PUTNEY — The Putney Craft Tour, the oldest continuing craft tour in the country, did not spring out of a vacuum.
Rather, it emerged 40 years ago from the happy confluence of a number of trends, including the back-to-the-land movement and the rise of American craft.
One of the founders, potter Ken Pick, arrived in Putney in 1969 after receiving a master's degree in teaching. But pottery was never far away from his heart, and in about 1973, he began to earn his living from his craft.
“There are still five or six of us here who were here from the beginning,” Pick said. “We banded together in one location before we evolved the tour concept.”
In 1982, 16 artisans working in 13 studios participated on the fourth annual tour. That year established the practice of inviting the public to go from studio to studio, into the spaces where work is created to learn about the craft and talk to the people who made it.
“This year, there are 25 artists on the tour. It's never been more than 28. There was a conceptual agreement that that size was good. We wanted to bring in new young people who arrived in the area,” Pick says.
In addition to Pick, this year's participating artists include Pamela Simmons (photography), Rachael Shaw (felted mittens), Putney Mountain Winery, Phil Pellerin (art from “what other people consider junk”), Parish Hill Creamery (cheese), Fiona Morehouse (Alchemy Arte, porcelain vessels), David Mischke (pottery), Peter Maynard (handcrafted furniture), Marcie Maynard (oil paintings, pastels and monotype prints), Joshua Letourneau (freestyle hand-blown glass), Deborah Lazar (painting), Judy Hawkins (landscape painting), Colleen Grout (encaustics), Green Mountain Spinnery, Kim Grall (decorated gourds), Tom Goldschmid (wooden bowls), Dena Gartenstein Moses (handwoven garments), Jesse Fox (custom bicycles), Nancy Calicchio (oil painting), Ryan Burch (ceramics), Robert Burch (handblown glass), Caitlin Burch (handblown glass), Julia Brandis (stained glass), and Jeanne Bennett (silver jewelry).
Pick adds that the date of the Thanksgiving weekend was chosen carefully - “it's the start of the gift-buying season. And, because it's Thanksgiving, people are here visiting family from all over the country.”
Making connections
Connections are what it's all about, both for the artists and the people who visit their studios. Thousands of visitors move through the studios over the course of three days and engage with the artists - the real draw of such tours - as well as the distinctive, original pieces for sale.
Silver jeweler Jeanne Bennett, who has been on the tour for over 15 years, appreciates the feedback she gets.
“It's nice to get the work out in public,” she says. “I'm up in the woods, and I love hearing everyone's feedback.”
In addition to first-timers, Bennett, like most of the artists, has customers who return “to see what's new and add to their collection.”
Potter David Mischke also loves the interaction with customers.
“It's wonderful to meet people, explain how you make the pottery. They learn that it requires more skill and experience to make a living than they realize,” Mischke says.
For visitors, driving the back roads and finding the studios is an adventure in itself, although the studios are well-marked and maps provide clear directions.
The tour is also an inspiration for those who might be interested in working with their hands.
“My youngest son, Shawn, became very interested in glass making,” says Aggie Baker, an artist based in Winchester, Mass. “A colleague at work mentioned glass blowers on the Putney Tour and we packed the family in the car and headed up from Massachusetts the day after Thanksgiving 15 years ago.
“We visited Bob Burch's studio, and Shawn was hooked. He went on to study glass making at Alfred [University]'s School of Art & Design, and we have returned to the Putney Craft Tour nearly every year since then,” Baker said.
Boosting the creative economy
Craft tour organizers also observe that Putney artists, and their tour, reflect the power of the creative economy.
“It's not just the crafts studios who benefit, but area bed and breakfasts, stores, restaurants, and retailers,” Pick says. “Local shop owners say it's their biggest weekend because of the tour.”
Local restaurants also offer tour-related specials and raise money for the Putney Food Shelf.
For the last four years, the craft tour has been partnering with other cultural entities in Putney to put on special performances during the tour.
Next Stage Arts Project and Twilight Music will present an evening of contemporary bluegrass and folk music with the Lonely Heartstring Band and the Stockwell Brothers on Saturday, Nov. 24, at 7:30 p.m., at Next Stage at 15 Kimball Hill.
Tickets are $24 ($20 in advance at www.nextstagearts.org, Turn It Up in Brattleboro, and Putney Food Co-op). For information, call 802-387-0102.
Sandglass Theater will present Shoshana Bass's When I Put On Your Glove, a puppetry, dance, and spoken-word piece that explores a daughter's relationship to her father's work. As described by the world-renowned puppetry arts theater, the show “addresses universal questions of belonging, childhood, fear of loss, death and the complicated nature of navigating generational artistic legacy.”
Performances are Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 23 and 24, at 7:30 p.m., at the theater at 17 Kimball Hill. Tickets are $18 ($16 for students or seniors). Reservations in advance are recommended and can be made by calling 802-387-4051 or emailing info@sandglasstheater.org.
The tour includes wine and cheese tastings as well as demos. Visitors may start at The Gleanery, 133 Main St., for info, maps, and a preview exhibition of the artisans' works.