The 17th Annual Rock River Artists Open Studio Tour is slated for Saturday and Sunday, July 18 and 19, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting at the Old Schoolhouse in South Newfane. For more details about the tour, including directions, please see http://RockRiverArtists.com.

South Newfane, Vt. – “There is a gold vein running through Vermont,” read a short item in the New York Times on Sept. 5, 1873. The Times quoted the Rutland Herald's claim that “the gold interest of Vermont will yet form an important source of revenue to our state.”



More than 130 years later, that elusive gold vein has never been found. Lucky, perhaps: with few natural resources to exploit on a massive scale, Vermont remains one of the most pristine states in the U.S. So even though gold-panning hobbyists will still plunk themselves down in the Rock River for a muddy weekend of collecting gold flakes, travelers and residents alike more commonly enjoy a sparkling sunset from a kayak or from a picnic blanket on the shore.

But at least one rich resource runs deep and wide throughout Vermont, and particularly along the gold-flecked Rock River: the arts.

In part perhaps because of the green, unspoiled landscape, Vermont seems to attract creative people and encourage creative impulses. You won't have to sit in the muck for hours on end and strain your eyes for a precious flake of this glittering beauty, because it's readily available in towns and cities and throughout the countryside – including at the Rock River Artists Open Studio Tour.

And while you also won't get the challenge of the often fruitless search for gold, selecting which studios to visit from among the variety of media, styles and subject matter is its own adventure. Whether you prefer painting or pottery, collage or sculpture, fiber arts or photography – or something else entirely – the tour includes something for you to enjoy.

This year, fifteen artists will open their homes, studios and grounds to visitors. A few nuggets from this year's tour:

Photographer Christine Triebert will offer on-the-spot portrait sessions for tour-goers. Visitors to her studio can watch the shooting process in action, and participants will receive proofs in their e-mail inbox after the tour. Custom prints will be made on request.

Leonard Ragouzeos will show a new series of portrait sketches and tool drawings in ink and will demonstrate his signature technique – using India ink on synthetic paper to create dappled, abstract surfaces that come together as images from a distance.

Roger Sandes will introduce new work for children from a series developed with the New Editions online gallery, which promotes “Art from the Start” for kids.

Raku artist Richard Foye will demonstrate his hands-on glazing techniques – lots of fire and smoke for the whole family to enjoy.

Painter Susan Jarvis will unveil Bestiary, a new series of conceptual works including images from medieval and Renaissance bestiaries; this is the first time pieces from her new series can be seen on the tour.

Lauri Richardson's memorial installation, Flags of Freedom, Costs of War, will be on the Newfane Common for the month of July, with more than 4000 handmade flags – one for each American fatality in Iraq. (Visitors to Richardson's mosaic studio are welcome to paint a flag to add to the memorial.)

Naturalist painter Caryn King will return to the tour this year with new, strikingly colorful bird paintings, which sing to the viewer from found wood and other surfaces.

“I recently revisited most of the studios while giving a journalist a guided tour,” said painter and tour coordinator Roger Sandes. “He was delighted by the quality, the variety and the ease with which each artist presented his or her work. And I, who have seen these artists and their work often, was inspired anew. What a great group to be a part of.”

Beginning at the historic Old Schoolhouse building in South Newfane, tour-goers can pick up a map and view samples of each artist's work before setting out. Mid-tour lunch options in the area include the famous Ken's Hot Dogs and the newly opened Newfane Café and Creamery. Light refreshments are offered at many stops along the tour as well.

The Rock River Artists Open Studio Tour is in its 17th year. For more information about the artists, places to eat and stay, and directions to the Old Schoolhouse, visit http://RockRiverArtists.com.