Art Harvest Tour to feature studios from Perry to Ogden and Boone this weekend

The 80-mile, four-city Art Harvest Tour returns this weekend, offering a pair of new stops.

The tour, held annually the last full weekend in September, varies in location each year, providing plenty of opportunity for artists to display their work.  This year's event will be held Saturday, Sept. 23 and Sunday, Sept. 24.

“It’s really fun to go on a studio tour because you get to see more behind the scenes, where they’re actually creating things,” said Lynsi Pasutti, with Art on the Prairie. “It’s a little bit of a different feel than a 10x10 booth or a tent on a street at an art show. Anytime you are able to go out on a studio tour, it’s just a whole different experience.”

Art on the Prairie, a coalition of artists and community members who organize a November festival in Perry, will present the tour in conjunction with multiple artists on the committee.

A colorful addition

This year’s Art Harvest Tour will feature 18 central Iowa artists at eight different stops. The 80-mile travel along the Des Moines River Valley through Perry, Boone, Ogden and Jefferson.

Pasutti is excited about the new route through Jefferson as well as a new stop in Perry.

“It’s fun to incorporate some new artists, expand the reach a little bit and celebrate the wonderful talent that’s in this area and work together to promote the arts,” she said.

While several artists and stops are new this year, others like Flock 9 Studios in Ogden and Billy Whittle Collection in Boone have been with the tour since the beginning.

From stained glass to ceramics, the Art Harvest Tour has it all

The tour will feature various artwork, from stained glass to paintings, ceramics, fiber, jewelry, woodworking and more.

“We like to say that each of the artists and their spaces are unique to them, from historic downtown galleries to country-lane home studios, the stops are as unique as the artistic styles they host,” Pasutti said.

The Art Harvest Tour is free, and Pasutti said attendees are welcome to visit the studios and galleries at their own pace during the two-day event.

“It’s our ninth annual event and we have a great group of artists right here in central Iowa and the Des Moines River Valley,” she said. ““It’s an 80-mile loop so it takes quite a bit to drive around, but that’s part of the fun of it.”

More information about this year’s tour can be found on the Art on the Prairie website, artontheprairie.org, and Facebook page. Maps can be found online and can also be picked up at each location.

The Art Harvest Tour artists include:

Perry

• Mary Rose Collections

  • Mary Rose Nichols — Stained glass

  • Deborah Powers — Painting

  • Andy Klindt — Wooden spoons and bowls

  • Cindy Devilbiss — Hand knits

  • Lynsi Pasutti — Ceramics

• Betsy Peterson Designs

  • Betsy Peterson — Painting, mixed media, clay

  • Eric Peterson — Wood fired stoneware and porcelain

• Valleyview Craftsman

  • Alan Lenz — Woodworking and stained glass

Boone

• Billy Whittle Collection

  • Bill Greenley — Woodcarving

• Ellen Fairchild

  • Ellen Fairchild — Mixed media abstracts, mono-type prints

  • Katherine Koskovich — Handmade jewelry

Ogden

• Flock 9 Studios

  • Pam Dennis/Ryk Weiss — Willow, clay and metal works, garden art, wall murals

Jefferson

• Art on the Fly

  • Jolene Peters — Mixed media collage

  • Curt Nelson — Handbuilt ceramics

  • Kevin Shea — Geek culture illustrations and apparel

• Elliot Art Studio

  • Chad Elliot — Whimsical, expressionistic paintings

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: When is the 2023 Art Harvest Tour in Perry, Boone, Ogden and Jefferson?