While these regional art-related destinations are plentiful in southeastern PA, researching
and creating an itinerary and setting up lodging can be a time-consuming process that may seem daunting
to someone who is not intimately familiar with all that the region has to offer. The Pennsylvania Arts Experience wants
to simplify this process. By providing a comprehensive and consolidated listing of artists studios,
galleries, museums and other cultural and heritage destinations in the region, it helps guide art-oriented travelers
as they create custom itineraries, either on their own or with the help of an exclusive concierge
service.
Witness the Creative
Process
Because of the trail’s proximity to Philadelphia and such famous artist
colonies as New Hope and Yellow Springs, this area is teaming with a wide array
of working painters, weavers, quilters, printmakers, potters, glassblowers, woodworkers, etc., many with
national or international reputations. Many of these artists and artisans are working in unique
and spectacular studios located in renovated barns or adaptively reused buildings
in the small towns along the way.
The PA Arts Experience features “behind-the-scenes” tours of selected artists’
studios, allowing the visitor to interact with the artists and gain
insight into their creative process, while at the same time providing the opportunity to help support
the artist’s creative work through the direct purchase of original works of art.
In addition the PA Arts Experience provides easy access to the many wineries, fine
restaurants, antique shops and historic, cultural and scenic destinations in the area as well as unique lodging
accommodations like regional bed&breakfast inns or the spectacular Lancaster Arts Hotel.
Where is the PA Arts Experience located?
The Pennsylvania Arts Experience is located in the scenic river valleys of southeastern Pennsylvania.
This portion of
the state is rich in artistic legacy and is home to some of the nation’s most prominent and
influential artists throughout history including Daniel Garber, William Lathrop and the New Hope School of
American Impressionism, Charles Sheeler, Wharton Esherick, The Wyeth Dynasty and Brandywine School, and Charles Demuth.
Along the way
can also be found many extraordinary art museums including the James A. Michener Art Museum
(branches in Doylestown and New Hope), the Brandywine River Museum, Philip and Muriel Berman Art
Museum, Lancaster Museum of Art and Demuth Museum.
The trail is divided into 3
regions extending along the Route 30/113 corridor between York, PA and New
Hope, PA:
Lower Susquehanna River Valley
Brandywine/Schuylkill
River Valley
Lower Delaware River Valley
How Does the Trail Work and Where Do I Begin?
Begin by exploring the PA Arts Experience website (enter on image above or by going to www.PaArtsExperience.com), see what each region has to offer by clicking on the links, and determine a location
or locations from which you would like to base your experience. Next choose your lodging.
After visiting the websites of the artists, galleries, museums, etc. build a list of sites to visit
during your stay. Many of the artist studios are open by appointment only, so either contact the
artists directly (using email or other contact information on their website) to schedule a visit or contact
our concierge, Carol Foley Bolt, who is familiar with all the artists on the trail,
can make suggestions based on your specific interests, and can contact the artist directly
to arrange your visit and can even help arrange your lodging.
Concierge: (717) 917-1630
Trail Courtesy
Remember when visiting artist's studios to:
Be on
time for your appointment - many artists will have made special arrangements to see you, perhaps putting off
creative time, so please don't waste their time by showing up late or not at all.
Be respectful of their
time - don't plan to visit a studio unless you are seriously interested in seeing that particular artists work, either
to learn more about it or to purchase it. At the same time don't feel compelled to have to buy something - the artists are
all aware that not everyone who visits will necessarily buy and that a decision to purchase might take several visits or some
time for consideration.
Don't overstay your welcome - while artists may be lured in to gabbing about the weather or the latest gossip,
they might secretly be wishing you would leave so they can get back to work (but are too polite to say so).
Be respectful of their
work - don't touch anything in the studio unless the artist gives permission. Remember, if you break it you've bought
it. Also don't expect big discounts when buying directly from the artists. Artists work hard to establish a market value for
their work which must stay consistent whether in a studio or in a gallery.
Have fun and ask lots
of questions - the artists have agreed to be a part of this trail because they are interested in interacting with
the public, sharing their creative process, and perhaps forging new relationships with those who are sincerely interested
in following, learning about, and collecting their work.
