Tour des Arts
According to Ellinghaus, all artists are locals; it is a requirement to join the tour. Visitors, however, hail from surrounding areas, like Quebec City, Montreal and Vermont. Stanley Lake, Ellinghaus’ husband and co-founder of the Tour des Arts, says that at least 60% of the visitors at the event are from out of town.
Lake remembers the humble beginnings of the Tour well. The idea of in-studio tours was one that he at first kept to himself, out of fear that spreading the idea would cut into his own revenues.
“Typically, as an artist, you have to do a lot of self-promotion, so I used to do it alone,” he explained. “But then it seemed like a good vehicle to promote both myself and other locals. And my fears were unjustified: I learned a lesson. My revenue multiplied, and I gathered a lot more interest than I would have alone.”
The Tour then began thanks to Lake’s ideas and Maya Lightbody and Liz Davidson’s organizational skills.
“The first year we only had 12 participants, one restaurant on board, and a hand-drawn map of the Tour,” reminisced Lake, in comparison to this edition’s 35 artists and many local eateries. “You really see the evolution of the event when you look at the huge amount of support we’ve gathered over the years. That’s the entire reason it’s been going on for so long: people have adopted it.”
“Another thing that has developed a lot are the night events that visitors can enjoy,” he added. “I have to be in my studio every day until five, but at least four nights a week I go out and play with some local bands.”
Lake has been playing the trumpet since he was four years old, though he’s only been playing in the jazz scene for the past 25 years. His role in the art tour, however, is as a potter.
“At university I was studying to become an urban planner, but I took a pottery course, just to see,” he said. “As soon as I touched the clay I had like an epiphany. I knew that that was it, that was my passion. I work on it 8 hours a day ever since.”
Lake, like his wife, believes that the Tour des Arts provides a unique experience, not only for the visitors, but the artists themselves.
“When me and my wife go on trips we always visit artists’ studios. They’re so interesting and inspiring. You get to see the ebb and flow of creativity, the environment, tools, visuals that inspire the artist. That’s something we don’t always see as a society; where the products we consume are made, and how,” he said. “For the artist, typically the studio is private,
Knowlton’s Sarah Porter paints in oils and mixed media on canvas as well as acrylics and oil pastel on paper. as is the creative process. I can’t speak for everyone, but for me it is. It’s an exploration, and exploration does not involve conversation, except with yourself. But it’s an important process, one that’s not easy to put into words. When visitors come, they force you to do that, to break down those processes and explain why you’re doing what you’re doing, and I think that benefits everyone.”
The Tour des Arts also has a charitable side, one that is very important to Lake. The Tour des Arts Fundraiser serves to create and build on art workshops in local youth centers. Artists of the Tour that sport the fundraiser logo pledge to give a percentage of their revenues from the tour to the initiative.
“With the Tour, if young people get anything out of it, I hope that it is that they should follow through with their passion. I hope that they see how it’s possible, that they have a window where they can glimpse that possibility,” said Lake. “When you do what you love, whether it has to do with computers, art, writing, whatever, it becomes play instead of work. I want to expose children to these processes, give them an opportunity to be in the studio, to be inspired, so they can say: ‘Hey, that’s something I could do’.”
Katka Hubacek, a mixed-media artist, is going to be part of the Tour for the first time, though she’s been coming to the event for years. Her mother, Pina Macku, has been part of the tour for 20 years, and she herself calls the Townships home. This year, she found a synchronicity between the event and the direction her art was taking, so she finally decided to get on board.
“I can’t speak for all artists, but my work is all about feeling. My studio is where I feel most comfortable, it’s a safe place. I like that with the tour I can just sit down and draw, if I’m tired, or awkward. You can focus on something besides just the sale,” she explained.
“My art is a lot of self-discovery, I’m still figuring it out. My more personal pieces explore vulnerability, facades, showing feeling, the comfortable and the uncomfortable. I’ve been looking a lot at the relationships between the home and the heart,” she said. “Sutton is a huge part of my life, and I want it to be for my kids too. In the Townships, I feel such a sense of home. It just felt like a natural way to gravitate. And it’s so beautiful here too. There’s so much beauty to explore, both within the artists homes, and between them.”
To see the Tour des Arts route or find alternative paths like the ones designed especially for children, check out the Tour des Arts website at tourdesarts.com.