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6 Stouffville Sun-Tribune | Thursday, October 13, 2016 | EVENTS Studio tour invites residents to meet local artists Ali Raza aliraza@yrmg.com How often do you meet the artist before you purchase their work? Stouffville has the chance to do just that in the 16th annual Stouffville Studio Tour, featuring 26 artists in17 venues in town. On Saturday, Oct. 15, residents can tour the town visiting the artists' homes and/or studios - where they create their work; to engage in discussion and see what local talent has to offer through a wide array of artistic styles and techniques. "This gives people direct contact with the individual artist," said local artist and featured painter Ray McNeice. "So they can get to know them and get to see we're not really scary people." This year, the studio tour's 17 venues reflect the homes and workspaces of 17 artists who reside or work within the bound- aries of Whitchurch-Stouffville. The remaining nine artists are featured as guest artists, and are visiting from Markham, Uxbridge and other nearby municipalities. Artists involved in the tour are David Clubine, Diana Bullock, Allison Bullock, Bill Brennan, Colin Whitebread, Jane McLellan, Daniella Boerhof, Ann Rosa, Grace MacPherson, Susan Cotter, Sandra Cole Burke, Lis Simpson, Siek Wassenar, Anne-Lis Morris, Monica Gennaro, Joan Humphrey, Jennifer Creeggan, Gordon Reidt, Vladimir Lopatin, Olena Lopatina, Margaret Grandison and Ray McNeice. "It's free admission," McNeice said. "We encourage people to come out and meet the artists. Over the years we've gotten into some wonderful discussions and made an awful lot of wonderful friends through this." "Depending on the venue, some venues are a little more popular than others, we get somewhere between 300-350 people over the course of the weekend," he added. Styles of work range from paintings and sculptures with water colours, oil paint, acrylic paint, mixed media, metal sculpting, wood turning, jewelry and more. McNeice said the tour offers brochures at various locations around town, notably at For the Love of Joe on 6308 Main St. where a "preview exhibition" is offered on the cafe walls. As the tour enters its 16th year, McNeice reflects on how it began and how it's grown in popularity. Before old town hall became the Lebovic Centre for Arts &Entertainment (19 on the Park) there was an interim period where a group of potters from Markham used the vacant building to exhibit their work. As the exhibition grew in size, local artists decided it best to have Submitted photo Stouffville artists will present their works at homes and studios during the 16th tour set for Oct. 15: Colin Whitebread (back, left), David Clubine, Diana Bullock, Siek Wassenaar, Margaret Grandison, Monica Gennaro, Ray McNeice, Carin Bacher (front, left), Jane McLellan, Sandra Cole Burke, Joan Humphrey and Lis Simpson. a studio tour. "We get a lot of people from the city too," McNeice said. "They're coming up here and paying Stouffville prices for artwork that's the same calibre as what they'd purchase in Toronto, but much less expensive." Quality Care & Education Since 1993 CHILD CARE & EARLY LEARNING ACADEMY A Clean, Safe, Caring, Loving,Educational Centre for Your Child to Learn & Grow 12 months to 12 years You get just one funeral. Make it the one you want. You are unique. Your life is unlike any other. By pre-planning your final arrangements now, you can choose the options that reflect how you want to be remembered. What's more, you can save thousands of dollars and protect family from uncertainty about your wishes. Toddler Pre-Kindergarten Curriculum Junior & Senior Kindergarten Curriculum Nursery School Preschool Before & After School Curriculum Transportation available to / from local schools **Quality Programs that Now Accepting Fall Registrations LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE will result in your child's New this Fall, an Introduction to French Intellectual, Physical, Emotional & Social Growth** Come & See the Difference for Your Child Ask us about your FREE Planning Kit! 289-212-0004 905-640-0676 94 Montreal Street, Stouffville O'Neill Funeral Home by Arbor Memorial 6324 Main Street, P.O. Box 639, Stouffville oneillfuneral.ca Arbor Memorial Inc. Insuring You Against the Unexpected www.mollerinsurance.com HOME AUTO BUSINESS LIFE MOLLER INSURANCE LTD. 905-642-2745 | www.mollerinsurance.com Or call us for a quote today!