On Oct. 17 and 18, Newton County will host the Ozark Painters, Makers and Shakers Art Crawl. The event invites visitors to explore the vibrant creative community of Newton County. Ozarks at Large’s Andreah Gratol gives us the details.
Over two days, studios and pop-ups across Jasper and the rest of Newton County will open their doors for live art demonstrations and one-of-a-kind exhibits. Each stop offers a unique experience and the chance to meet the artists behind the work.
Tonette Madison is the director of the Newton County Chamber of Commerce. She says the chamber’s goal is to pair county members who want to experience art with local residents who actually make it.
“Newton County is full of folks whose way of life is an art, if you will. I want to help people see that on both sides of the spectrum — that there’s value and interest in what folks do — and help them market it.”
She says individuals can stop by the Ozarks Lavender Farm, Botanical Farm, Osage Clayworks, Tim Ernst Photography, and many more artists and crafters of Newton County.
“There’s just plenty to see and do. I think we have over 25 stops, and folks can collect tickets at each one of those and turn those in Friday afternoon on a beautiful Jasper Square, and we will draw for prizes donated by the artists and makers themselves.”
Madison says there is something for everyone.
“We have folks continually wanting to experience Newton County and all that it has to offer — from our climbers and bikers to our leaf-lookers and our Gold Wingers who are vacationing. So again, there’s something for everyone. They can find a niche there. And we’re trying to pair those people, make every type of experience available. We think we’ve covered it with Painters, Makers and Shakers — to get information, make it more readily available to learn what’s out there, and for the folks here in Newton County to know they have an avenue.”
The art crawl has an interesting approach. Rather than being door-to-door, the event will be road-to-road, ensuring that all of Newton County’s artists are incorporated.
“You’re going to experience all of Newton County from one end to the other if you make all those stops, because they are laid out on the printed map that we made available that’s full of information. And we have all that online as well at the website.”
When you think of arts and crafts, you don’t usually think of a farmstead. However, this art crawl strives to bridge that gap — showing what qualifies as art and encouraging appreciation for all types of crafts.
“Ryan Rasch is on the list, and he has an incredible working farmstead that anybody could spend a day at and learn a ton, as well as his art studio where he makes incredible jewelry. It is rural or remote, but we’ll have signage and directions on how to get there, and I hope folks go out and visit him because they will be glad they did.”
Madison says that much of our entertainment now is digital, and this event will bring people back to experiencing something real.
“Folks want to experience or have outdoor interactive experiences, and so we feel like we’ve offered a great one, as well as an opportunity for our residents, our makers, shakers, and us to offer that experience that they market.”
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