Every year there is at least one new artist displaying on the tour. This was Pam Yates' first year. She is spinning yarn from the Shetland sheep she raised and sheared in the Swan Valley. She said the next step after shearing is to soak and wash the wool in lukewarm water and a good wool washing soap. After that, she carded the clean wool and blocked it into batts. For the tour she demonstrated how to spin the wool. She was spinning a two-ply, Aran weight yarn which she intends to knit into a hat.
Roger Watson's studio was one of the earliest to join the Tour of the Arts, and he now has the tour process down pat. On one table are copper bowls in all stages of development so he can demonstrate applying flux, applying colored powders, firing in the kiln, adding glass bits and swirling them when they are sufficiently melted. In this picture he shows some of his completed bowls. Though he doesn't do the tour every year – sometimes it interferes with hunting – he said, "I have a lot of fun with it. Sometimes I let one of the visitors do some swirling."
Sheri Burden's stained-glass studio is a little farther up the Swan Valley than most people are willing to drive, so for the past 10 years she has brought her night lights and hanging creations down to Condon where other artists offered her space in their studios. For the past five or so years she has been one of the artisans exhibiting in the Swan Valley Historical Museum.
SEELEY LAKE – "When it first started, I thought it would be just a little Seeley Lake and Condon thing," Chris Jewett said about Alpine Artisans' Tour of the Arts, which took place Oct. 12-13. "I never thought it would grow as big as it has. Every year more and more people come. It's an exciting thing."
Jewett said the idea of having a fundraiser that consisted of visiting artist Open Houses was conceived 16 years ago by then AAI president Joyce Bissell. Bissell promptly delegated Jewett to take charge of organizing the event. Jewett commented, "That woman was a great delegator."
That first tour took place Oct. 5, 2003. It was billed as a house tour as well as a studio tour. The Emily A Bed and Breakfast and the Abolt home in Condon were as much an enticement as were Ed and Marilyn Wolf's newly built Wilderness Studio and Art Gallery. Sally Robinson also opened her home quilting studio and Cindy Torok Kopenhafer's Rocking Horse Antiques and Collectibles rounded out the tour.
Feedback from the event was labeled "very positive" and the AAI Board sanctioned a second annual event. The fundraiser – $10 for AAI members, $12 for non-members – was promoted as "a beautiful fall drive" and scheduled for Oct. 25. Fall colors faced competition with an unexpected snowfall, but the event was still considered well attended with "close to 30" visitors.
In addition to Abolt and Wolf's home and studio, Susanna and Herman Andersen opened their newly built and artistically painted house – a waterfall on one wall of the bathroom! They also displayed their framed paintings and mask-making artwork. Larry and Judy Butterworth's newly built house hosted four different artists. Marion Burmeister opened her home pottery room and quilting area and invited people to view other art and artifacts in her house. Jeri and Roger Watson hosted people in their Swan Valley Copper Studio. The Seeley Lake Historical Museum also hosted an artist and displayed special exhibits in the barn stalls.
In 2006 the Tour of the Arts initiated a vigorous marketing campaign. Its nature had changed from a house tour and Alpine Artisans fundraiser to a two-day event focused on promoting the work of its artist members, which is one of the organization's main missions. Perhaps spurred by the success of the previous tours, several artisans converted spare rooms into formal studios or built a full-scale studio adjacent to their house.
Seven studios participated in the 2006 Tour, plus three artisans were on site at downtown businesses and Ovando's Brand Bar Museum exhibited botanical drawings by Ovando School students. The AAI Newsletter reported President Russ Abolt saying, "Our goal is to promote this area as a cultural arts destination and the success we had this year is a great start."
The advertising push continued in the following years and was rewarded by an increasing number of visitors coming from all over Montana: Great Falls; Kalispell; Bitterroot; Whitefish; Bigfork; Bozeman; Helena and Deer Lodge. The guest book even included signatures from South Dakota; Tennessee; Minnesota; California; Alaska; North Carolina; Florida; Alberta, Canada and Stockholm, Sweden.
The number of artists, studios, galleries and museums fluctuated through the years, but the tour now extends north from Lincoln to the Flying Popcorn Ranch in the Swan. Through the years more than 60 different artists have exhibited their wares. Art media has ranged from oil paintings to ceramics, photography, wood working, basket weaving, copper work, jewelry making, stained glass, bronze statues, saddle making and other arts in between.
As one visitor wrote in the guest book, "What an eye-opener! I had no idea that all these studios and artists were in this area."
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