A total of 23 artists and 15 studios are part of the 25 th annual Back Roads of Brown County Studio Tour, to be held during the month of October, 2023.
All studios are open 10 a. m.-6 p. m. on Wednesdays – Saturdays in October. Some are also open 10 a. m.- 6 p. m. on Sundays. Others are open year-round by appointment.
Information on the free, selfguided tour can be found on maps distributed at many locations in Brown County or on its website, < bcstudiotour. com >.
She spent 1974-76 as a volunteer for the Peace Corps in Jamaica, working as a teacher trainer for“ basic” schools, which she described as akin to preschools operated by individuals. The requirements for teachers, she said, was to be 17 or older, and be able to read and write.
There, she said she learned she had to teach teachers how to read books to children.“ I thought, this is it, picture books.” Since her contract prohibited her from making a profit on activities, she created and sold paintings, using the money to buy picture books and donate them to the basic schools.
Upon leaving the Peace Corps, Martha enrolled at Indiana University and earned a master’ s degree in Library Science, which included a class in storytelling.
At IU, she met her husband Kim. They had a class together, and she remembers him sitting in the library with a book about Native Americans on the table in front of him.
Continued on 64 Sept./ Oct. 2023 • Our Brown County 63