By John Chambless
Staff Writer

You can think of the annual Chester County Studio Tour as your chance to peek into the workspaces of artists, find some new favorites, and make connections with the artists themselves. But what you can’t do is see everything, even in two days.

There are 144 artists featured in this year’s self-guided tour, which puts groups of work in the studios, mixing and contrasting styles and mediums to make each stop on the tour an adventure. Basically, you need to look at the maps of where stops are located and plan your day accordingly. You can visit as many as you’d like, or have time for.

Meeting an artist in their studio gives rare insight into their creative process, and forges a bond that will last as you buy more of a favorite artist’s work. At a minimum, the studios are often wildly creative places where you can see what it’s like to create art for a living.

The tour will be held throughout the county on May 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and May 19 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be artists you recognize and many you don’t, but the adventure is in discovering something new at each stop.

Among the featured artists this year are John Baker, Sarah Baptist, Jill Beech, Katee Boyle, Ellie Byrom-Haley, Ki Crittenden, Beth Clark, Cheryl Decker-Sauder, Lele Galer, Randall Graham, Teresa Haag, Matiko Mamaladze, Alessandra Manzotti, Adrian Martinez, Pam McKee, David Oleski, Nancy Salamon, Jeff Schaller, Sandra Severson, Stan Smokler and many others.

Studio stops, noted on the maps, include those of Gregory Blue, Ellie Byrom-Haley, Diane Cirafesi, Beth Clark, Randall Graham, Adrian Martinez, Pam McKee, Al Moretti, Jeff Schaller, Rob Sigafoos and Brett Walker.

The event’s website (www.chestercountystudiotour.com) has all the information you’ll need to plan your tour. Visit the artist list or studio pages and plan your own itinerary by selecting artists or studios you want to see. Click the orange button to add them to your itinerary. Once you have selected up to 10 studios, click the green button to view your itinerary. Once you are happy with the artists you have chosen, click “Map my Itinerary.” Allow Google maps to determine your location and let Google map it out for you.

No tickets are needed for the tour. The event is free and is held rain or shine. All the studios will have the capability to accept credit cards as payment if you find something – or a few things – you love. There is a wide price range – everything from T-shirts up to major works priced at $25,000.

To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email [email protected].