(11/01/23) The 16th annual Foothills Artists Studio Tour will be held November 18 and 19, the weekend before Thanksgiving, at various locations in and around the western Adams County communities of Fairfield, Orrtanna and Cashtown. Fourteen artists will be participating in a special pre-holiday show and sale from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.
Nine returning Foothills Artists are excited to welcome five new artists to this year’s line-up: Andrea Finch, Chris Herbert, Sarah Maclay, Jayne Shord and Julian Waters. Eight different studio locations will feature original paintings, pottery, sculpture, woodworking, photography, printmaking, fiber and textile arts, enamels, jewelry, calligraphy and bookbinding. See first-hand where the artists create their work and have the opportunity to buy directly from them. For those interested in making purchases, checks and cash are welcome. Credit cards are accepted by most, but not all, of the artists.
This free tour is self-guided and may be completed in any order. The website, www.foothillsartists.net, includes a map of each studio’s location and street address, as well as links to each artist’s individual website. It also includes biographies and artwork examples for each artist. Several of the artists live and work in historic homes.
The artists:
Daryl Despres — Mountain Woodworks, 59 Ringneck Trail, Carroll Valley. Daryl is a woodworker who has turned his passion into his profession. He creates functional, non-traditional bandsawn boxes using different woods, almost all reclaimed. He prefers to use locally sourced wood or materials given to him by friends.
Andrea Finch – showing at Beech Springs Farm, 784 Mt. Carmel Road, Orrtanna. Andrea creates sculptural quilts of botanical subjects, from realistic to abstract, exploring textile textures. Her botanical obsession began with photographing and creating an arboretum in her yard. She comes to quilt-making from a different angle, letting go of the rules, allowing the fabric to speak through texture, color, and design.
Anne Finucane — showing at Beech Springs Farm, 784 Mt. Carmel Road, Orrtanna. Anne works in a variety of printmaking and other fine art media, and will be showing her etchings and linocuts on the tour. A long-time organizer and advocate for the arts, her work is held in permanent collections throughout the area and has been accepted into juried exhibitions in Baltimore, Washington, DC and New York City.
Geoff Grant – Eden Farm, 378 Topper Road, Fairfield. Geoff is an award-winning fine art photographer who finds expression in "painterly" landscapes, graphic street scenes, and candid portraits of people of different cultures, particularly those from his travels in other countries. While he enjoys color, often his most powerful images are black and white like "Summer Frolic" which was accepted in the 2023 Delaplaine Arts Center National Juried Exhibit.
Jack Handshaw — Hobbit House Pottery, 1575 Mount Hope Road, Fairfield. An active artist for over 45 years, Jack is a potter working in all forms of clay, particularly reduction fired glazed porcelains, and has returned recently to doing raku. Additionally, he will be offering redware for this year’s tour. He is a juried member of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, and has been accepted into numerous juried shows and received many awards. He also shares his art through teaching and demonstrations.
Chris Herbert – Rocktop Bookshop and Bindery, 1229 Old Route 30, Cashtown. A graduate of the Clark University School at the Worcester Art Museum, with 27 years of experience in Book Binding, Chris has the skills to help with any book project from restoring a cherished family Bible, to creating a custom gift book for a loved one.
Sarah Maclay – showing at Beech Springs Farm, 784 Mt. Carmel Road, Orrtanna. Sarah has been creating and exhibiting her work for more than 25 years, with a primary focus on landscape painting. Her work lives in collections across the country and reflects the sense of place she has found in south-central Pennsylvania.
Heidi Myers — Haywire Studio, 260 Orrtanna Road, Orrtanna. Heidi is a
ceramic artist who has been expressing herself with clay for over twenty
years. She enjoys sculpture, slab and hand-building. This year she has continued to explore sgraffito. Heidi's inspirations can be found in the nature that surrounds her Haywire Studio.
Judy Pyle — showing at Beech Springs Farm, 784 Mt. Carmel Road, Orrtanna. Judy makes jewelry in hand-fabricated silver, torch-fired enamels on copper and fine silver. Her new enamel pieces are wearable sculptures. She has been a life-long art educator, as well as a practicing artist. Her most recent small sculptures — enameled items and other found objects — have been juried into national exhibits.
Jóh Ricci — showing at Eden Farm, 378 Topper Road, Fairfield. Jóh is a multi-media artist and instructor who is self-taught in a number of techniques & mediums. An award winning artist, she is nationally recognized for her fiber art. Exhibiting in invitational & juried art shows, her work is included in several private collections, numerous magazines and book publications. Jóh sells her work at local venues & galleries throughout the country and teaches at art centers in PA & MD.
Jayne Shord – Beech Springs Farm, 784 Mt. Carmel Road, Orrtanna. Jayne is a photographer, specializing in garden images from her Beech Springs Farm, as well as other locations around Adams County and from her national and international travel. Her work has appeared in several HGAC Barn Art Shows and has received recognition from LA Camera (Chambersburg) and Kodak.
Geoffrey Thulin – Blue Orchard Studio, 1013 Old Route 30, Cashtown. Geoffrey is a painter specializing in bold animal imagery, landscapes and abstracts. He works primarily in watercolor and gouache. His award-winning work explores color, pattern and rhythm, and their connection to the spiritual aspect of nature.
Julian Waters – Waters Lettering, 851 Boyle Road, Fairfield. Waters Lettering showcases the exceptional work of Sheila Waters (1929–2022), founding member of the Foothills Artists, and son Julian Waters (1957–), both internationally renowned calligraphers and designers. The Lettering Archive includes an exhaustive collection of books, prints, posters, originals and historical artifacts covering the history of western calligraphy, printing, typography, font design and bookbinding.
Debbie Westmoreland — showing at Eden Farm, 378 Topper Road, Fairfield. Debbie, a fiber artist, creates needle felted, one-of-a kind scarves, and wall art. Silk becomes a canvas upon which wool fibers are combined with hand stitching and embellishments, giving her designs unique textures, color, and special effects. Debbie has a background in interior design, curating, merchandising and teaching. She is also a member of the board of – as well as an instructor at – the Adams County Arts Council.
