT Artists

Vermont’s Open Studio Weekend is 1 1/2 weeks away. Time to start cleaning the studio.

Ugh. Any volunteers?

If you’re planning on visiting my studio (and you totally should!), you can visit other great artists within a 20ish minute drive of here. This year, Vermont Hand Crafters has a hub location at Vermont College and is hosting seven artists.

This adds up to a total of 24 artists participating in the central Vermont area (we represent!). Artists are offering exhibits and demonstrations of pottery, jewelry, sculpting, weaving, painting, rug hooking, and more.

I’ll be referring to studios by both name and number – the number refers to a listing in the Vermont Studio Tour Guide 2011. There are several ways to get your hands on a map:

• Pick up a copy at Artisans Hand Craft Gallery at the intersection of State and Main Streets in Montpelier (they’re an official Regional Information Center)
• Print out a full copy (warning – this is a big file)
• View a detailed map of Washington County on the Vermont Crafts Council website

Here’s the rundown of who’s who (click on the links to learn more about specific artists):

• #205 - Sans Souci Studios/Carrie Rouillard: Original wearable paper mache masks
  
• #206 - L. Koehler Pottery/Leslie Koehler: Majolica glazed terracotta earthenware
• #207 – Blackthorne Forge/Steven Bronstein: Functional, sculptural, contemporary ironwork
• #208 – Fred Varney: Stained glass panels, lamps
• #209 - Vermont Floorcloths and Fiber Arts/Sandy Ducharme: Handpainted canvas rugs, hooked wool rugs
• #209 – Adirondack Furniture/Richard Ducharme: Outdoor furniture, chairs and gliders
• #210 – Stephanie Krauss/Green Mountain Hooked Rugs: Traditional hand hooked rugs
  
• #211 - Thistle Hill Pottery/Jennifer Boyer: Functional stoneware pottery
• #212 - Art Tiles – Janice Walrafen: Handmade tiles, murals, sculptures
• #213 - Blue Roof Designs/Elissa Campbell: Handmade books (that’s me!)
  
• #214 – Frank Woods: Landscape, figurative painting, mixed media
• #214 – Pete Talbot: Illustration, cartoons, comics, cute monsters
• #215 – Vermont Hand Crafters: Hub site
  • Annie’s Dolls – Ann Moody: Handmade dolls
  • Bob & Deb’s Sugarhouse – Robert Weaver & Deb Salzarulo: Handcrafted wood musical instruments, mosaic ornaments, and larger wall pieces
  • Jeri Canfield: Traditional patchwork and machine applique bed quilts, wall art, and kitchen accessories
  • Oodles and Cadoodles – Virginia Kerrigan: Pillows, blankets, and home accessories made out of recycled fabrics
  • Stacie Mincher Designs: Brooches, barrettes, pendants and earrings, covered with recycled zipper designs
  • Khaos Designs – David Kaczynski: Contemporary jewelry and accessories inspired from nature and contemporary art forms
  • Simply Rustic – JoAnn Flanagan: Sculptured bowls, baskets, and boxes
• #216 – Hunger Mountain Arts/Ira Sollace & Cindy Griffith: Pastel, painting, fiber sculpture
• #217 – Jayne Shoup: Pastel paintings, landscapes, florals
• #218 – Ann’s Weavery – Ann Lovald: Looms, rugs, yarns, weaving instruction
• #219 – Montpelier Mud – Michael Sullivan: Functional pottery

I created the map below to help you plan your travels. Because the studios are so close to each other, you can visit quite a few of them within a short period of time.

Have fun!

Make that map bigger – I like my studios large!

Book Arts Guide to Vermont Open Studio Weekend

Welcome to the 2011 Book Arts Guide to Vermont Open Studio Weekend

It’s time for my annual nod to the many book artists participating in Open Studio Weekend. All of these talented folks are also members of the Book Arts Guild of Vermont, an organization I hold near and dear to my heart.

I created the Google map below, which includes all of the studios to help you plan your travels. Unfortunately, the book arts studios aren’t very close to each other. By the way, I’m studio #213.

I’ll be referring to studios by both name and number – the number refers to a listing in the Vermont Studio Tour Guide. The colors of the studio numbers in this post match the colored markers in the Google map below.

There are several ways to get your hands on a map:

• Request a copy from the Vermont Crafts Council
• Print out a full copy
• View detailed maps by county on the Vermont Crafts Council website

First stop on the book arts tour is #93 – Carolyn Shattuck. A seasoned printmaker, Carolyn cuts up scrap monotypes and uses the pieces in her handmade books. Many of her books include pop-up elements to set the scene for her storytelling. One of her books is among the many amazing pieces in Inventive Structures: Books beyond the Codex, an exhibition juried by Hedi Kyle.

#132 When you visit Shelburne Pond Studios, you get two book artists for the price of one! Elizabeth Rideout of Wise Eye Bindery is a master of leather bindings. She’s a graduate of the drool-worthy North Bennet Street School’s bookbinding program and the current Chair of the Book Arts Guild of Vermont. I seriously envy her collection of tools.

Jill Abilock of Six Loons Studio creates one-of-a-kind work that is really inspirational. Her compelling storytelling and creative voice are enhanced by her innovative combinations of materials and structure. One of her pieces was recently featured in Vermont newspaper Seven Days.

#138 - Nancy Stone is the third stop on the tour. Nancy is one of the founders of the Book Arts Guild of Vermont. Not only is Nancy an amazing book artist, she is also a well-known teacher in the books arts throughout Vermont and has inspired many students. In addition to her bookmaking, Nancy also works in watercolors and often incorporates painting techniques in her work.

Next stop is #171 Meta Strick. Meta has been my super-awesome booth neighbor at the Vermont Hand Crafters holiday show for several years. During slow moments, I usually wander in her booth to look at her wonderful mixed-media pieces. She has a great philosophy that you can make anything into a book. 

The last stop is #183 – Ken Leslie. Ken primarily creates books in a circular format – a practice that developed out of his dissatisfaction with rectangular painting shapes. His themes often focus on natural cycles, such as day and night. The size of his work ranges from miniature to really ginormous – you can walk through some of his books when they’re open. Ken shared his work at a recent Guild meeting and it was wonderful!

If you do go to any of the studios, share your experiences here and I will live vicariously through you. If you have any pictures, I’d love to see them…you can even do a guest post on my blog!

Make that Book Arts Tour map bigger!

Worktable Wednesday

Vermont Open Studio Weekend is 2 ½ weeks away and I finally started working on my mailing today. I know you’re asking yourself, “People still send out mail?”

Yep.

I had to order my postcards in a quantity of 500, so I got them with blank backs. It’s easy enough to feed them through my printer to customize the text. I use merge fields in my template so I can print addresses on them at the same time.

Unfortunately, my printer is wicked slow.

Did I really just say wicked?

Ever since my computer crashed last month, my printer has been experiencing sympathy pains. I spent at least 2 hours feeding the printer and I’m still not halfway done with these postcards. Argh.

At least I super-love my postcard this year. My hubby helped me design it:

The color really is that explosive. If you’re on my mailing list, you’ll be getting one of these in the next few days. It includes a coupon that you can use when visiting me during Open Studio Weekend or if you can’t make it, there’s a special coupon that you can use in my Etsy shop until the end of May.

If you’d like to join my snail mail list (and sometimes receive really red postcards), just contact me and I’ll hook you up.

Blue Roof Designs is on foursquare!

I’m considered an advanced technology user by those who know me and that’s why it’s embarrassing to admit that I don’t own a smart phone. Hopefully that will change soon…

In any event, I don’t have a lot of personal experience with foursquare, except for when I’ve been able to access wireless internet on my iPod. I’m happy to say that for those of you who are into foursquare, my studio is now registered as a venue.

If you have plans to visit my studio during Open Studio Weekend, then that would be a great opportunity for you to check in. I’m currently mayor-free, so the badge is up for grabs.

I also have a Check-in Special for foursquare users during Open Studio Weekend – I’m not giving any hints on that, so be sure to come by.

Note: My studio is open by appointment year-round. Feel free to contact me if you’d like to stop by (I need time to clean).