Visit Montgomery:
How did Countryside Artisans first get started?
Countryside Artisans:
Countryside Artisans member Dalis Davidson, owner of Dancing Leaf Farm, started the group 24 years
ago as a sheep and wool tour. Since then, the group has evolved to include a variety of fine artists who
work in glass, ceramics, stoneware and porcelain, stone, wood, oils, acrylic, pastels, pencil,
photography, as well as fiber and textiles.
Visit Montgomery:
How does Countryside Artisans differ from the normal “art scene”?
Countryside Artisans:
On the Countryside Artisans Gallery and Studio Tours visitors can meet the artists in their studios and
witness the settings in Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve that inspire the artists every day.
Each gallery and studio has its own picturesque, often historic, setting -- nestled in the woods or on a
farm, housed in a renovated dairy barn or a 1790 log cabin, or tucked behind a Victorian farmhouse or a
civil war tavern.
Visit Montgomery:
Tell us more about the different aspects of Countryside Artisans – the artists, mediums used, the layout,
etc.
Countryside Artisans:
Each of the Countryside Artisans offers a different type of high quality art, whether it be sumptuous
textiles for the home felted from wool from sheep with names and silk obtained from a local thrift shop;
colorful, hand-painted earthenware pottery and figurative ceramic sculpture; fine furniture crafted from
exotic hardwoods; hand-blown glass fresh from the fire; delightful paintings and pastels created in plein
air; primordial sculpture carved from stone; or hand-painted yarns and fiber from the sheep that graze
the fields near Sugarloaf Mountain. The artists are juried into the group and have shown at the
Smithsonian, Strathmore, the Delaplaine Arts Center, BlackRock Center for the Arts and the Corcoran
Gallery of Art, among others.
Visit Montgomery:
How important is hospitality and tourism industry to Montgomery County?
Countryside Artisans:
The hospitality and tourism industry is particularly important in Montgomery County’s Agricultural Reserve.
One of the more successful reserves in the country, the Ag Reserve offers the Washington DC area nearby
open space where visitors can catch a breath of fresh air, soak in nature’s beauty, and regain a sense of wellbeing.
Visit Montgomery:
What do you want potential customers and visitors to know about Countryside Artisans?
Countryside Artisans:
It’s a wonderful way to spend a day in the country and a wonderful source for original art.