HARLEM VALLEY — The last two weekends have been host to the ArtEast tour, and this concluding weekend had artists from Millerton, Amenia, Wassaic, Pine Plains, Millbrook, Dover Plains and Wingdale opening up the doors to their studios as participants moved up and down Route 22 for a chance to talk with the artists and browse through their work.
The event was backed by the Northeast Dutchess Fund, which is an endowment of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. Starting with an Open Studios Artists Reception on Sunday, Oct. 5 at The Moviehouse in Millerton, the tour was split up into two sections. The weekend of Oct. 25 and 26 featured artists in Pawling, Holmes and Patterson and covered Southeastern Dutchess County. Last weekend, Nov. 1 and 2, hosted the rest of the artists.
Pine Plains resident Jon DePreter, who owns DePreter Designs, said it was his second year participating.
“It’s fun,� he said. “One of the visitors last year is now representing me, so that worked out. People come out of curiosity.�
DePreter reported visitors from Rhinebeck as well as Clinton Corners, in additions to friends and local residents who were already familiar with his work.
DePreter works with “all different kinds of wood,� and the pieces he had on display were relatively new. There were carved yoga poses, similar to the piece he had on display at the reception, as well as a series based around broken pieces of wood he discovered while cutting down a tree. Ants had gotten inside and eaten much of the wood, creating peculiar shapes that many of his pieces were modeled after.
“It’s hard to create something random without making it look like I was trying to create something random,� DePreter said, who has been working with wood for 20 years.
Further south, Tilly Strauss’ studio was advertised by signs from Route 22, and she had wine and cheese available for people stopping in.
“I had 42 people come in yesterday, and I haven’t even counted today,� she said. “It’s really good to see people coming out to give their support.�
In addition to the hundreds of pieces she had available for sale, Strauss was also raffling a free painting. Recurrent themes in the work on display included food and chickens, often referencing in a tongue-and-cheek fashion a road that the chicken had to or already had crossed. Her work involves cut-and-pasting newspaper headlines into her painting, as well as incorporating needle and thread patterns into her work.
Bill Prickett, who hails from Brooklyn but owns a house in Pawling, said that he had spent both weekends on the tour after walking into the “Gallery on the Green� photography exhibition and seeing a pamphlet.
“It’s good for me, and I even took my 10-year-old son around last weekend. I’ve enjoyed everything, although I have to say that the work by Erix [out of Wingdale] is absolute magic.�
“Everyone I talked to was really positive,� Strauss said after the event was over, mentioning that some people didn’t get as big a turnout but that their attitudes were still high. “Sue Hennelly got commissions for future artwork, so she’s excited about that. I think everyone wants to do it again. There are a lot of different ideas bouncing around, and artists from Rhinebeck and Clinton Corners are interested in getting involved, so it will definitely happen next year, I’m just not sure in what form.�
