Artist Amanda Wallace Mathis is one of the founders of the tour. photos by Cindy Steele
Back Roads Studio Tour ~by Bob Gustin
F
or the past 20 years, folks from across the Midwest and beyond have been driving to Brown County for the annual studio tour. It’s a chance to experience firsthand two of the area’s bestknown attractions—breathtaking natural scenery and authentic arts and crafts. To celebrate the anniversary, this year’s free, self-guided tour features 32 artists at 22 studios around the county. Most studios are open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, but some have different hours. A brochure and map outlining specific details is available at many local businesses, the Brown County Visitors Center, or at <browncountystudiotour.com>.
The event began as a two-day studio and garden tour in June of 1999, and morphed into the current month-long October event. Now the artists share center stage with the dazzling autumn colors. Special recognition is being given this year to four artists. Primitive painter Amanda Wallace Mathis was one of the founders of
46 Our Brown County • Sept./Oct. 2018
the tour, and this year her studio is hosting work by potter Larry Spears, jeweler Cheri Platter and stained-glass artist Anne Ryan Miller, all longtime participants. Each year, new artists join the tour, giving visitors a chance to experience new parts of the county and different styles of arts and crafts. This year, new artists include iron worker Jason Nickel, woodworker Pete Baxter, furniture maker Robb Besosa, fiber artist Sandy Binder, and fused glass artist B Skinner. Some are guests at other artists’ studios. Mathis’s studio is the only one which has been a stop on all 20 studio tours.
