Last of the Batch – Sixteen Hands Studio Tour: Day Two
The Sixteen Hands Studio Tour, whether taking it or hosting it, is a great way to meet interesting people. As one of the stops on the tour, having our house open all weekend is kind of like having an all weekend party.
For tour-goers, it’s fun to see the potter’s studios in their country home settings. People were sometimes as interested in the story behind our log cabin on the Parkway and our lifestyle as they were in the pots on display. Some lingered at my flower gardens and asked questions about growing vegetables and others socialized.
My Asheville potter son Josh, the newest member of Sixteen Hands is the only member on the tour who doesn’t have a working studio to show out of, but he grew up here and his childhood home, transformed into a gallery, stood in for a studio. My husband Joe and I tried our best to stand in for Josh, who happens to be at wood firing conference in Australia.
Sunday tour-goers traveled from as far as Greensboro, Grandfather Mountain, Charlottesville and even Asheville, where my son and his guest artist/potter are from. We were happy to see a few folks from the neighborhood come out and some from the weekend planning gathering of the nearby Floyd Eco-village, an up-and-coming multi-generational intentional community focused on sustainability.
The most common story I heard over the studio tour weekend was ‘we do this ever year. We stay at a B&B, take the tour and visit the local wineries.’ We got a lot of representation from Roanoke tour-goers who had attended Roanoke’s open art studio tour on Saturday. Others came from Ferrum, Blacksburg and Radford.
The main draw to the studio tour is that people like to make a personal connection with the potters who make the work they see in galleries. The tour always draws collectors and other potters, as well as art lovers in general. You can watch a video of guest artist potter Joey Sheehan (pictured on the right writing up a sale) explaining to a customer how he creates the design and texture on his pots HERE. Read about Sixteen Hands Studio Tour: Day One HERE.
The next Sixteen Hands Studio Tour will be November 25-27 and Josh will be back in the house. See you then!
May 2nd, 2011 4:33 pm
[…] Read about Day Two HERE. […]
May 2nd, 2011 6:51 pm
Great info on the sixteen hands tour!!
I really like the picture of you and Joe. I also like the pottery displayed on both entries. I like the woman’s haircut too in the 5th picture…….that is my kind of art as you well know.
May 2nd, 2011 6:58 pm
I like her hair too. Maybe you can style mine like that next time we are together.
May 4th, 2011 10:28 am
looks like there was a decent amount of people thru.
May 4th, 2011 11:09 pm
[…] Hosting Sixteen Hands Studio Tour at my house for my Asheville Potter Son Josh with more than 100 people coming and going throughout […]
May 11th, 2011 2:43 pm
Love the photo of you and Joe, Colleen…you guys look so happy together!
Wendy
June 23rd, 2011 12:25 am
[…] 10. I’m still looking for that bright yellow mole trap that someone thought was a Tonka truck and tossed in the bushes in my yard during the 16 Hand Studio Tour. […]