RiverArts’ Studio Tour 2026: New Faces and Places, New Dates and Exciting New Works

Chestertown, Maryland

The popular RiverArts Studio Tour is just around the corner, and so are new venues and artists for 2026. Taking place this year on two upcoming November weekends, the Tour makes for a wonderful way to round out your holidays with personal, behind-the-scenes invites to discover more than 20 of the area’s most interesting and talented artists.

This year, some new faces will be joining our accomplished artists in bringing their latest creations to Studio Tour. Start planning now to connect with these creators and explore their exciting works. You can find out more about our artists, when and where they’ll be exhibiting at the RiverArts website, ctownra.org/studio-tour:

Michael Bell: Michael is a nationally renowned artist, author, TED speaker, podcast host and visual journaling pioneer. His large-scale narrative paintings draw on memory, identity and the people who shaped him to create cinematic worlds. A new Featured Artist this year, you can find Michael’s studio at 312 Cannon Street in Chestertown.

Lesley Campana: Lesley is a weaver with more than 20 years of experience and experimentation in weaving a variety of unique colorful items. Lesley’s studio is at 25729 Pearce Way in Chestertown. (Closed Nov. 21 & 22)

John Carey: John is a woodworking artist, making items from tables to charcuterie boards—whatever the wood suggests—from local wood and driftwood. Everything is unique! John’s work is at Davis Creek Studio, 5096 Edwards Lane in Rock Hall.

Nora Carey: Nora’s art features impressionistic Eastern Shore scenes done in watercolor, pastel, acrylic or a combination of these media. You can find Nora’s work at Davis Creek Studio, 5096 Edwards Lane in Rock Hall.

Peter Crow: Peter works in pastel, oil and watercolor to create abstract and figurative paintings in bold shapes and bright colors. His work includes painting on canvas, as well as charcoal and collage on paper. Peter is a Supporting Artist of the Tour and you can find his work at 22589 McKinleyville Road in Rock Hall.

Susan Farrer: Susan is a mixed media artist who loves creating art with found objects, papers, paints and inks. Much of her work is abstract, but often with a nature theme. You can visit Susan, a new Artist to the Tour, at 12441 Vansant Corner Road in Kennedyville. (Open on Nov. 28)

Cindy Bowers Fulton: An accomplished and versatile artist, Cindy will be showing paintings, collage work and wall hangings in a wide array of styles and sizes, as well as indoor and outdoor copper sculptures. A Supporting Artist for the Tour, you can find Cindy at Hollycroft Studio, 24284 Macs Lane in Worton. (Closed Nov. 28 and 29.)

David Gifford: David creates representational pastel paintings that largely explore the beauty of our environment. He enjoys capturing Kent County’s always-changing landscape and waterscape and its bounty. David will be at Gifford Studio at Davis Creek, 5067 Edwards Lane in Rock Hall. (Closed Nov. 28 & 29.)

Breon Gilleran: Breon is a metalworking artist, combining blacksmithing techniques with contemporary sculpture, assembling industrial materials and found objects into constructed forms. You can find Breon, a Supporting Artist, at Fairlee Forge, Breon Gilleran Metal Arts, 22540 Goose Hollow Drive in Fairlee. (Closed Nov. 21 and 22.)

Fredy Granillo: Fredy is RiverArts’ Clay Studio Technician and an accomplished ceramist, painter and woodworker. Fredy began his ceramics journey in El Salvador, painting Talavera pottery at age 11, later earning a degree in ceramics. A Supporting Artist, he’ll be showing at the RiverArts Clay Studio, 200 High Street, Chestertown.

Patti & Dave Hegland: Featured Tour Artists Dave and Patti Hegland are nationally known for contemporary functional and sculptural kiln art glass. Recipients of “Best in Glass” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art craft show, their work is sold in galleries throughout the US. Visit them at Hegland Glass, 315 High Street #103, Chestertown.

Marlayn King: Marlayn creates ceramics that are both functional and beautiful, made for the home and garden. Using a potter’s wheel and hand-building techniques, her well-crafted work brings a sense of grace and connection to daily living. Visit Marlayn’s Studio on Nov. 21 and 22 at 5037 Hillmont Drive in Rock Hall, and at the Bank in Chestertown on Nov. 28.

Cindy Losco: Cindy has worked in 3D art for many years and began painting in 2019. Her work is primarily abstract and intuitive, sometimes figurative, using acrylic paint and collage for interest and texture. A new Featured Artist for the Tour, you can find Cindy’s work at 4991 Huntingfield Road in Rock Hall. (Closed Nov. 28 and 29.)

Jason Patterson: Jason’s mixed media artwork is centered in Black history, with a focus on the Eastern Shore. He represents those histories through portraiture, the re-creation of historical texts, and creating wood frames to hold his work. A new Featured Artist for the Tour, you can visit his Studio at 800 High Street, Chestertown.

Marilee Schumann: At Marilee’s studio, you’ll find an eclectic body of ceramics, from simple tableware to more decorative pots and vases, both “functional and nice to look at,” including new spherical Moon Jars. A Supporting Artist of the Tour, you can see her work at Marilee Schumann Pottery is at 506 Old McGinnis Lane Chestertown. (Closed Nov. 21 and 22.)

Joan Strand: Joan is a jewelry artist, designing earrings, bracelets and necklaces, and then fabricating them in sterling silver and other metals. Her work often incorporates semi-precious stones. You ‘ll find Joan and her jewelry at The Barn Studios, Studio Strand, 312 Cannon Street in Chestertown.

Chris Taggart: Chris Taggart uses photomanipulation to create vibrant prints covering a variety of subjects. A new Featured Artist on the Tour this year, you can see Chris’s work at 4991 Huntingfield Road in Rock Hall. (Closed Nov. 21 and 22.

Christie Taylor: This year, Christie brings her international background in the arts to join the Studio Tour as a new Featured Artist. Christie’s paintings and constructed objects can be found at 110 South Mill Street in Chestertown. (Open on November 28.)

Jono Tew: After many years painting and exhibiting his work in the Southwest, Jono has brought his unique landscape paintings to Maryland’s Eastern Shore. A new Supporting Artist this year, you can discover the artist’s on-site studio with original oil paintings and hand-made prints at Backwater Gallery, 353 High Street in Chestertown.

Donna Van Dusen: Donna’s paintings are inspired by her deep connection to nature and wide, open spaces of our region: tidal rivers, wetlands, oceans, beaches and skies. New to the Tour this year, you can see Donna’s paintings at Envision Wealth Planning, 314 Park Row in Chestertown. (Open 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Nov. 28 and 29)

Sue Wright: Sue is an obsessive knitter, knitting designer and certified knitting instructor, creating garments that are handmade, not homemade. In her studio, you’ll find hand-knit items from beautiful sweaters to mobius scarves and much more. Visit Sue at 25729 Pearce Way, Chestertown.

While many of our artists will be participating both weekends, on the first weekend of the Tour, RiverArts is partnering with Eastern Shore Arts to focus a special spotlight on Rock Hall locations. During the second weekend, the Tour coincides with a number of holiday arts and shopping events in and around Chestertown, including RiverArts’ Holiday Show & Sale, the Holiday Artisan Market, Kent Cultural Alliance’s Art Walk, and Shop Small Saturday.

Both weekends offer an unmatched opportunity for art lovers and visitors to come enjoy the festive fall days—and the first of the holiday season—on our beautiful Eastern Shore. To find out more about the RiverArts Studio Tour and details about participating artists, visit RiverArts at ctownra.org/studio-tour.

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