From Aug. 18-20, artists in the Nipawin area will give art lovers an inside look at the creative process as part of the Saskatchewan River Art Tour.
For three days, guests will have a chance to watch 12 local artists create paintings, drawings, sculptures, and woodcarvings, among other disciplines, in their own personal studios.
Tour coordinator Lori Bradford said they’re nervous, about inviting guests into their personal work spaces, but also excited.
“Artists, a lot of them are very solitary people and they don’t always like to have their space invaded, so this is a big deal for a lot of them,” Bradford said. “That’s why I think sometimes it’s hard for me to get as many as I’d like to on the tour, but I do my best.
“We’re ready to welcome people with open arms and the hospitality in this area is outstanding. (We’re ready) for them to consider coming for a weekend and enjoying the restaurants and the art tour and the wilderness trails and just really embrace the whole area.”
Guests can enjoy free self-guided tours at art studios in Nipawin, Prudens Point, Tobin Lake, and the surrounding area. Bradford hopes the tour can shine a light on talented artists in an area that doesn’t typically get a lot of attention.
“I think the northeast part of Saskatchewan often gets forgotten, and we have some amazing artists and musicians in this area,” she said. “This is one way of getting people to come to the northeast and also be able to see the work in progress.”
The educational aspect is a big part of the tour. Bradford said non-artists aren’t often aware of just how long it takes to create a single piece of art, or how many stops and starts there are along the way.
She said it gives guests a look at the “creative messes” behind the scene, which makes the finished product even more rewarding.
“Not only do we have our best stuff out, but you get to see how that all happened, (and) the messes behind it,” Bradford said with a laugh. “(There are) probably more messes in my studio than you’d see in some of the other ones.”
This is the second year for the 2023 Saskatchewan River Arts Tour. It’s a recreated version of an older tour where Nipawin and area artists joined with other communities like Tisdale to host a larger event.
Bradford said Nipawin and are artists enjoyed working with other communities, but wanted to cover a smaller geographical area so guests didn’t have to drive as far.
The 2023 Saskatchewan River Art Tour fruns from Friday, Aug. 18 to Sunday, Aug. 20. The participating artists are Lori Bradford (Rural), Michelle Blahut (Pruden’s Point), Augie and Krista (Rural), Tristan and Kairo Campbell (Rural), Beryl Ann Fournier (Nipawin), Pattie Gaertner (Nipawin), Jani Burgess (Nipawin), Louise Blazier (Nipawin), Norm Fengstad (Nipawin), Roberta Luchinski (Tobin Lake), Sharon Copeland and Glen McKerracher (Nipawin), and Haruka Nai (Nipawin).
For more information on the artists and directions to their studios, please visit www.skriverarttour.ca.
