Art meets the written word in County collAboRaTive

In celebration of the Prince Edward County Studio Tour’s 25th anniversary, the tour has invited talented writers and poets to join with its members in an artistic collaboration called “CountyCollAboRaTive – where art meets the written word”.

The resulting works were exhibited with writings and artwork side-by-side at two shows this summer in the County – the first this past weekend, and the second at the Wellington Town Hall August 10-11. Receptions will feature the artists and writers in attendance with spoken performances. The public is welcome and admission is free of charge.

Visitors can vote for their favourites throughout the shows and the artwork is available for purchase.

An important part of County CollAboRaTive is the publication of a book about the project to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the tour. The limited edition book containing all of the images and written words will be offered for sale to visitors at each of the shows, Books & Company, The Local Store, and at the participating artists’ studios.

Planning for the project started last November and a call went out to County writers and poets at the end of January. An information session was held in February at Baxter Arts with both County PEC Studio Tour artists and writers.

The project was met with enthusiasm. Each artist selected one of their own creations and submitted an image of the work. Through random selection by the Studio Tour executive (names were pulled from a hat) each artist was paired with a writer -but the artists were not informed who they were paired with.

The vernissage reception July 13th revealed to the artist for the first time, not only the name of the writer, but also the written composition itself which they have been anxiously awaiting. Their partnered writer or poet was provided with an image of the work, and tasked with composing an ekphrastic response to the art object (25-100 words).
The Greek term ‘ekphrasis’ means a verbal vivid description or commentary of a visual representation. The classic example of this form of writing is “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats.

Participating Studio Tour artists include Andrea Piller, Andrew Csafordi, Barb Högenauer, Carol Noël, Dayna Law, Dianne Kehoe, Florence Chik-Lau, Holly Sedgwick, Indra Dosanjh, J. Douglas Thompson, Jennifer Bruce, Joanna McFarland, Jodi Shuster, Kirei Samuel, Margaret McFetridge, Pamela Carter, Paul Verrall, Penelope Patrick, Peter Doyle, Renee Hiltz, Richard Leach, Tara Wilkinson, Terry Culbert, and Tina Osborne.

The County writers/poets are Alan Gratias, Andrew McLuhan, Betty Zyvatkauskas, Brian Flack, Conrad Beaubien, Elis Ziegler, JC Sulzenko, Joan M. Churchill, John David Carpenter, Karen Palmer, Ken Murray, Krista Dalby, Louise O’Donnell, Peter Blendell, Roz Bound, Sandee McMullan, Sarah Selecky, Sharon Harrison, and Sheila Stanley.

The first County CollAboRaTive show took place at Bloomfield Town Hall this weekend.
The second show will be held in the Wellington Town Hall, 246 Main Street with opening reception on Friday, Aug. 10th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm and continuing through Saturday, Aug. 11th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The traditional PEC Studio Tour features 38 artists in 27 locations and is held in September.