Free studio tour showcases Clark County artists
By Elizabeth Pannell
LITTLE ROCK — It’s time once again to load up the car and take a trip to Clark County for the Round About Artist Studio Tour presented by the Caddo River Art Guild.
The tour is designed to spotlight a diverse selection of art by regional artists in the Arkadelphia and Bismarck area. The free, self-guided driv ing tour takes guests to the private studios of working artistsin order to view original creations and possibly watch a demonstration by the artist. Visitors can pick up a guidebook, which contains a map, beginning Monday, Oct. 13, through Sunday, Oct. 19, at J & S Framing, 513 Main St., in Arkadelphia. Maps can also be picked up Wednesday, Oct. 15, through Sunday, Oct. 19, at Jo Ann Diffee Art Gallery at 7214 AR-7 in Bismarck.
The 26 studios will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday. Each studio will have art for sale from the affordably priced unique gifts to the higher priced larger pieces for the art collector.
Farrell Ford, president of the Caddo River Art Guild, said the tour is the “main emphasis of our work.”
“It is our hope, as the tour get established, to locate the other artists in the area,” Ford said. “Our aim is to find the artists and help them promote and market their work.”
Ford said last year’s tour welcomed 650 visitors from 33 Arkansas cities and 11 states. This year the tour added four new artists.
George Baker and his wife took the tour last year, and now they have become part of the tour as artists.
“Last year’s tour is what attracted me to the guild,” Baker said. “My wife and I took the tour and enjoyed it so much I wanted to be a part of it.I attended a meeting and the rest is history.”
Baker’s art is wood car ving, specifically wooden bowls and spoons, commonly called treen ware.
“I have been involved in this hobby for about 25 years,” Baker said. “In the past I never sold my work, but gave it away as Christmas or birthday gifts. It gave me so much pleasure to have one of my bowls or spoons in the kitchens of friends or relatives.”
Baker said he still plans to give his art as gifts, but he is “curious to see if they will sell.”
John and Deborah Tackett have a studio in Caddo Valley. John sculpts and paints and Deborah is a photographer.
“After a hiatus of about 30 years, I’ve picked up art again, and I am really enjoying it,” John Tackett said. “I began with creating sculptures, using gourds, old sheet metal and wood. From there I’ve moved into painting with watercolor and ink. In this year’s tour, my offerings will be about equally divided between the two types of art.”
Deborah said the tour has provided a “wonderful release for our creative sides and is a nice distraction from our normal business life.”
“This year I have about 150 varied matted pieces,” Deborah said. “I’ve also got about 20 framed pieces, 20 miniature framed photos, mouse pad, trivets and a large selection of note cards.”
Guild Secretary Rita Earles is a participating artist in the tour. Her main areas of focus are portraits and miniatures.
“I am excited about the art tour for several reasons; we are providing our community with a free family event that we hopewill provide them with creative and cultural experiences,” Earles said. “We are providing a venue for support of local artists and hope to educate the public as to the value of original art and expression.”
Other types of art that will be on display and for sale includes pottery, oil paintings, wire-wrapped jewelry, fused glass, metal sculptures, crayon art and paper tole.
Ford said because of the price of gas, “it remains to be seen if gas prices will affect the attendance of the tour.”
“Many visitors come in buses and carpools,” Ford said. “To have the art displayed inone place defeats the purpose of the tour, which is to see the artists’ studios and observe them at work with their art. We do have two places where there are more than two artists present because they do not have a place to display.”
Tour artists said the tour provides them with a way to keep in touch with other artists.
“The tour has put me in contact with other artists and given me motivation to create and pursue this fascinating hobby,” John Tackett said.
The art guild was estab - lished in 2007 as a nonprofit organization with the purposeand mission to promote the visual arts in the Clark County and surrounding area. Membership is open to anyone interested in producing or learning about art and promoting local artists and their work. The group meets monthly and they provide classes and workshops throughout the year.
Baker said he “can’t say enough” about the importance of the guild and artist tour.
“The impact of art on one’s life is so profound, yet a number of people fail to get very far from home to enjoy it,” Baker said. “The tour brings art to the people and people to the art.”
This article was published Sunday, October 5, 2008.
Tri-Lakes, Pages 125, 129 on 10/05/2008
