HUNTSVILLE – It is some of the area’s highest-calibre artwork.
Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour artists will show some of their recent work at the Canada Summit Centre in Huntsville from April 17 to July 15.
“There is a tremendous variety of work,” said glass artist Susan Higgins. “It’s a cross-section of the creativity that exists in Muskoka.”
The Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour is a group of professional artists and craftspeople from Muskoka that opens its studios to the public each autumn.
The exhibit at the summit centre will feature a wide range of media including photography, wood, glass, metal, fibre, clay and paintings. It provides a preview of the some of the work the public can see on the studio tour.
Higgins said the Town of Huntsville offered the summit centre foyer to the group for the show and the artists are hoping the pieces on display will entice community members and visitors to take the tour.
“It’s a great opportunity to have exposure to hundreds of people that, if they see our work at the summit centre, would maybe be intrigued to come on the tour in the fall,” she said.
The tour began 34 years ago. About 20 artists will be part of it this year and each one is carefully juried before becoming a member to ensure high artistic standards.
Artists come from across Muskoka. Area artists include painter Catherine O’Mara, wood turner Brian Markham, fused and stained glass artist Susan Higgins, pencil artist Jennifer Pimentel, weaver Marni Martin, potter Erin Lindgren and mixed media artist Beverley Hawksley.
“Some of the best artists in Muskoka participate in this tour,” said Higgins.
The exhibit will be displayed in the main foyer and atrium of the summit centre. Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour brochures will also be available.
Tour chairperson Beverley Hawksley said she is enthusiastic about the exhibit.  
“This is a great opportunity to be able to exhibit together in such a spacious and welcoming venue. People who are familiar with the Muskoka Autumn Studio Tour will have a chance to see what we have been working on since they visited last fall,” said Hawksley. “I hope that those who discover us for the first time at the summit center will feel inspired to visit the artists in September to see where and how these works come into being.”
Artist Eric Lindgren, who has been part of the tour for over 30 years, said the tour artists display their work as a group about every five years.
“The studio tour is an unreasonably long trip to visit all the studios, so people don’t do that. But one of the things having the group show does is allow people to see all of our work together in one place,” said Lindgren.
“It may entice them to visit new studios they were unaware of, or ones they had previously omitted for whatever reason.”
Setting up the exhibit with the other artists is fun, too, he said.
“That’s one of the good things about having these group shows, we get to do some work together aside from business meetings, which are not nearly as fun,” he said.
Lindgren added the show highlights the need for a designated exhibition space for the arts in Huntsville.
Admission to the exhibit is free. The public is invited to attend a reception and meet the artists on Friday, April 27, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Canada Summit Centre.
For more information on the tour visit www.muskokaautumnstudiotour.com.