PA Eats is a proud media sponsor of the Chester County Studio Tour.
This past weekend, artists throughout Chester County opened up their studios to the public for the 6th annual Chester County Studio Tour. This year’s tour showcased 23 studios and 53 artists over two days, and despite the cloudy, rainy weather, art lovers came out in droves to take a sneak peek inside these creative spaces, meet the artists and find art that speaks to them.
Pop artist Jeff Schaller’s Pink Cow Studio, located behind his house in Glenmoore, was the first space I visited. Locals are probably most familiar with Jeff’s work inside Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurants, where he has done the large mural for all of their locations. Jeff and David Haines also have a show, Cuba-ism, based on a recent trip to Cuba, that is currently showing at the Chester County Art Association, and he occasionally writes for PA Eats.
Jeff’s studio is one awesome space. Located steps away from the family’s inground pool, the studio houses many of his impressive pieces. Jeff works in encaustic, which is painting with heated wax. “The paints take 20 minutes to warm up and it’s hot,” he explained. Because of this, he has a ventilation system set up in the studio and has to work quickly because the wax paint dries so quickly. Jeff held up a small encaustic painting so we could run our hands over the wax covering the canvas.
Out in Jeff’s yard, several other artists had set up tents featuring their artwork, and the variety of art represented was impressive. Automobile art, cityscapes, pop art, and country scenes—one of the great joys of the day was meeting the artists behind the work.
David Haines had his tent set up in Jeff’s yard for the second year. “I actually came as a patron,” David explained. “I met Jeff initially by buying his work and we eventually we became acquaintances and he said, ‘You should show, I like your work.’” Discussing why he enjoys doing the studio tour, David elaborated, “It’s nice that each artist has their own separate vibe and a feel. I like getting to meet the people at this outdoor event. Some people are hesitant to go in a gallery, but here people feel free to walk through.”
For Phoenixville artist Theresa Haag, this was her first year with the studio tour. “I met an artist who showed here last year,” Theresa explained, “Then I met Jeff, and he’s great and I got excited.” When I learned that Theresa has been showing for a just little over a year, I was stunned, because her work has such a classic feel to it. “I just got done with a two-man show in Phoenixville. Last summer, I did the Manayunk Emerging Artists booth, and last May was my first show.”
Dan Reed’s automobile paintings are amazing in their detail. This was Dan’s first time on this studio tour, he mostly sets up shop at local car shows where he often receives commissions to paint the automobiles of car lovers. “A theme that people tend to like is featuring a classic car in front of a vintage dealership. I make it personalized,” Dan said of his work.
On Sunday morning, I visited two more studios in West Chester, both located in the same block of unassuming, historical row homes in the 400 block of West Market Street.
Suzanne Kent and her husband Michael Dutcher have turned one row home into her workspace with Michael’s painting studio set a short walk away through a beautiful garden. Suzanne has worked with pottery for 35 years, and her plates, mugs, colanders and bowls were shown throughout the first floor of the house. Michael used to work in metals, but more recently has focused on bold paintings with large swatches of color.
In the rear of the house, Suzanne has an electric kiln for her pottery, though she also often uses wood-fired large kilns in Baltimore, Md. and Wallingford, Pa. Discussing where she shows her work, Suzanne, explained, “I go to about ten craft fairs during a year. We do an open house in our studio twice a year, and Wallingford Potters Guild also has two shows this year.”
Regarding the community’s response to the tour, Suzanne remarked that she was pleased, explaining, “Ninety percent of the people who come through are people we’ve never met before. Several people have said they have driven by and always wondered what’s behind the doorway.”
“Yesterday, the weather held out really well,” she explained. We could spend time talking with people. It’s different for people to see artwork in this context instead of a gallery. I went home feeling euphoric about it.”
A few doors down, Diane Cirafesi opened up her home and studio. Diane’s living room and kitchen were filled with beautiful art, photographs and mementos. Up a narrow winding staircase, her working studio was a delight to the eye, filled with knickknacks and her tools of the trade. Diane told me, “I’m a drawer at heart, and it goes from there to painting and I throw in junk and found objects—but mostly it is blood, sweat and tears.”
Diane was also excited about the turnout for this year’s tour. “People who come through are real art lovers. I have had an open house before, but these people look forward to it, and they are ready to appreciate art, they are really into art—so that is really gratifying in itself.”
The Chester County Studio Tour is free and open to the public. My biggest regret this year was that I had commitments and I didn’t get to spend both days going from studio to studio. I’m clearing my calendar for next year, as the event is scheduled to unfold again on May 17 and 18, 2014.
Photo credits: Jim Breslin.
