Vermont Open Studios Highlights

This weekend was the Vermont Open Studios. A lot of driving around but it was so worth it. We were staying with T's brother, Dave and his wife Alison, who had their own Gallery Grand Opening this weekend. He's a potter and I was so happy to see his work. He has achieved so much! And they were so hospitable. I tried to help out as much as I could, however, slept pretty late all 3 mornings. I was on vacation!

Saturday we drove around and saw 2 artists; another potter and a woodcarver. Cool stuff, but I was almost more impressed by the area that they worked in. As in, I step out side of their studios and there were fields and woods and butterflies and cows and Ahhhh Vermont. We had a cookout with the "cookie people"http://adozeneggs.com on Saturday night. Drank homemade Sangria and ate homemade ice cream. D & A are very into organic everything. And everything tasted awesome.

So here are some highlights of the tour on Sunday:

"The Birth of Venus" 24" x 18" Oil on Linen

Elizabeth Torak

http://elizabethtorak.com/

The Torak studio was the last stop on our journey but made the trip worth while. Both her and her husband paint in oils, they make most of their own paint. The studio was gorgeous and they had a big friendly yellow lab :).... We were there for a good part of an hour and just talked and talked. Not only were they fabulous artists but they were generally interested in our artistic careers as well.

Before we went to the Torak Studio we had to stop at the house of Terry Lindsey. She is an Equestrian artist as well as a rep for other equestrian and animal artists. Can you say "Oh jeez, Christine, that's right up your alley!"

"Racing Dreams"

original Oil on Linen 24" x 48" Terry Lindsey
http://www.equidae.com/

http://katieupton.com
Katie Upton is an artist out of Santa Barbara but Terry was her rep and Oh her pieces were soooo cute!

"From the Loft - Summer"

Kathi Peters

16" x 20" Caesin on Canvas

http://kathipeters.com

I can't tell you how excited I was when I saw this piece. I started following Kathi on Twitter (@cobcottage) and have been a fan of her work. In fact, Kathi lives in Maine with her horses, dogs and husband and is always tweeting about where her work is featured as well as the adventures of having a horse farm in Maine. Yes, I am a city girl, but Kathi lives in a situation where I grew up in (horses in the backyard) and there's a part of me that wants to go back there. I strive for my work to be as successful as hers has become. (I saw this piece at Terry's home gallery).

Finally of all the ceramics out in Vermont I had to feature Dave's work. And of course took 2 gorgeous coffee mugs home with me. His stuff falls under both beautiful and functional.

Here's a pic of Dave hard at work in the studio. This is what you do when you live in Vermont with no TV to rot your brain!!! You can check out more of his work on his Flickr stream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/thepotterstone/sets/72157594219017398/

Does this inspire me to work on my own things!? You bet!! I had such a great time and can't wait to do it again!!