With beautiful weather and a bevy of welcoming artists, the 2024 County Arts Studio Tour can be classified as exceptional.

This year’s tour, which included over 40 unique studios and nearly 50 artists, was clearly a hit. Co-Chair Dale Wainwright said some studios reported over 50 guests had dropped in by 1 p.m. on Friday.

Artist’s venues in the towns and villages are typically very busy on the Friday while the more remote studios receive most of their visitors on Saturday.

“It’s a challenge attracting visitors to the further reaches of the County given the distances so we try to ensure that there are several artists in an area to make the trek more attractive.” 

Tour Co-chair Heather Kerr, who opened her GRACE studio in Cherry Valley, reported she had “way more visitors than last year,” but some studios in outlying areas were not as busy.

“Going around and meeting both visitors and artists throughout the weekend, we heard plenty of positives,” said Ms. Wainwright.

Visitors were impressed by the quality and quantity of artists on the tour. One called it one of, if not the best, studio tour in Ontario.

“We’ve come all the way from Ottawa just for this. We come every year and we’ve got our route planned for all 3 days,” said one couple. “I’m always amazed at the talent of the artists on this Tour,” noted another visitor.

This year marked the first time The Silver Barn in Wellington was designated as a tour stop. Michelle Kosoy, a ceramic artist, and her partner Pierre Bouchard, who works in glass, are the inspiration behind Toronto design studio KOSOY + BOUCHARD. They welcomed guests to the newly renovated space.

“While I was there, nearly 10 visitors were all enjoying the displays and learning about their very different artistic processes,” Ms. Wainwright added. “Michelle said to me, ‘I have to keep restocking the displays. We’re very happy to be on the Tour!’”

Kirei Samuel of Lalaland Glass Studio posted on FaceBook that the studio has been a part of the Tour for nearly 20 years. Ms. Samuel has been a fixture of the local art scene since opening her studio near Bloomfield in 2009. She creates innovative work with fused glass. Bold yet elegant designs in jewelry, bowls and artwork are her trademark.

“I have been on the PEC Studio Tour for the last 17 years and have always had good ones. This year was exceptional!”

Tourists were also happy the Toureka! app which put the studio map and artist bios into the palm of their hand via smartphone.