Celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Granby Artists Association at its annual Open Studio Tour Oct. 16 and 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Meet the artists and see a wide range of artwork including glasswork, woodworking, painting, pottery, jewelry and more.
This event, which is free and open to the public, offers an exceptional opportunity to visit working artists in a studio environment. Art lovers will also have the chance to see live demonstrations of how the artists create their own unique works. Visit granbyartists.org to preview the art and to plan your itinerary. A map is included in this issue of the Granby Drummer. Maps can also be downloaded online and will be available for pick up at Northwest Community Bank during normal business hours.
Visitors are asked to wear masks and follow other posted COVID precautions, such as using provided hand sanitizer, at each venue.
The participating artists and their locations:
Alexander Anisimov—Painting,
2 Park Place
Russian by birth, Alex was raised with sculptors, painters and mosaic artists. He loves challenging assignments and transforming the colors of nature into man made paints. He is known for his portraiture and his beautiful nature paintings.
Sally Sargent Markey—Painting/Fimo Jewelry, 137 Wells Road
Sally is a freelance artist and book illustrator, with work represented in shops and galleries in New England and in private collections across the country. She will present watercolor paintings along with her Fimo clay jewelry. In additional she will offer demonstrations of her Fimo clay techniques.
Silver Street Glass—Blown Glass,
105 Silver Street
Mark Gottlieb will be doing glass blowing demos of various techniques throughout the tour weekend. You will be able to watch how a blown glass vase is created. Annukka Ritalahti will offer flame working demos, making small figurines, blown hollow beads and marbles. Annukka’s studio is a place where different cold and hot glass techniques can be used and sample pieces of those are displayed.
Linda Yurasevecz—Pottery,
31 Barndoor Hills Road
Linda loves creating Raku pottery. She fires her pieces at home using a small electric kiln. Her daughter helps to remove the red-hot pieces and place them in a container with combustibles, resulting in stunning sculptural and functional works of art.
Avis Cherichetti—Pottery,
31 Barndoor Hills Road
Avis shared, “Clay occurs naturally but for my work several clays are mixed at a supplier to give the properties needed for specific firing temperatures. I am happy to report that over 80 percent of the clay I use is recycled from clay trimmings that potters with whom I am acquainted are discarding. Look for a short video of that recycling process, coming soon to the Granby Artists website.”
Barbara Schmitt—Chainsaw Carving, 2 Woodland Drive
Barbara says, “Besides the love of the wood grains and 3D art, when I carve, I get a sense of flow and focus that I don’t experience very often, and it simply feels right. I love to imagine what a piece may be and see how it develops within the wood. My latest project was a Pug named Penny made from an ash tree.”
Laura Eden—Painting,
11 Juniper Drive
Laura’s work has been collected by over 1,400 private and corporate collectors throughout the U.S. and abroad. She is renowned for her egg tempera and fine art paintings. For the tour, Laura will showcase a collection of new ocean pebbles and shells paintings as well as her classic winter birch.
George Mattingly—Painting,
349 Salmon Brook Street, 2nd Floor
George specializes in oil painting. As an avid outdoorsman, he is drawn to the natural world and that has been the focus of his paintings to date.
Lori Catlin Garcia—Jewelry, Lost Acres Vineyard, 80 Lost Acres Road
Lori will be exhibiting jewelry made from a variety of mediums, including her signature sterling silver Granby Oak earrings. She also creates pieces from her handmade lampworked glass beads and fused dichroic glass cabochons. Most recently, she has added playful pieces featuring polymer clay in combination with 22k gold.
Doug Williams—Painting/Shaker Boxes, Lost Acres Vineyard, 80 Lost Acres Road
Doug’s oil paintings are often done en plein air or outdoors on location in an impressionist style, inspired by nature, water and light. Doug captures scenes throughout the New England states and from his world travels. He will also be showing his beautiful handcrafted Shaker boxes and clocks.
Sue Canavan—Paper Flowers, Lost Acres Vineyard, 80 Lost Acres Road
Finding inspiration from her own garden, Susan makes crepe paper flowers and foliage. These paper blooms never wilt and bring cheer in any season. All the petals and leaves are hand cut from high-quality crepe paper and additional coloring is achieved with pastels, paints, and dyes.