drawing by Joe Lee
Note From the Editor Take the Back Roads Studio Tour
Did you know there are more than 200 people living in Brown County that are working artists and craftsmen? There is something about this county that attracts creative souls. Perhaps it is the beauty of the place with its hills and hollers. Maybe it is the artist colony atmosphere and camaraderie passed down from the previous century’ s early artists. Or maybe there is a special, primitive spirit here that drew the artists from the cities in the first place.
Every fall some of those artists and craftsmen open their studios to allow you to get a glimpse of what inspires them to produce beautiful things. The Back Roads of Brown County Studio Fall Tour lasts the entire month of October and guides you through the scenic ways around the hills and valleys from studio to studio. The tour headquarters is the T. C. Steele State Historic Site, studio, home, and gardens of Brown County’ s first resident artist, Theodore Clement Steele( darn, no relation). Thirteen additional studios are on the tour with seven of the featured artists / craftsmen recognized as Indiana Artisans, the state’ s official organization to review and promote the work of highest-quality artisans.
The artisans work hard to build up their inventories for the tour. For months, they have been busy weaving rugs, throwing pots, painting gourds and canvases, making jewelry, carving wood, welding metal pieces, dyeing scarves, taking photographs, and making cards. Even if you took the tour in previous years, you will see new goods at every stop. If you repeat the tour every year, you get an opportunity to build relationships with the artisans. You see their work change over time, and you get to add to collections.
I feel fortunate to know many of the artists on the tour having worked with them to provide advertising, or getting to know them from taking photographs for articles in this publication, or through an association with the Art Alliance Brown County. Some of them have mentored with me at the BETA teen center, too. I enjoy taking the tour in October because it gives me a chance to escape from the bustle of town to meander along the back roads and go visit my friends. I often stop to take photos along the way.
I invite you to take the Back Roads Tour and go at your own pace. If you don’ t have time to visit all the studios, come back another day and pick up where you left off. There’ s no hurry. You’ re in Brown County.
You can pick up a brochure of the tour at the Visitors Center and many places throughout Brown County. You can also visit the tour website < www. BrownCountyStudioTour. com >.
— Cindy Steele Sept./ Oct. 2014 • Our Brown County 13