Studio tour to feature 12 local artists

Have you ever wanted to try your hand at throwing a pot, or color your world with pastels on paper? Maybe you've always wanted to see how a sculptor works on a large piece of art, what it takes to turn sheets of glass into fine art, or how an artist creates "knitting stitches" in paintings.

Sisters Arts Association celebrates Sisters' community of artists at its first Artist Studio Tour, Saturday, July 29, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is a first for the Sisters Arts Association, and the artists are all getting ready for the event. The artists will welcome you into their homes and studios with light refreshments.

The tour includes painters, potters, jewelers, glass artists, photographers, and sculptors. Meet the artists and view their work, up-close-and-personal. It is a family-friendly event, so children are welcome. This is an opportunity to talk with fine artists in their home environments - and to see their creative process.

Featured artists are Paul Alan Bennett (painting, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. only); Clarke Berryman (oil painting); JoAnn Burgess (pastel); Gary Cooley (bronze sculpture and painting); Caroline Stratton Crow (watercolor and sculpture); Jan Daggett (jewelry); Michelle and Mitch Deaderick (pottery); Linda Hanson (painting and photography); Sandy Melchiori (painting); Ken Merrill (pottery); Randall Tillery (painting); and Susie Zeitner (glass art).

"I'm delighted to be a part of this tour," said Hanson. "I haven't done one of these in a long time," she said. "My home is my studio - and I've spent a lot of time getting it ready, so I hope people come." Both Hanson and Tillery remarked on the success of home studio tours when they each lived in California. "Every year, it got better," Tillery said, referring to both sales and participation by the artists and the public.

"My two areas of interest and specialty are portraiture and wildlife," said Berryman, "and I'll have a couple of pieces in progress as well as some completed ones. I do both commissions and non-commissioned pieces."

Melchiori, a long-time Sisters resident, said "My paintings are described as active, with a high energy of broad exciting brushstrokes of saturated color. I love to paint and have, since I was 10 years old." Her studio sits just outside her home and in her garden, which is a stunning example of her landscape design business, Response to Nature.

Veteran Sisters artists Ken Merrill and Michelle Deaderick, both potters, said that open studio tours have worked very well here years ago, and they are working hard to reposition this event as an annual, or even semi-annual event, in Sisters.

"If people want to get their hands on some clay, Mitch (Deaderick) will help them with throwing pots, and I will have slabs of clay for them to work with," said Michelle Deaderick. It's part of the "up close and personal" nature of the tour that will be fun for all ages.

Some studios - like Cooley's - are compact: his is tucked into the back of The Collection Gallery, while others - like Zeitner's Z Glass Art - take up a large addition to her home. Merrill has developed an increasingly large studio connected to his Canyon Creek Pottery gallery. Stratton Crow creates art at her kitchen table, but oh, what a view she has.

Seven of the 12 participating artists are in Sisters, and the remaining studios are within easy driving distance. This is a self-guided tour. All you need is a map to the studios. You can pick one up at Hood Avenue Art, The Collection Gallery, Clearwater Gallery, Sisters Gallery & Frame Shop, Paulina Springs Books, Raven Makes Gallery, or the Chamber of Commerce.

There is no charge for the tour, but there will be donation boxes at each location, to support the arts in Sisters.

Colorful blue, white and red signs will be posted along the roadside directing visitors on the day of the tour. More information, including artists' profiles and photographs of their work, is available at the SAA website, www.sistersarts.org/studio-tour.