The 17th annual On Common Ground Studio Tour takes place this year Sat. Oct 16 and Sun. Oct. 17, with studios open 10-5 each day. There are 11 stops on the circular route, with 23 talented artists and craftspeople ready to show you their work and explain to you just how they do what they do.

We have a nice mix of 16 returning artists and artisans and 7 who are new to the tour this year. Everything is explained on our website www.ocgstudiotour.ca where you can download a tour map. The artisans' studios are clustered around the South Mountain area in Eastern Ontario in a compact driving circle that can be accessed easily from Highways 43, 416, 31, 401 and 2. Brochures are locally available and studios are well marked by common signage. You are invited to phone the helpful and bilingual Monique O'Brien, one of the tour participants at 613-989-5426 for more information.

 
It's a real eye opener to see just how many talented people have chosen this area of Ontario in which to live and work. A few "outsiders" are also invited to show their work and skills, usually something unusual or different, as an added aspect of our tour. Every participant is juried to ensure a high level of workmanship and a well displayed product. All participants are able to demonstrate or explain their processes, materials and expertise.
 

It is a chance to buy competitively priced, locally produced work directly from the artist and artisan's studios.  There is something for everyone whether you are shopping for gifts or treating yourself.
 

We provide a lunch stop, this year at Sandy Row Golf Course, where 2 new artists will  be showing their work. Cindy Laneville is pleased to join the Studio Tour  this year. A mosaic artist using stained glass, she creates not only art on rescued window frames, but also a range of functional pieces including tables, mirrors, lamps, etc. Cindy is inspired by  "day to day" routines and often injects humour in her designs.

Mike Laking, also new to the tour and showing at the Golf Course, is a digital photo artisan specializing in flowers. Using computer graphic techniques and his original photographs, he creates unique digital giclée photoart that emulates painting styles reminiscent of Georgia O'Keeffe. His fine art giclées are printed in limited editions using museum quality archival inks, paper and canvas and are in collections across North America.

Also new to our tour this year, but very familiar to regular visitors to Ontario craft shows, are Ron Tremback and and Patty Robertson of Solar Woodcuts. They design and cut fretwork, using similar techniques to those that have been in use for close to 3,000 years. Many people just assume that their work is done by a laser machine or some other computer controlled device and are surprised to hear that it has been created by hand.

We are also happy to welcome Fiona Plunkett on this year's tour. She creates hand carved and polished soapstone sculptures. Most are inspired by the natural world, but the stone often suggests to her what it should be. It has been known to happen that a buffalo has turned into a whale, or a discarded off-cutting becomes a cat or a wolf.
 

Hélène Watelle also is on the tour for the first time. She designs jewelry with semi-precious stone and Argentium, a tarnish resistant form of sterling silver. In the past year she has explored different fabrication techniques like fusion of silver, chain maille and viking knit, which add exquisite form and texture to each piece.

This year, another member of the talented Squissato family will be joining the tour. Laura and Mel are very pleased to welcome Elizabeth, another of Mel's 5 daughters, whose photographs will be shown at the Ronson Road studio. Elizabeth's work is inspired by the muted colours and gentle landscapes of southern Ontario, and by the monumental beauty of the American Southwest. She also has a passion for architecture, urban scenes, both ancient and modern, signs and symbols, and idiosyncratic visual juxtapositions.

Mel is the patriarch of the family.  A very popular woodworker, this year he has invested in a new and larger wood lathe capable of turning interesting tree burls, allowing him to make larger bowls as well as deeper and larger hollow turnings. You won't believe what he can do with Manitoba Maple, one of the many domestic and exotic woods he uses.

This stop is all about family connections, as Laura originally started making her precise and perfectly defined  stained glass window panels using her mother's tools and guidance. She has progressed to using kiln-fired fusion, enjoying this opportunity to create 3-dimensional pieces.

Another tour stop with a family connection is Sunshine Pottery, the studio of the popular potter and pottery teacher, Monique O'Brien. This year, her daughter Linda De La Torre is showing mosaics (hot plates, wall hangings, mirrors and serving trays) as well as jewelry. Linda is making a lot of jewelry for children this year. Undoubtedly her own child has inspired this new direction. And, something for adults, Linda has started to make pendants using soldered glass and cloth. They are fun pieces, each with a unique touch.
 

Their guest artist is their friend Janet Whittam, who will be demonstrating hand weaving. Janet was inspired to start weaving when she assumed she would inherit her grandmother's loom. Like her grandmother, she likes to weave "rag" pieces, a very eco-friendly style of weaving that uses scraps of cloth to make rugs, place mats, table runners, etc. Janet always likes these pieces to be distinctly colourful and very practical. This philosophy extends to woven clothing, household linens and baskets. She has participated in all 17 years of the tour.

Jewelry artist, Rain Kazymerchyk, opens her newly renovated studio in the town of South Mountain. Inspired by her new space, she is creating beautiful new designs in Sterling silver with some of her favourite stones; Cantera opals, Alberta Ammolite and meteorites.

Debbie Gilmer will be demonstrating throwing techniques on her pottery wheel. She has added new glazes and design concepts to her extensive line of celtic inspired stoneware.
 

Her guest artist, Loretta Moore, is a rug hooker. She hand-dyes new and recycled cloth, which  is cut into strips. She then pulls it through various backings to create rugs, table runners, purses, wall hangings and chair pads. New to the tour this year are kits based on her own designs in this historic art form dating back to the 1800's. She is always willing to help a new rug hooker get started.
 

Pam Sherrer's work has evolved from painting on china to creating hand built sculptures with porcelain clay and casting slip. Her exquisite collection consists of unique forms, and vases, along with a  jewelry and buttons.

Returning for the third year, Natalie Gosselin welcomes you to her Blue Turtle Studio, nestled in the woods at the north end of the tour. Here you will find a variety of decorative and functional ceramic and glasswork.

For more information about the On Common Ground Studio Tour and the artists and artisans, please refer to our website at www.ocgstudiotour.ca