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Potter Noah Hughey-Commers has been creating new wood-fired stoneware items for this year’s Artisans Studio Tour, which takes place Saturday and Sunday and features 39 artisans in 21 different studios.
Johannah Willsey of Phoenix Handcraft, who will display furniture and wall art in forged steel, hand-cut glass mosaic and wood with Kyle Lucia, will be on hand at the Charlottesville studio of quilt artist Mary Beth Bellah. Look for Studio 13 on the Artisans Studio Tour.
Twice a year, potter Noah Hughey-Commers fires up his kiln at Muddy Creek Pottery in Lovingston and spends seven days tending flames. What can be a solitary pursuit the rest of the year becomes an event that unifies fellow artisans in fellowship, community and mutual support.
“I’ve just finished a busy show season,” said Hughey-Commers said. “I got back this morning and lit up my kiln, which I only do about twice a year. It’s kind of a community thing. I host about nine other potters, and it takes about ten of us to fire the kiln.
“I do a four-day firing with three days of low heat before that. It’s a wood firing trying to melt the wood ash.”
Keeping the kiln at a consistent 2,400 degrees means the fire must be fed around the clock to ensure the finest results for Hughey-Commers’ 300 or so pots and another 500 created by the colleagues who help stoke the flames. By representing both individual artistic achievements and community teamwork that lifts small businesses and amplifies a shared love of making objects by hand for daily use and decoration, the resulting creations can symbolize the Artisans Studio Tour.
The 28th annual Artisans Studio Tour, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, will take visitors on self-guided journeys to 21 different Central Virginia studios to meet 39 artists and artisans in Charlottesville and Albemarle, Greene, Madison, Nelson and Amherst counties.
Visitors who drop by Hughey-Commers’ studio can get a closer look at how a favorite coffee cup or vase has made the transformation from clay to class. Adam McNeil also will be there with his own collection of functional ceramics.
“I’m lucky in that my space is in the same building as my kiln,” Hughey-Commers said. “They’re in the place where it is made to connect the dots.”
The tour will give visitors a chance to glimpse the processes behind ceramics, fiber arts, jewelry and wood items that reflect a wide variety of aesthetic approaches and tastes.
“I specialize in functional dinnerware, and I make a lot of ornamental vases,” Hughey-Commers said. “I make a lot of teaware and coffeeware.”
There’s a lot to take in on the tour, and he recommends checking out the website at www.artisansstudiotour.com and picking up the maps provided at studios along the way so you can plan your own individual tour. Hoping to sample local ciders or tuck in a short mountain hike amid the fall colors? Just add your own tour stops along the way for local color and flavor. It’s also possible to check out one group of studios on Saturday and a totally different combination on Sunday.
“We send out a really helpful map,” Hughey-Commers said. “I would just pick a zone. There are so many great B&Bs, if you want to make a weekend of it. There are so many great wineries in Nelson County, where I am, and breweries.”
And if you’re a fan of nature’s own palette, Hughey-Commers said the beauty of Central Virginia you’ll encounter along the tour will enhance the experience.
“You’ll get to see the mountains in a whole new way,” he said.
Head to artisansstudiotour.com to map out your own personal tour and learn more about the following stops:
Studio 1: Hean Cabinetry at 3226 Lonesome Mountain Road in Charlottesville. (434) 962-3918. Fred Hean’s furniture, accessories and custom cabinetry.
Studio 2: Phineas Rose Studios at 1112 Graves Mill Road in Madison. (540) 948-4248. Alec and Richard Gordon’s workshop and furniture showroom and Ninika Gordon’s jewelry showroom. Ninika Gordon will demonstrate Viking knitting with silver wire. Shari Jacobs will be there with wheel-thrown porcelain and stoneware.
Studio 3: Noon Whistle Pottery at 328 Main St. in Stanardsville. (434) 985-6500. Holly Horan’s mugs and John Pluta’s sculptures.
Studio 4: Mud Dauber Pottery at 4225 Earlysville Road in Earlysville. (434) 973-7943. Suzanne Crane’s wheel-thrown stoneware and Becky Garrity’s pottery for daily use.
Studio 5: Blaise Gaston at 686 Fairhope Ave. in Earlysville. (434) 973-1801. Blaise Gaston’s fine furniture; Jan Elmore’s wall-mounted sculptures, mirrors, painted paper collages and jewelry; and Nancy Ross with primarily wheel-thrown pottery finished by hand.
Studio 6: Heller and Heller Custom Furniture at 1611 Keith Valley Road in Charlottesville. (703) 716-2939. Dave Heller’s decorated furniture and craft items and Steve Palmer’s hand-built and wheel-thrown pottery.
Studio 7: Nan Rothwell Pottery Studio at 700 Wilder Drive in Charlottesville. (434) 263-4023. Nan Rothwell’s functional stoneware pottery.
Studio 8: Inleaf Studio at 721 Park St. in Charlottesville. (434) 882-1569. Lotta Helleberg’s nature-inspired wall hangings, artist books, scarves and other fiber creations.
Studio 9: Gabriel Ofiesh at 908 E. High St. in Charlottesville. Gabriel Ofiesh’s gold and silver jewelry with cabochon gems and pearls, plus his patented Orbit collection.
Studio 10: Tom Clarkson Pottery at 1213 Meriwether St. in Charlottesville. (434) 963-2650. Tom Clarkson’s ash-glazed stoneware pottery.
Studio 11: taviametal and Rani Morris at 1304 E. Market St. in Charlottesville. (434) 466-4042. Tavia Brown’s industrial yet delicate jewelry; goldsmith Rani Morris’ geometric, historic and South Asian designs; Susan Haas’s blown-glass pieces; and Stuart Howe’s functional pottery.
Studio 12: Short 18th Studio at 1510 Short 18th St. in Charlottesville. (434) 242-5813. Mary Cassell’s artistically designed pots.
Studio 13: Mary Beth Bellah, Quilt Artist, at 1855 Arrowhead Valley Road in Charlottesville. (434) 409-9213. Mary Beth Bellah’s three-dimensional and wall-hung art quilts; Elizabeth Krome’s functional and decorative clay work; furniture and wall art in forged steel, hand-cut glass mosaic and wood by Kyle Lucia and Johannah Willsey; and Katherine Maloney’s collectible and functional animal-inspired ceramics.
Studio 14: Wood Art by Kirk McCauley at 4264 Edge Valley Road in North Garden. ( 434) 293-7525 or (434) 953-6309. Kirk McCauley’s artistic and functional wood bowls, lamps, cowboy hats and whisky barrel furniture.
Studio 15: Pettigrew Woodworks at 2435 Rock Branch Lane in North Garden. (804) 363-6189. Alex Pettigrew’s functional and decorative home and office accessories crafted from local woods; Jessie Rublee’s functional stoneware pottery.
Studio 16: Muddy Creek Pottery at 470 Ponton Lane in Lovingston. (434) 760-3280. Noah Hughey-Commers’ functional wood-fired dinnerware; Adam McNeil’s functional ceramics finished in a high-fire wood kiln.
Studio 17: Tye River Pottery at 1289 Falling Rock Drive in Amherst. (434) 263-4065. Kevin Crowe’s functional pots. The kiln will be firing during the tour.
Studio 18: CM Glass Art at 160 Greenwood Farm in Greenwood. (804) 986-0853. Cherie Mehler’s functional and decorative fused-glass art.
Studio 19: The Barn Swallow at 796 Gillums Ridge Road in Charlottesville. (434) 979-4884. Janice Arone’s stoneware and porcelain clay vessels; Mary Ann Burk’s functional porcelain and stoneware; and Liz Hanson Metalsmith’s contemporary jewelry in sterling silver and 18-karat gold.
Studio 20: Sunset Farm Studio at 5026 Jones Mill Road in Crozet. (434) 242-0113. Fiber artist Sarah Tremaine’s natural garments, accessories, gifts and home décor; Cathy Vaughn will demonstrate coppersmithing techniques and tools.
Studio 21: Frederick Williamson Bowls at 5623 Sugar Ridge Road in Crozet. (434) 823-1882. Fred Williamson’s fine wood pieces made from local trees, including globes, open forms and salad bowls.
28th annual Artisans Studio Tour
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
21 studios in Charlottesville, Crozet, Lovingston, Stanardsville, Madison, Greenwood, North Garden, Earlysville and Amherst
www.artisansstudiotour.com
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Potter Noah Hughey-Commers has been creating new wood-fired stoneware items for this year’s Artisans Studio Tour, which takes place Saturday and Sunday and features 39 artisans in 21 different studios.
Johannah Willsey of Phoenix Handcraft, who will display furniture and wall art in forged steel, hand-cut glass mosaic and wood with Kyle Lucia, will be on hand at the Charlottesville studio of quilt artist Mary Beth Bellah. Look for Studio 13 on the Artisans Studio Tour.
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