What do you do if you’re an artist working out of a studio in a relatively obscure pocket of Canmore where few people are likely to wander in through the door on any given day?
Band together – there’s strength in numbers.
That’s exactly what a group of artists working out of studios in the Elk Run area have done, creating the Artists of Elk Run. According to Julia Rayne Schumacher of Rayne Maker Pottery, the Artists of Elk Run “is a collaborative effort to create awareness about all of the artists in our area.”
For the group’s premiere event, the Artists of Elk Run, which includes 10 studios and 12 artists all located on the Elk Run/Bow Meadows Crescent, it is hosting a studio tour Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 8-9, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
The 10 studios included in the Artists of Elk Run are Elizabeth Wiltzen, Of Cabbages and Kings Pottery, Tony Bloom, Rudi Peet, Peig Abbott, Hot Glass Studio, Sunny Raven, Barb Fyvie, Linda Cote and Schumacher.
Within these studios, the artists work in painting, sculpture, ceramics, glass, jewelry, printmaking, metal and mixed media.
“We’re quite diverse and all of us have been quite dedicated in our field. For many of us it is our full-time job and it’s in a tucked away area in Canmore that doesn’t get a lot of attention,” Schumacher said. “When you’re not on Main Street you have to do more. We’re just making up for not being on Main Street.”
The Artists of Elk Run have produced a map and brochure to help art lovers navigate the studio tour. The group’s logo, a running elk in black on an orange sign, will be featured on the door of each studio. Signs with the same elk will be on Highway 1A and Elk Run Boulevard during the studio tour.
A map is also available on Facebook under Artists of Elk Run.
The group started earlier this year and each member is sharing the duties to bring awareness of the galleries of the whole.
Schumacher said the group is planning to do the studio tour again next year, with other initiatives throughout the year.
