Art Jones Studio Tour Delights

by Debbie Wolfe

Ceramicist Brenda McMahon showcases one of her works during the Art Jones studio tour that features a unique mixture of custom-made clay tiles accented with the texture of stones. Clay, stones and glass are from the Earth, she said. “They harmonize together beautifully and yet they have very different qualities – the hardness of the stone, the suppleness of the clay and the sparkle of the glass. They are in the same family but sing different notes so they balance each other.”

Armed with a map of Gulfport and nearby St. Petersburg, visitors were able to visit all 15 locations in one day, but many savored the studio tour over both Saturday and Sunday, December 1 and 2.

The second-annual Art Jones studio tour and sale featured 17 artists in Gulfport and nearby St. Petersburg.

Passport cards that visitors could have stamped at each of 15 studio locations were new this year. People who turned in completed passport cards are eligible for a raffle drawing featuring a donated piece of art from each of the featured artists.

“It’s a way to encourage people to visit all of the studios,” said Brenda McMahon, tour founder and ceramicist artist.

The drawing will be held the week of December 3, she said.

Dawn Waters, a fiber artist that was new to the Art Jones studio tour this year, delights in explaining to visitors that each of her pieces is made exclusively using colored fibers – no paint is involved. “Every single person who has come through my studio has been inquisitive,” she said early on Sunday. “People have a lot of questions because they don’t really understand my work, which I totally get. I have sold a couple of pieces but connections are the main thing.” Pictured in the art are portraits of President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle along with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

 

 

 

by Debbie Wolfe

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