Chester County Studio Tour organizer and artist Jeff Shaller. (COURTESY OF JEFF SHALLER)
DOWNINGTOWN — The area will be flush with art this weekend as 203 artists display their work during the Chester County Studio Tour.
Paintings, prints, ceramics, sculpture, glass and fiber, will all be on display for free as the doors to 76 artists’ studios are flung wide open.
The event will take place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The tour started in 2005 with just 25 artists, and has grown to become a cherished annual happening.
“It’s huge,” said artist and event organizer Jeff Shaller whose studio will be open to the public, at 80 Highspire Road, in Downingtown.
“It will give a venue for artists to share their artwork and share it with the public,” Shaller said. “We are getting people in the area out and collecting artwork.
“I’m surprised how much talent there is out there and how much new talent there is.
“All the artists are excited. Working with 203 artists is a huge production. And ta-da, it’s here.”
Shaller will host guest artists at his studio from Harrisburg, southern Chester County and Berks County.
Maybe you will stumble upon the studio of the next N.C. Wyeth who Shaller is saddened that he never met.
“It’s like a legacy, a history thing,” Shaller said. “Why not do it now when you can meet the artist?
“Your neighbor could be an artist and you’d never know it. The tour takes the mystery out of the art world.”
Shaller describes his art as pop and fun, bright and nostalgic.
“You don’t want my problems on your wall,” he quipped.
One of the special treats on the tour will be the sale of what Shaller referred to as “a steal,” or a “County Collector.” Each artist has prepared a 6’’X6” piece of art that will sell for $90 when the doors open at 10 a.m. This special piece will not be on sale prior to 10 a.m. Saturday. This art is posted on the studio tour website.
While there is a catalogue for the event, Shaller said that now finding one is like obtaining the Holy Grail or a Faberge Egg.
Alas–no worries–everything you need to know about the 2024 studio tour is available at www.countystudiotour.com
Especially valuable is “Find 5 Studios,” at the website, which using your location will find and direct you to the five closest studios on the tour.
