Coming April 13: the Acworth Arts Alliance Studio and Garden Tour!!

If you've ever wanted to get a peek inside a working artist's studio, and are curious about the ways they use art in their home and garden, you won't want to miss the first ever Acworth Arts Alliance Studio and Garden Tour this coming Saturday, April 13! The event is distinctive in that it offers glimpses into not only the homes and garden spaces of three professional artists but also into their personal studio spaces which are not usually open to the public

The three participating artists are Carol Allegood, Cathy Green, and Palma Rhoades. Like the art they create, each of their homes and studios is a unique expression of their personalities and aesthetics.

Carol Allegood's studio is located in a historic home at 4572 Northside Drive in Acworth that she shares with her husband, Tommy Allegood, Acworth's mayor. Majestic trees surround the house, which dates to 1900, and a small guest house built in the 1880s. Over the years, the couple has painstakingly restored their home to its former glory. In her second floor studio Carol's vibrant paintings and mixed media pieces come to life. For the tour large pieces of outdoor art by Alliance member Laurel Bowers will also be displayed on the grounds, along with some of her pet ponies.

Palma Rhoades' home at 3725 Valley Hill Road in Kennesaw is tucked away in a tranquil woodland setting. An avid gardener, Palma has collected and planted a wide variety of blooming shrubs, trees and perennials on her terraced property, which seems a world away from the hustle and bustle of West Cobb traffic. Occupying the lower level of her home, her studio is where she creates noteworthy works in oil and clay.

At 905 Grandview Way NW in the Brookstone community of West Cobb, artist Cathy Green and her husband Jeff have created a backyard gardener's paradise. Here a pond, pergola and fire pit are hardscape features in their lush multi-level garden which boasts a life sized carved wood statue of St. Francis of Assisi. Upstairs in their home, Cathy's studio displays an impressive collection of watercolor and acrylic paintings on floating shelves rising to ceiling height.

All three artists will be on hand in their studios to greet visitors and answer questions, while fellow artists -- Alliance members as well -- will be available to help guide visitors through the homes and garden areas. I'm excited to say yours truly will be one of the artists helping out on site at Cathy Green's.

So come enjoy all the colors of spring in the art, the homes and the gardens! Tickets for the self guided tour are $20 ($35 for couple). They can be purchased at the Art House, 4425 Cherokee St. in Acworth, or online at http://www.acworthartsalliance.org/events. Tour hours are 11 a.m.-4p.m.; rain date is April 27.
 

Studio Tour a Success!

Guests try on handwoven scarves and purses

The studio tour was great! We had perfect weather, lots of guests and made many new friends as well as reconnected with those we haven't seen in a long time. One of the most unexpected and delightful surprises for me was having my very first art instructor and a mutual friend, neither of whom I had seen in several years, walk through the door. Talk about a happy reunion! They had driven many miles to get there and I could scarcely believe my eyes when I saw them. It really made my day.

Guests making their selection from original works

Colorful art and fashions filled the halls

Dinah answers questions during a spinning demo

Now that the tour is over with, I've gathered a few tips other artists may find helpful in planning similar events. First, I strongly suggest you accept credit cards. It's easy if you have a smart phone with a data plan. By signing up with Square you can accept credit cards without having to establish an expensive merchant account. By accepting credit cards our sales more than doubled.

One word of caution, though: Square's device comes with woefully inadequate instructions so it helps to have someone who's familiar with it show you the ropes beforehand. Or go online for pointers on how to use it. It's easy once you figure it out, but when a buyer's standing there waiting (thank you, Mary, for being so patient!) it's high anxiety time if you're having difficulties using it. I believe Intuit offers a similar device. Maybe theirs comes with better instructions.

What sold best? We found smaller, affordable items sold more readily than big, expensive pieces. No surprise there. Typical of the season, most of our guests were shopping for holiday gifts although a number of original paintings were acquired for buyers' own homes. Jewelry was very popular, as were handwoven fashion accessories and fine art prints. Combined, our sales enabled us to raise a sizeable donation for the Cobb County Humane Society.

For refreshments, we kept things simple. We served goo-free shortbread cookies and ginger snaps, pretzels, and candy along with non-alcoholic apple cider and bottled water. The paper cups, napkins and paper plates were yellow and orange to reflect the season, and we used a simple fall leaf garland to decorate the refreshment table, which was covered with a yellow tablecloth. Everyone served themselves and cleanup afterwards was minimal. I was surprised how little there was to clean up, considering the amount of traffic we had coming through all day.

To draw attention to our location Karen had created signage that was placed along the street in front of the building. We also had professionally printed banners next to the parking lot entrance, and balloons tied to the handrail outside the front door. Dinah and Betty filled two planters at the entry with pots of bright yellow mums to draw further attention. So the atmosphere was festive both inside and outside. Municipal regulations required us to be mindful of the size and placement of our signs, so we were careful to comply as well as to remove them promptly when the event was over.

Since we were one of 13 studios participating in the tour, we cross-promoted the others by printing up a list of all the participating artists and their locations as a handout for guests. We also checked on the locations of nearby ATM machines so we could direct people to them if need be.

Holding an open studio is a lot of work and takes a lot of preparation. We worked really hard to prepare the space, hang the art, tag it, purchase refreshments, and a hundred other tasks in advance of welcoming our guests. Preparing for it was exhausting, but the day itself was great fun and wonderfully gratifying. A heartfelt thank you to all those who attended, and to my fellow artists who worked so hard to make the day so successful!