ITHACA, N.Y. — The 2019-20 season of the Community Arts Partnership’s Greater Ithaca Art Trail has begun!
The Trail’s annual Open Studio Weekends are on October 5-6 AND October 12-13, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. On those two weekends, 41 artists open their studios, giving art enthusiasts the opportunity to visit whoever they like. There’s no fee, no registration – just get in your car with your art-loving friends and go!
Now in its 21th year, and with over 5,000 studio visits each year, the Art Trail continues to grow and gain visitor anticipation. Explorers on the trail will find painters, photographers, sculptors, printmakers, fiber artists, ceramists, makers of fine furniture, collage artists, illustrators, mixed media artists, digital artists, creators of decorative functional art, and a blacksmith.
Some studios are in downtown Ithaca, while others are along rural roads with hayfields as neighbors. Some are in cozy living rooms and some spaces are as interesting as the work itself. From scraps of paper and shards of glass to an unfinished canvas or the smell of wet clay, an artist’s studio contains countless clues as to what lies beneath their work.
Many visitors come to browse, taking advantage of seeing art where it is created. The artists are happy to talk about their creative process and hope that visitors gain a new appreciation of the art-making process. Those who are on a quest to buy fine art will find art priced from $10 to $8,000 and everything in between. According to Robin Schwartz, Program Director of the Community Arts Partnership, Artists on the trail offer a broad collection of original work at a wide variety of prices. Purchasing art can be an exhilarating experience and connecting with the artist is part of that experience!”
This is truly an outstanding event. Not only does Tompkins County have a wealth of amazing artists, it’s also a beautiful area to visit, especially in October when the fall foliage is at its peak. Forty-one studios mean 41 adventures.
We hope visitors spread the word to all of their art-loving friends and enjoy this adventure together. One 2018 visitor commented: “I had so much fun … and the artists were so terrific, I grabbed some friends and went the next weekend as well!”
To download the brochure and map, and learn more about each artist, visit ArtTrail.com.
Stories from three artists along the Art Trail
DON ELLIS: This is Don Ellis’ third year on the Greater Ithaca Art Trail. His painting and mobile art studio faces one of Trumansburg’s maple-lined streets. While his front porch leads to his painting studio, his outdoor mobiles are swinging in the trees throughout his property, with self-guided information on markers.
“In childhood, I sketched some and built all kinds of things using found materials. After other adventures, I landed in the Syracuse University School of Architecture where I was consumed by art and design. I eventually retired and now I have only art. I’m working on many different threads of work that include outdoor mobiles, an icon for the Finger Lakes, a series of drawings based on local history across the Finger Lakes, furniture, book binding, poems, and abstract expressionist painting. When my work enriches anyone’s life I am pleased.”
JOAN SHROYER-KENO: This is Joan Shroyer-Keno’s first year on the Greater Ithaca Art Trail.
“I have lived in Ohio, Mississippi, Wisconsin and Tennessee and have now been settled in Dryden, NY for over 20 years. After years of corporate logistics work as an information management specialist, where I used my creative abilities to solve problems, I now use them to create fanciful, up-cycled treasures.
Years before I retired, I knew I wanted to work with metal someday, but had no specific inspiration. I bought some silver flatware at a garage sale. I made a simple fish and a teapot wind chime. Now I create 20 different sea creatures out of flatware as well as mobiles and chimes. I so enjoy saving my creation’s components from landfills and turning them into surprises that delight.
The basement studio in my home on Lake Road, Dryden is calm and quiet. From the corners of my studio and imagination, dart my creations: fishes, squid, sea snakes and species yet to be discovered! Each have whimsical smiling or wicked toothy faces. Careful assembly yields delicate, dulcet tones. Bright, beads glitter.”
ANNEMIEK HARALSON: This is Annemiek Haralson’s first year on the Greater Ithaca Art Trail.
“I can’t remember a time I was not sketching or drawing. A few years ago my mom brought over a huge pile of artwork I had done as a kid. I had forgotten all about how prolific I was! It showed me I had always had it in me to express my view of the world through art.
Between my nursing career, going back to school, and raising kids I took the occasional class or workshop. A few years ago I took a college class in drawing and completely lost my heart to art. I felt like this is what I was meant to do. Since then I have been painting consistently.
I paint mostly from nature, and often find my inspiration while hiking in this beautiful area we live at. I make sketches and paint outside whenever I can. Being in the actual environment helps me make feel more connected to what I am painting. In my work I hope to convey my love for nature and the beauty around us. There is never an end to learning, and you just never know where it leads to.”
Featured image: Don Ellis has his outdoor mobiles blowing in the breeze at his Trumansburg studio. (Provided Photo)