Jefferson County, WV – The annual Over the Mountain Studio Tour takes place in Jefferson County, WV on Saturday and Sunday November 9th and 10th. This self-guided studio tour promises a host of creative experiences. The artists at many of the stops on the tour plan to have demonstrations and hands-on activities for visitors to enjoy.
The tour runs from 10:00am to 5:00pm each day. Many of the demonstrations will be taking place throughout the weekend. Painter Anne Rule-Thompson (Tour Stop #1) will demonstrate her Encaustic Painting process using molten wax. At Rock Fusion Studios (Tour Stop #2), glass artist Tatyana Zidarov will demonstrate how to cut, arrange and fuse glass, and also how she creates glass weaved baskets. Evgeny Zidarov will demonstrate wire wrapping and jewelry making techniques. Hand weaver Diane Myers will be at Cool Spring Preserve (Tour Stop #8) with her spinning wheel to demonstrate and discuss how wool is spun into yarn.
At the Shenandoah Planing Mill (Tour Stop #9), wood turner Neil Super will show the older wood turning machines he has restored to produce architectural and furniture component turnings. Also, painter Melissa Lettick will be there to demonstrate her Intuitive Painting process and invite guests to participate in a community painting project.
Fiber artist Isabel Wilder and weaver Denise Ray are at Tour Stop #10. Isabel will demonstrate various sewing and quilting techniques and she will also have an opportunity for guests to collaborate in a fabric project. Denise will demonstrate hand weaving on a rigid heddle loom. The weaving process produces woven items fairly quickly.
There will also be activities scheduled at specific times. On Saturday the 9th at 1:30, guests will want to visit Southwood Farm (Tour Stop #5) to watch blacksmith Eric Johnson work on a decorative object at his forge and ceramic artist Annette Verna will discuss her smoke fired pottery and conduct a pit fire. Join paper artist Liz Goins at LizPaperArts (Tour Stop #11), where Liz will lead paper-making workshops at 11:30 and 3:00 on Saturday and Sunday. Guests will be able to make and take home a sheet of handmade paper. Assemblage artist Rod Glover will demonstrate his botanical collage process.
Demonstrations and workshops are part of the original purpose of the studio tour, where artists get to share their work with the public and provide learning opportunities about their craftwork. Not only will visitors get to know the artists, but the experiences will enrich their appreciation for hand made objects.
This year’s tour has 11 stops. Visitors will see artists’ work spaces and other creative venues around beautiful Jefferson County, WV. Learn about the artists, download a tour map, and check out the tour stops at the Over the Mountain Studio Tour web site: https://www.overthemountainstudiotour.com/. The Over the Mountain Studio Tour is sponsored by the Jefferson County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
The Over the Mountain Studio Tour is a juried group of working artisans residing in Jefferson County, WV. Each year, they present an annual self-guided studio tour on the second weekend of November. The tour was started in 1989 by a group of artists who wanted to share their work with the greater community. Today, the Tour is known for high quality art and craft work, and brings attention to the talented artisans living locally. Now in its 35th year, the Over the Mountain Studio Tour is the longest running studio tour in the state of West Virginia.
