Ninth Annual McKinney Art Studio Tour ( MAST ) Opens the Door to Local Studios
By Lynne Weinberger
If you ’ ve ever wondered exactly how art is created , forty-eight artists from the McKinney area will welcome art lovers and collectors to their studios - and share their creative inspiration - at the ninth annual McKinney Art Studio Tour ( MAST ) on November 11 & 12 , 2017 .
In 2009 , McKinney Art House owner Sona Knox and a handful of local artists created the tour to connect McKinney-area artists with the DFW Metroplex . MAST has grown exponentially each year , providing a self-paced , behind-the-scenes look at artists , their studios and processes .
Hands-on demonstrations and original art for sale by four dozen artists offer a look at a variety of media including pottery , wood-turning , painting , printmaking , glass , fiber art and more . Original art and commissions are available .
New this year is an exhibition and sale of original art from every participating tour artist . The exhibition and sale will be at the Heard-Craig Center for the Arts , a historic home near the McKinney square , centrally located to the tour , and will be ongoing all weekend during MAST .
MAST is on Saturday , November 11 from 10:00am – 6:00pm and Sunday , November 12 from noon – 5:00 pm in McKinney .
Demonstrations of a variety of art forms and techniques will be ongoing throughout the tour :
• Unique wood vessels hand-turned on a lathe using local felled trees ;
• Painting techniques using watercolors , oils , pastels , alcohol inks , and acrylics ;
• Pottery turned on wheels , hand-built or slab-rolled , then kiln- or raku-fired ;
• Glass art , leather work , photography and more from dozens of local awardwinning artists .
The McKinney Art Studio Tour is free and open to the public . Visitors may tour dozens of McKinney galleries , coop artist locations and home studios .
In 2016 over 1100 attendees toured MAST studio locations . Maps are provided at many tour locations and online . For more information on participating artists , please visit MAST at mckinneyartstudiotour . com and on Facebook .
20 DALLAS COUNTY Living Well Magazine | NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2017