A critter from the Flaming Fire Art Studio, Plum City

Scheduled to coincide with peak leaf color, the Fresh Art Tour winds around the bluffs and valleys that make up Pepin and Pierce counties in western Wisconsin. Sixteen artists’ studios and galleries will be open to the public on this three-day weekend in early October. This self-guided tour will direct pilgrims through art destinations in Durand, Pepin, Stockholm, Plum City, Maiden Rock, and more. At certain studios along the way you’ll get to watch the magic happen. Studios will feature all sorts of art to enjoy, including animal-themed pottery, quilts, watercolors, needlepoint, ceramics, woodwork, paintings, artistically designed clothing and textiles, stoneware, woolspun, humorous garden sculptures, claywork, tile, mosaics, wilderness photography, Kenyan jewelry, a fire glazing demonstration, and more. Many studios are also off the beaten path and offer opportunities to enjoy traipsing through the Mississippi backwater, waterfalls, nature trails, raspberry bushes, and other great sights. At a few locations, you can even try your hand at the potter’s or spinner’s wheel, and you may just get to meet the sheep that supply the wool to a woolspinner. There are plenty of rustic cafés to enjoy along the way between bouts of art appreciation. You can download a map of each of the 16 stops online at freshart.org. 

Fresh Art Tour • Oct. 7-9 • 16 locations across western Wisconsin • freshart.org