Reflections on our Home and Art: Artists of the Apsley Studio Tour

by Clare Scott-Taggart, 2025

The annual Apsley Studio Tour is a remarkable celebration of the creativity that is found among those living in the North Kawarthas. Thirty artists, working in a wide range of mediums, are present in seven studio locations to chat about and explain their work and inspiration. Using materials ranging from hand-spun wool to ceramics to live glass-blowing, the tour is sure to engage and inspire.

Jenny Gordon, a painter, reflects on the inspiration she gets from summers in the North Kawarthas. “My family cottage is here and I have spent my entire life at this beautiful, now 100 year old, log cabin.  I feel a great attachment to the area. This is expressed in my paintings of the loons, the stillness of the lake, the majestic trees. I have painted every island on the lake, several cottages, floating rafts and sunsets. In the last few years I have taken canoe trips to the back lakes adjacent to Chandos. The tall grasses and lily pads are so peaceful. I have reconnected with my childhood love of fishing. The colours, the shapes and the purity of nature inspires me every day to paint. I am so thankful to be able to live in such a beautiful place.” Jenny’s paintings reflect her love of and deep connection to this beautiful part of Ontario.

One of the younger members of the tour is Aubre Scott, who practices the art of pyrography. “I love to work with Pyrography (wood burning) because it is so unique and is a very captivating way to create artwork. It is more of an uncommon form of art and is very time consuming, which is perfect because I really like to be patient with what I produce,” says Aubre. “It also feels like a very natural and local way to create art by combining the use of wood from around the North Kawartha Region. The scenery and landscapes are so spectacular and at the same time, home to thousands of species which allow me to create artworks that connect with both the audience and myself.” When Aubre isn’t creating her intricate artwork, she is busy bagpiping at a competitive level throughout Ontario. You may even catch her performing at some highland games!

New to the tour this year, Anne Young will be selling her high-fired functional pottery and non-functional Raku fired work. Anne explains that the “Raku work features horse hair, feathers and sugar sprinkles. The pottery pieces are heated in an outdoor kiln to 1,200 F. then removed. Horsehair strands are laid across the hot pot leaving a wandering linear smoke design on the surface. Sugar is sprinkled, leaving spotted smoke marks. Feathers give a dark, feather silhouette. All this has to happen within 1 minute before the pot has cooled.”

Glass artist Alex Anagnostou loves “looking through the water into the texture of fallen logs and the bottom surface of the lake. I enjoy looking through a magnifying glass to understand the structure of an object.” Alex is inspired by micro and macro imagery, for example “light patterns of glass threads form webs on the interior of my vessels which echo light patterns of stars, nebulae and other amazing images in space.” Alex hopes that her work will alert individuals to the fragile state of our planet and how interconnected we all are.

This is but a small representation of the artists who can be found on the Apsley Studio Tour. Please join us on September 20th and 21st, 2025, from 10 am to 5 pm. For more information about these artists please click on their links.  For information on all our artists please visit the Artist Page on our website or download the mobile Toureka! app where you will find all you need to plan and  navigate your tour.