By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON October 17, 2012 One of the fun things you can do in November is take in the Art in Action Studio Tour.
You get to drive around the city, spend time in ten different locations looking at all kinds of art from some very, very nice wood turning, to iron work, or stained glass if that works for you.
Thirty six artists – ten locations – you will see much that you like and some you may want to buy.
The event is put on by Art in Action – an artist’s collective that puts on the event each year on a Saturday and a Sunday – this year it will take place November 3rd and 4th – from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
You get to meet the artists and talk about the work they do – which ranges all over the map. Sort of like going to ten different art galleries.
There are ten studio stops where 36 artists will have their work set out.
Paintings, jewellery, glassware, weaving – this city has a rich artistic community that you can experience in a single day. You might even get to know many of them personally.
We did this tour last year for the first time – it went so well that we invited friends to join us this year.
What will you see? Well there is a brochure but it’s more fun just to dive from location to location and be surprised when you walk in the door.
Don’t be shy about walking into someone’s home. They want you to come in. As you make the rounds you will find that you bump into people you saw earlier in the day and you get to exchange ideas and comment on what you saw.
Last year we watched Don Graves sell a piece of art to a young woman who had not bought art before. She didn’t really see herself as an art collector but the paining appealed to he and the price was right – so she bought it.
At another location there was an almost party atmosphere. I swear that if we had had a bottle of wine in the trunk of the car the party would have begun right then. I’ve learned that the same group will be opening up their home again this year – and we will put a bottle of wine in the trunk of the car – you never know. Where did this happen last year? That would be telling but it was in the western part of the city – in a valley.
All 10 locations can be done in a day. You’ll see parts of the city you’ve not seen before as well.
How do you buy art? There is usually a price sticker on the piece but you’re not in a supermarket, this isn’t a commodity you’re buying. The object you buy is something the artist has spent many hours on and they put a lot of themselves into the piece you’re looking at.
What if you think you like it – but you’re not sure. Many of the artists will rent a piece of their work. Each artist will have their own approach to rentals – but if you’re interested in a rental – talk to them. What if the piece is more than you want to spend at that moment – but you really like the piece? Many artists are quite happy to take a couple of postdated cheques from you. They can’t be dated too far into the future – the artist would like to be alive when they are deposited.
Artists are people you can work with – they want good homes for their art and they want to sell what they make to people they like. So – if you’re not an art buyer – but you think you’d like to be an art buyer – pick either the Saturday or the Sunday and drive around. You’ll enjoy yourself.
Meet some really interesting artists as well as Burlingtonians who will be doing what you’re doing – looking around.
