Author Archives: heather

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Toni Easterson explores the “Fabric of Our Lives”

Posted on October 3, 2013

Toni Easterson’s studio, like many others, is in her house. It has a southern exposure with lovely light pouring in through 3 big windows; what better place in the house to work? It is a very neat and organized studio with swathes of color hiding behind beautiful cupboard doors.    Toni trained as a graphic artist- so many from her family, past and present, are artists.  She originally had a graphic design and advertising business  in Connecticut but one day went to an exhibit at the Textile Design Center in Minneapolis and fell in love with fabric. She brings this … Continue reading →

A quick tour of Kip O’Krongly’s amazingly neat and tidy studio.

  It’s always fun to see other artists’ studios- that’s the philosophy behind the tour! Where do people create? What inspires them and how have they arranged or adapted a space to work best for them? Kip’s studio is upstairs in her house and is amazingly neat and tidy for a potter who works with a dark clay like Terra Cotta. Kip does a lot of work with  stencils and has evolved from hand-cutting out reusable stencils from thin plastic to using a stencil cutting machine called a Silhouette Cameo which has given her a lot more flexibility in sizing and … Continue reading →

Get a sampling of some of our Artour artists at the Riverfront Fine Arts Festival this weekend!

Eight of our Studio Artour artists will be participating in the Art Fair this weekend (Sept. 7 & 8) down along the Cannon River behind the Northfield Arts Guild in Northfield, Minnesota This is a wonderful art fair with the added attraction of being held during the Defeat of Jesse James Days in Northfield, Mn.   Along with great art you can eat fun food, go on rides,  and watch a reenactment of the bank robbery with horses and full costumes! Participating artists include: Patsy Dew -photography Heather Lawrenz- Jewelry Glynnis Lessing-Ceramics Kathy Miller – Painting Colleen Riley-Ceramics Judy Saye-Willis -Jewelry … Continue reading →

New Artists Join the ArTour!

Posted on August 15, 2013

The tour is back!  Hey ArTour fans, planning has been underway to bring you another wonderful ArTour this fall. We hope you are making plans to go back and see your favorite artists but also see who’s new! Here are our New artists: Toni Easterson- textiles Joan Herzog- painting Kip O’ krongly- ceramics Glynnis lessing-ceramics Diane McDonald-Painting and Patricia Mazurkiewicz-painting. Additionally, the brochure is going to change a little! It will offer a new layout with the  idea of a tour within a tour. That is, if you want to only look for Ceramics, all the ceramic artists will be grouped together.  … Continue reading →

2013 Studio ArTour Artists

Posted on July 2, 2013

Join us for the 9th annual Studio ArTour October 19 & 20, here are the artists you can see: Artist Studio Medium Artist Studio Medium Kathy Anderson 7 Textiles Annie Larson 2 Jewelry Julie Arthur 13 Textiles Heather Lawrenz 2 Jewelry Ian Baldry 2 Textiles Glynnis Lessing 3 Ceramics Cathy Collison 6 Glass Dianne Lockerby 10 Ceramics Marybeth Coyle 18 Jewelry Dawn Makarios 13 Ceramics Susan Crow 17 Jewelry Patricia Mazurkiewicz 14 Painting Patsy Dew 7 Photography Diane McDonald 5 Painting Lisa Dolezal 14 Ceramics Kathy Miller 16 Painting Toni Easterson 15 Textiles Kip O’Krongly 12 Ceramics John Ehresmann 6 … Continue reading →

Image of the year

Posted on March 29, 2013

Thank you to Maryrose Gondeck for providing this beautiful black and white drawing. It is our iconic image for the 2013 Studio ArTour.  Interested in participating? The application is available here, and the deadline for applying is this Sunday, March 31st.

A Kiln Collaboration

Posted on October 18, 2012

There’s a Christmas-like atmosphere about once a month out at the old Halling kiln.  We opened the cooled kiln yesterday to finally view our transformed pots.  Five days ago we put in our bisqued pots, which were covered in various glazes. Then, a few days later, after a day of turning that brick box into a veritable inferno, we open it up to find, voila — our finished, gleaming, colorful pots! This October three local women potters collaborated on the filling and firing of the kiln: Barbara Zaveruha (functional stoneware), Juliane Shibata (sculptural and functional porcelain) and newcomer, Glynnis Lessing … Continue reading →

Cannon Falls Charm

Posted on October 17, 2012

Tucked away in the hills of Sogn Valley is the studio of pastel painter and educator Becky Jokela (stop #13). Her intimately detailed landscapes capture the idyllic countryside surrounding her home and studio. Visiting artist Julie Arthur weaves graceful textiles (scarves, shawls, runners, rugs) using her own hand-spun yarns. Visit Becky and Julie on the Studio ArTour this Saturday and Sunday.

Widely Different Artists Share Space on the Studio ArTour

Posted on October 17, 2012

Take the road to Faribault to see a number of artists including this duo who will display in Julie Fakler’s studio. (stop #10) Deborah Johnson transforms beautiful kimono silk remnants into colorful table runners. Her craft is Rozome or Japanese batik, which lends itself to a painterly style using brushes instead of the traditional tools associated with the process. In 2008 she traveled to Japan on a textile tour led by Betsy Sterling Benjamin, artist and author of the World of Rozome – Wax Resist Textiles of Japan. Inspired by Japanese Rozome artists she developed her own style and methods … Continue reading →

Metal, Fibers, Clay and Jewelry at Studio #2

Posted on October 16, 2012

The artists all be at work at Studio #2. You can watch and maybe even try your hand. Ian Baldry is bringing her knitting machine so you can see how she gets those delicate patterns in the wristlets and the complex three dimensional stitching in her scarves. Emily Haskell works in clay using the slab technique to build funky little houses and masks. She will also be demonstrating and might let you get your hands dirty. We have a restroom so you can clean up afterwards.   Heather Lawrenz will undoubtedly be making earrings and trying to keep up with … Continue reading →

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