Welcome To the Highlands East Studio Art Tour!
Discover the artists and artisans of East Haliburton County.
A quality studio tour of fine arts and crafts amidst the breathtaking scenery and the quaint communities of Irondale, Gooderham, Tory Hill, Wilberforce and Harcourt. Step inside each studio to view the demos and creative works of art inspired by the beautiful lakes and hills of Highlands East.
Where Quality and Workmanship Abound.
The 2024 Studio Tour has Artists and Artisans, each creating exquisite ‘one-of-a-kind’ creations in a wide variety of media.
- Original Oil, Acrylic & Watercolour Paintings
- Creative Woodworking
- Needle Art (Knit & Crochet)
- Handcrafted Jewellery
- Nature & Landscape Photography
- Sepia Drawings
- Home Decor, Handcrafted Gifts, Cottage Accessories
- Folk Art
- And much more!
The 22nd Annual Highlands East Studio Tour will take you through the breathtaking scenery and the quaint communities of Highland Grove, Harcourt, Wilberforce, Tory Hill, Gooderham and Irondale in east Haliburton County – A Natural Work of Art.
Inspired by the beautiful lakes and hills of Highlands East between Bancroft and Haliburton this group of artists and artisans create exquisite ‘one-of-a-kind’ creations in a wide variety of media.
In order to make your visit more enjoyable, we have included a detailed map and list of artists and artisans as well as a showcase of their work to assist you in planning your special tour. For your convenience, the brochure will also available to download and print from this web site shortly. We hope you enjoy your visit to the Highlands East Studio Tour on-line.
ABOUT US
We pride ourselves in offering a wide variety of media to view in order to attract Studio Tour lovers to come back year after year to the “Friendly Tour”.
How We Began. . .by Jan Simon, Current Chair
The seed originated with Evelyn Saxby. As a local fabric artisan, Ev had not been successful in joining existing studio tours and decided that it was time that the eastern side of the county had their own tour. Elva Bates picked up the seed and ran with it as Founding Chair.
With the help of Jack Linkert, Sabina Lohrbach and a handful of local artists the seed began to germinate. Joanne Walsh wrote an article in the Loop Communicator in July 2002, and it poked its first shoots out of the ground when five local artists called Elva in August 2002 to discuss the possibilities.
The idea was then cultivated during the next several months by studying how other tours operated, drawing in more of our local artists and setting up an administrative structure. There was a lot of hard work to be done before the tour could become a reality.
It finally blossomed on August 9th and 10th of 2003. This area is unique, each of the artists featured in our tour is unique. Their work is professional, diversified and affordable.
Over the years the membership has varied with the addition of new artists showing a variety of media and continues to enjoy the addition of a variety of people that come and go with time.
We are always open to new members and look forward to our 21st annual tour. Come, take the Tour for a rewarding experience.