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from breathtaking outdoor adventure to
fascinating history you can do it all
here in Bedford Virginia but today we're
hitting the downtown to check out the
thriving artistic community and we're
gonna hit the artisan trail where you
can watch as beautiful one-of-a-kind
pieces of artwork come to life
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you
everywhere you turn here in Bedford
you'll find beautiful displays of
creativity whether it's artwork from
area school kids hanging on lampposts
along Main Street or works of art on
display in local art studios you'll
discover something that inspires I
started my journey here at Goose Creek
studio owned by Mitchell bonds art
Mitchell we're standing inside your
beautiful studio it's called Goose Creek
studio
tell me about it so we bought a framing
business from a couple that had had a
framing in town for thirty thirty years
we thought we were just gonna be doing
framing we invited local artists to come
into our place and show work and they
came out of woodwork and now we have
almost three dozen local artists that we
show here we participate in second
Fridays in Bedford so there are a number
of folks businesses downtown that are
open late on the second Friday of every
month and we do a an opening art opening
on the second Friday we show local folks
work and try to get stuff that's new and
interesting for people to see and you'll
definitely find something interesting
this studio is constantly changing and
no two visits are alike on my visit not
only did I find beautiful and original
works of art but also unique pieces of
pottery woodwork and glass on the second
floor there are four open artist studios
to check out each artist with unique
perspectives that tell a different story
if you time your visit right you can
meet the artists and watch as their
creative process unfolds while the
artists weren't working during our visit
we did find them here inside the Bauer
Center for the Arts
Suzanne paddock is an oil painter and
was working on an animal portrait when
we spoke to her about working in this
public space the main reason I have a
studio here with Perry is to be able to
meet people share the work talk to
people that's really the business side
that's how I make sales you know but
more than that it's
a lot of fun too to have people come
visit and be interested and learn about
art I mean I mean yes my art but the
whole reason for the Art Center just to
be excited about art or to not have any
idea but they come in they talk to us
and then they they get curious Perry
Mason who shares this creative space
with Suzanne also prefers this public
setting an opportunity she says to share
a unique view of her world I think
everyone is creative a lot of people say
I can't draw I can't draw stick well
that's just because they've never you
know never been taught to help how to
see and these days that everyone's
looking at their phone and they're not
looking at their world as it is I just
feel like it's very important it's a
different way to see things it's a
different way to think the bower Center
for the Arts not only allows visitors
this rare glimpse into the art scene but
also serves as a huge economic driver
for the community we had over a thousand
visitors last month so these thousand
visitors don't just come and engage here
perhaps for a concert or to see artists
at work or you and exhibit but these
these visitors also go to a restaurant
or a may shop on Main Street
so we attract visitors for entire
downtown no one knows that better than
Melanie it was the main reason why she
opened her deli town kitchen and
provisions right next door there's a
small community and I think we'd like to
stay that way but it also you could
spend the day here you know and you can
hop around Goose Creek and Bower centers
come see us and all the other little
vignettes around town beg for such a
beautiful
I raise my family here and it's
important to me to kind of raise my
children in an environment where there
was a lot of community so and I think
the artisan trail brings people to our
small community instead of a bigger city
and discovering the passion and
creativity of these skilled artists here
in this tight-knit community offers a
unique perspective only an artisan trail
can provide one is that it promotes
tourism so it brings folks here gives
them a great experience of what Bedford
has to offer
it also offers a ton of developments and
then finally I think it gives folks a
sense of community pride because we
really have something great here we want
to be able to show it off it's part of
what makes us human it's part of what
connects us you know we could speak
different languages but we can both look
at the same picture for humanity it's
our soul I mean we needed new
discoveries and a new appreciation for a
creative spirit that can be found here
along the Bedford artisan trail and this
Friday is the second Friday of the open
door tour weekend on the artisan trail
enjoy art openings fine dining specialty
shops and live music throughout the
historic town of Bedford from 5 to 8
p.m. for more log on to visit Bedford
comm and for more on this and other
great in a day's Drive ideas visit our
website at in today's dr.com