Tour Around Oxford County This Weekend

May 3, 2023Leave a comment

In case you missed it, this weekend is the annual Oxford Studio Tour here in Southwestern Ontario. We have lots to offer to delight the eye and capture the imagination, and we hope our varied talents will attract one and all.

Exhibiting our art is always done in the hope it will be so well liked it goes home with the viewer. But we are also happy when it sparks some good conversations and some word-of-mouth advertising!

On that note, a reminder to all of us, artists and tourists alike, to be kind, supportive and respectful to one another. We all have different sources of inspiration, and different tastes. Also, let’s remember that while most of us don’t want to hear another word about COVID ever again, some of us do exist in situations where we have to protect either ourselves or other vulnerable people from it and other viruses. Let’s respect that need.

With that said, we can all look forward to an enjoyable weekend of free art appreciation. It’s a fun rural day-trip for a group of friends or family, or just by yourself. To plan your outing, you may want to consult the page on our website which has all the artists listed as well as maps for individuals and the tour as a whole. See you this weekend, 10 to 5 on Saturday and Sunday!

Oxford Studio Tour less than 2 weeks away!

April 25, 2023Leave a comment

Below is an article kindly written for us by Jeff Tribe, and featuring several tour artists:

The Oxford Studio Tour always has been, is and always will be a diverse, inclusive artistic space.

There is commonality amongst participants given each must successfully pass an application process confirming commitment to their art. Beyond that, the 33 participants on this year’s 16th Annual event offer their unique vision through 16 distinct media.
“I am in awe of it all,” said Wendy Gielis, a first-time member who joined after touring last year’s event with her sister Monique. “And what they create out of it.”

This year’s tour is scheduled for Saturday, May 6th and Sunday, May 7th, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
A full palette of detailed information including descriptions of individual artists and examples of their work, tour maps and locations and event sponsors is listed on the website www.oxfordstudiotour.ca. Glossy, full-colour brochures featuring the same are available from Tillsonburg’s Station Arts Centre, Ingersoll’s Creative Arts Centre, the Woodstock Art Gallery, Tourism Oxford, Early Bird Coffee and participating artists. Interested persons are also invited to phone 519-842-6151 or email office@stationarts.ca. During the tour, red signs will be planted to further identify the tour’s 15 locations.

Sue Goossens, a professional Otterville-area-based watercolour artist and tour founder recommends using the brochure or website to plan out an itinerary efficiently using as much time as guests would like to commit. Some strive to take in every site and artist across two full days, others pick locations which particularly interest them for a half or single day. Any amount of time will however, open the door to a wide range of artistic expression.
“We are very fortunate to have such a variety of talented artists in Oxford County,” said Goossens. The diversity developed organically she continued, believing it is an Oxford tour strength. Those enjoying the opportunity can expect to view oil, acrylic and watercolour paintings, graphite, pen-and-ink, encaustic, collage and mixed media renditions, pottery, jewellery, photography, digital art, weaving and fibre arts along with gourds and woodworking.
“We have everything,” Goossens said. “And we haven’t had to work at the variety, we’re fortunate, it has just happened.”

Tillsonburg-based Tabitha Verbuyst’s own diversity is expressed in dramatic dark and alternatively, light dreamlike interpretations of movement, colour and life. She looks forward to the tour weekend as a focussed concentration on the depth and breadth of Oxford County’s artistic community, for both public and participants.
“It’s great to work with so many talented artists,” Verbuyst said, citing benefits including shared peer and community exposure. “And from that, they gain personal growth and new opportunities in the world of art.
“Don’t just take our word for it, come and see for yourself,” she smiled in conclusion.

Some of our 2023 Oxford Studio Tour artists

Virtual Oxford Studio Tour

April 26, 2021April 29, 2022Leave a comment

As you know, our Oxford Studio Tour, which would have been this weekend, has been cancelled once again due to COVID-19.

We know visiting our art onscreen is not the same as the fun of touring around Oxford County and seeing each artist in person, along with all of their fabulous art, but what to do? We decided to make the best of it and hold a virtual tour in the form of a Facebook Event. Consider yourself invited! Join in by clicking “Going”, then check out the “Discussions” button to see all of the artwork being showcased. Artist contact info should be available at each post. We’d all be thrilled if you decided to purchase a piece, but we are happy if you just want to look, like, share, etc. It is open to the public and it is free. It’s on right now, and it will be open until 9 a.m. May 7.

After that, just follow the directions for non-Facebook users:

For those not on Facebook, it might be fun to visit our Studios and Artists by Location Page here on our website, and just visit each artist’s website.

Oxford Studio Tour 2021 – updates!

March 8, 2021March 8, 2021Leave a comment

We have decided to go ahead with our Oxford Studio Tour this year, given the hopeful outlook of having vaccines, the ability and knowledge of everyone to more easily comply with COVID-19 prevention strategies, and the desire to do something fun that isn’t online!

It will occur on May 1 & 2, 2021, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All precautions will be taken to ensure a safe tour for everyone, given the current pandemic. Please follow all guidelines and instructions at each location. Masks will be required at all times. We thank you for your cooperation and patience in this!

We will be using the brochures that we had printed for the 2020 tour, however they may not be available in some of the places you are accustomed to seeing them. We have not distributed them yet, and that won’t be happening for a little while. A notice will go out from here when we do, so you will know where to find them. You could also ask one of the artists for one – you can use the contact information for an artist here on the site, or you can use our contact us page.

There will be several changes from the original tour plan, so these will be reflected on the website, and on the Google map of the tour. People move, venues become unavailable, etc. etc. None of the artists are required to participate, so some are opting out for this year. We will attempt to modify the brochures with the new information, but it would still be best for you to consult the website before embarking on the tour!

These are the changes we know of so far (for details see Studios and Artists by Location):

For Location #1: only 2 of the original 3 artists will be participating.

For Location #3: the location will be different, and only 3 or the original 4 artists will be participating.

For Location #13: the location will be different.

For Location #14: this location is completely cancelled

For Location #16: the location will be different.

Please subscribe to this blog to stay up to date. Thank you for supporting your local artists by spreading the news about the tour in any way you can. Stay tuned!

Oxford Studio DETOUR

September 13, 20201 Comment

Fall is just around the corner and we have now decided that with the current pandemic situation it is too risky to plan on holding the Oxford Studio Tour on our previously mentioned alternate date in November.

Instead, we are postponing this year’s tour to its normal time slot in May of next year.

In the meantime, we are having an art show and sale during the month of October at the Station Arts Centre in Tillsonburg, Ontario. It is called, appropriately, the Oxford Studio Detour.

Please consider yourself invited! See the invitation below for details. There will be one or two pieces of art from each of the 28 participating artists, so you will get a real taste of the tour. Visitors are welcome to stop in anytime Monday to Saturday 9-4 pm from Oct 2-30 to view the exhibit without an appointment. COVID-19 safety measures will be in place.

There won’t be a formal opening, because of the pandemic, however appointment arrangements can be made with any particular artist if you wish to have them present. The Station will need to know a day ahead of time, with the number of people and contacts. Otherwise, no appointment is necessary!

Next Weekend!

April 28, 2019April 27, 2019Leave a comment

We are in the last week before the 12th Annual Oxford Studio Tour. Forty artists all around Oxford County, Ontario, Canada, are busily framing and putting the finishing touches on their carefully created works. Some will be packing them up soon to take to host studios and art centres, others will be madly cleaning their houses and especially their display areas to make sure everything is in shape to host at their own studios and galleries. While many of us show at various exhibits all year long, the tour weekend gives us a real chance to meet the art lovers in our region and hopefully make a few sales.

There are 16 Locations on the tour this year. You get to decide which ones you want to visit, whether it is based on what kind of art you want to see, where you want to go, how long you can sit in the car, or which ones you’ve already been to in previous years. Admission is free, as always, and the website has a complete guide with links to maps. You may have already picked up a brochure at one of the many locations they are available. Many businesses have been very kind to us and we appreciate it so much! They are also available at each studio.

If you can’t do the tour this year, or if you can, but you are not in the market for a piece of art, you may wish to consider other ways you can support your favourite local artists: visit their websites, subscribe to their blogs, ‘like’ their posts, forward their art event emails to your friends, share their posts or their websites on social media or just simply tell your friends and relatives about them. Every little bit you do means new eyes will see the art. We will love you for it!