Open Studio

NEXT YEAR'S OPEN STUDIO "ART TRAIL" EVENT will be on:

SATURDAY, NOV 2ND 2013 10 AM - 5 PM

from the Danville, Ky newspaper

Wow, wow, WOW! We had another record year this year! Our 2nd annual Open Studio was a huge hit. I'm excited to announce we're going to do it again next year on Saturday, November 2nd from 10 am to 5 pm, extending our hours so all of the studios on our "Art Trail" will have the same hours. We had over 200 visitors this event, and I'm sure next year will be even better.

Matthew Maynard talks with guests in our blacksmith's shop.

"It's ONLY one day a year!
So enjoy the clean shop while you can."

(Quote my son wrote on the shop chalkboard)

And we weren't the only stop that had cleaned up our art studios & dusted all the corners of our workshops for the "Art Trail". Visitors and guests were encouraged to visit many other artists's Open Studios nearby. Five doors down from us at Maynard Studios, was Marianne Brown Pottery. And two more studios were within just a few miles (Susan Burge's new gift shop & paint-your-own-pottery studio Elements Clay Studio and Brenda Gardner's Art Emporium featured the work of over 30 artists with hands-on art making, food vendors and more! And if you didn't get a chance to visit, Cynthia Carr has the most amazing pottery and metal work (sculptural lamps, etc) at her place Crosswinds Pottery and she is just opening her architectural salvage in the building next door to her titled the Crow's Nest .. Make sure you visit her next year! Rumor has it, more and more artist's studios want to be involved, and Mercer County is looking in to starting their own "art trail". Gooooo..... Arts! We're proud to have launched a new tradition in the Bluegrass!

Our "Art Trail" Poster for 2012

Outside our shop *right here* at Maynard Studios, our best friend & artist (he introduced Matt and I many years ago) Chad Blaster was blowing glass with his brand new mobile glassblowing unit out in our yard. Many of our guests had the opportunity to purchase the chance to "blow their own" ornament, too. That's a pretty big deal, since there are only a handful of portable glassblowing units in the world! Every one of our "blow your own" guests returned the next day to pick up their now cooled-down ornament, cup or pumpkin excited to see their very own creation. It was great to have them visit our home and shop and be able to share in the joy of creating a unique glass piece with Chad. Chad's girlfriend Gretchen Andres handled the register in our blacksmith's shop and organized their outside event, and man, has she got  this system down! I just love them & appreciate them both to pieces, and was delighted to be able to share their work here.

Chad Blaster & "Blow Your Own" Participant

So many of our friends pitched in to help throw our event, and we are so very thankful for all of their help! As our new shop & driveway are under construction, some of our neighbors donated their yards for parking and others brought food and homemade hors d'oeuvres! My mom surprised us and sent POUNDS of fresh cheese curds from Wisconsin and Matt's cousin brought goat cheese spreads from Asheville, North Carolina. Other dear friends made homemade hummus and desserts and Matt's step-father made loaves of homemade bread (Thanks, Steve!). Anthony's restaurant in Lawrenceburg provided homemade meatballs and breads too - if you want their food again, I'd suggest ordering their Friday night ribs for take-out! That's what I do. They're my favorite. Mmmmmmm! What  a great treat for all of our guests.  (And Again, thank YOU all!)

We had a great crowd and many of our neighbors came, new & old- we had clients drive from hours away and just had so much fun spending the day with them all.  A lot of their kids were playing in our cedar bushes (they call it their "tree fort") so long I was threatening to head back into the blacksmith's shop and make a shepherd's hook to pull them out of the bushes. Matt gave demonstrations throughout the day, and special "coins" for a few lucky kids. We truly enjoyed visiting with his special guest Gwen Reardon (a pretty famous Kentucky sculptor) & she was just a delight to meet!

Our new Bourbon bar stool was also launched at our Open Studio and deliveries start tomorrow morning! Our new candle holders we affectionately call, "Smooshes" hold tea lights this year, and were just released for the Holiday Season. They are currently available in a few select local galleries, and when they're gone their gone, so if you see em' they are the only ones left!

A big thank you is also due to all of the local newspapers that posted our event in print and on-line, and to the Kentucky Arts Council for adding us to their on-line .pdf of Holiday events. It's available here and events are listed chronologically if you are interested in more events in the Bluegrass coming up this Holiday Season. http://artscouncil.ky.gov/Resources/pdf/Holiday2012listing.pdf

Speaking of candle holders, Matthew and I have been asked to be guests artists at Completely Kentucky (in Frankfort) this upcoming Thursday from 5  to 9 pm for their opening of Frankfort's "Candlelight" Tours! Chad Blaster Glass will be ending their event as a guest artist on Sunday. More information on events and artists can be found on their facebook page. (Click 'facebook page' <----- to go there).

Looking forward to another chance to spend time with you all & I'll definitely be keeping an eye out to find great handmade holiday gifts!

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