Artists in nooks and crannies all over North Arkansas are opening their studios to visitors this weekend for two annual self-guided tours: The 10th Off the Beaten Path Studio Tour and the 5th Ozark Mountain Artists Studio Tour.
You’ll have Friday, Saturday and Sunday to make it to studios in and around Jasper, Ponca, Marble Falls and Erbie (the Ozark Mountain Tour) and Mountain View, Calico Rock, Pineville and Fox (Off the Beaten Path). That’s not a complete list of stops, nor are Scott Baldassari, Cynthia Lynn Dollard, Darwin Fontenot, Phyllis Hurd, Rebecca Holden, William McNamara, Don Nelms, Wendell Norton (Ozark) and Jim Tindall, Lee Cowan, Jan Hickman, Joe Bruhin, David and Becki Dahlstedt (Off the Beaten Path) the only artists and artisans welcoming visitors. To get the full list go here for Ozark Mountain and here for Off the Beaten Track. The sites include maps and information on how to get detailed directions to the studios.
Jasper and Mountain View are two and half hours apart, connected by US 65 (out of Jasper) and State 66 (to Mountain View), so leave yourself plenty of time if you plan to do the whole shebang. I’m not sure that’s possible, but you can try. (And leave a comment below if you go and want to report back!)