CHUCK KUEPFER, Staff Reporter

 Artists involved in this month’s Kissing Bridge Trail Studio Tour not only see it as an opportunity to showcase their art in their homes or studios, but also a chance to shine the spotlight on the community in which they live and work.

“I think local artists are really proud of their work and their community,” said Wanda Densmore of North Woolwich Pottery.

Densmore is one of 16 artists, two of which are new to the tour, participating at eight locations in this year’s 10th anniversary of the event.

For most of her life, Densmore has lived in rural Woolwich Township where she draws inspiration for her work. Her pottery pieces, such as vases, mugs and tea pots, are sold at the Window Box flower shop in Elmira, as well as select locations in Cambridge and London.

Like other artists on the tour, the two-day event is an opportunity to not only display her artwork and open her studio to the general public, but also an opportunity for sales and commissions. 

The upcoming studio tour marks the second time Densmore, whose work will be on display in her studio at The Shops at Roxton, will participate in the event. Located at 1 Union Street in Elmira, the old furniture factory is home to a growing number of art studios, as well as a number of retail shops.

“The Roxton building is amazing,” says Densmore, who teaches classes out of her second-floor studio. “A lot of people say they had no idea there were artists in here. It’s exposure for everyone, the artists and the retail.”

Along with Denmore’s pottery in The Shops at Roxton, the location will also features the work of painter Sheila MacDonald-Roberts, mixed media artist/photographer Kelly Borgers, and guest glass artist Jeannine Campbell.

This year’s tour, which provides and excellent opportunity for art lovers to take a scenic drive and stop to visit artists along the way, goes Saturday, Oct. 27 and Sunday, Oct. 28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

The artists who participate in the tour, named after a local hiking trail that runs through the Elmira/St. Jacobs area, work together together to organize the event, as well as pay a modest fee to cover promotional costs. The artist-led endeavour was founded in 2003 by painter Karen Rabuka and Natalie Prevost-Mero, who have since moved out of the area.

But the event lives on.

Officially, the studio tour is peer juried show open to all artists located in Woolwich Township who make original work and whose studios are not usually open the public. 

Along with those at The Shops at Roxton, others artists taking part in this year’s studio tour: Brent Schreiber (painter/illustrator); Irene Dickau (painter); Shirley Frey (painter); Marlene Moggach (sculptor, potter); Danuta and Vlodek Tydor (fine art); Mary Guillaume (painter); Jane Bayne (painter); Phyllis Didur (painter); Yves Laran (painter); Frances Gregory (painter, printmaker); and Diane Eastham (multimedia).

A map with the location and address of each studio participating in the tour is available at www.kbtstudiotour.ca. The website also includes information about the artists.

Anyone who visits a participating studio during the tour can enter a draw to win an original photograph taken by Kelly Borgers.

Organizers have also put out a call for entries for the 2013 tour. More information is available on the studio tour website, or by contacting Brenda Luscott at bjluscott@gmail.com or 519-664-0576.