The Gardiner Open Studio Tour is an annual event that originated in 2013 showcasing some of the amazing local talent in Gardiner. After a two-year Covid break the Tour is back on the weekend of April 30 to May 1 with 20 participating artists and craftspeople. You can discover unique fine art and craft and meet the artists in a variety of studio spaces while traveling around a spectacular part of the Mid-Hudson Valley.
Gardiner and the surrounding area is home to an abundance of people working in a variety of mediums. There are ceramicists, clockmakers, digital and fiber artists as well as people working in mixed-media, oil and acrylic paints, and an assortment of potters, sculptors and woodworkers. The Gardiner area is framed by stunning cliffs, the Shawangunk mountains, farmland and forest. Gardiner has it all—hiking, skydiving, birdwatching, rock climbing, backroad cycling and a world of creativity.
For this year’s tour (the 12th) there are seven talented ceramic artists— all women working with highly decorated earthenware, stoneware and wood-fired stoneware, salt glazed work and a myriad of both functional and decorative forms. Annie O’Neill does highly decorative functional low-fire earthenware, while Lynn Isaacson, Tiffany Dyckman, Amy Schnitzer, Lysa Hoffman and Michelle Rhodes make both functional and decorative pieces. Alexa Ginsburg is an accomplished felter who makes puppets, whimsical animals and stunning felted scarves. New to the tour this year is Rich Cerrkuto who forms traditional Shaker Oval Boxes. Leonie Lacouette is an accomplished clockmaker whose contemporary designs are executed in metal and wood. Craig and Pam Booth make a variety of pieces in clay from miniature cars to unusual creatures. John Variano and Marsha Massih are accomplished oil painters who paint landscapes and portraits, and also teach at the Art Students League in NYC. Vicki Morgan is new to the tour this year and her gestural and figural drawings are unique and powerful. Marci Bernstein who founded Roost Gallery and art center works in mixed media and collage while Stacie Flint has colorful and whimsical acrylics of animals and people. New to the tour this year is Scott Roberts who paints contemporary landscapes. Marilyn Perry is returning after missing the last tour and she creates evocative abstract landscapes with acrylics and encaustics. Denise Aumick is in the Tour for the first time with fiber and mixed media pieces including wearables. Anna Davis does very spiritual mixed media work incorporating found objects, bones and natural materials. Her work has a very Native American feel. And Meadow is a mixed media artist who makes dolls and pottery pieces as well as wonderful paintings. A furniture and luthier had to drop out of our tour this year.
Brochures for the tour are to be found all over the valley and traditional yellow road signs point the way to the various locations. They will be appearing on local roads soon.
A detailed map is included in the brochure. To view the brochure online search for GardinerOpenStudioTour.com.