An Unforgettable Apsley Studio Tour

by Clare Scott-Taggart

Early morning mist hovered above the swampy wetlands as I rounded the final corner on Jack Lake Road on my way to Whitedog Studio. My rental van was heavy with steel trellises and garden art and I was excited for another fabulous Apsley Autumn Studio Tour. The show was starting at ten a.m., so I had two hours to get set up – I had left it tight. As I slowed for the turn, a young woman appeared out of the mist and staggered in front of my van, clothes in disarray, waving her arms and calling for help. There was nothing else, just an empty road, me in my rental and a young woman in great distress. What on earth was going on?
As a frequent guest on the studio tour, I usually arrive on Friday afternoon with plenty of time to arrange my display throughout the beautiful gardens. But this year I was driving up from Toronto at the break of day, having loaded the van in the dark of early morning. Fueled with coffee and powered by top volume JACK FM classic rock, I was excited to be out of the city, filled with the happy anticipation of meeting all the visitors to the show and hoping that they would like the new work I had made for the tour.
I love being part of this wonderful event. The weeks leading up to the show, I feel a sense of kinship with the other artists on the tour. Like we are a hive of busy bees making things ready for the arrival of our guests. A rich abundance of beautiful art is created for the show. All made by hand with care and consideration, reflecting the community, the landscape and the imagination. As I weld away in my studio in Toronto, I think about my friends and fellow artists of the tour working in their studios; painting, blowing glass, making jewelry and textiles, carving wood. The studio tour is an invitation to the public to join us, to come see where we work and what we do. It’s fun!
The Apsley Autumn Studio Tour has been running for 26 years. Every year new artists apply and through a juried process, are admitted to the show. What follows, in no particular order, are advertising, social media, signage, budget, flyer design and printing, flyer distribution, photography and promo. As soon as the show is over, planning for the next year’s tour begins. Did it go well? Did we get a lot of visitors? Were sales good? How can we make it better? Are the questions we all ask. I have had the honor of being a guest artist for fifteen years now, and it has been hugely fun and a highlight of my autumn. But the time when the girl climbed out of the ditch and waved me down!?
I stopped and opened the door. The girl started crying. Had she been abducted, escaped and dragged herself through the swamp to pop out in front of me?
“My mom’s going to kill me!”
I didn’t know what to say. I was certainly glad she was alive.
“I wrecked her car!”
What car? There was no car. Then I walked to the ditch, and down below the level of the road, there was the car.
Finally she said, “I’m going to be late for work!”

I was a little late setting up for the show myself, but in the end we had loads of fabulous visitors, sales were great, and once again, the Apsley Autumn Studio Tour was an unforgettable event.