This weekend as you plot your tours to Art Trek galleries and open studios of area artists and craftsmen,

be sure to visit the new gallery in town —Thompson’s Garden Gallery at 83 Palmer Street. It’s very accessible — behind Stott’s Ford and around the corner from Skyuka Fine Art and Green River galleries on Trade Street. Too, Tryon Painters & Sculptors on Maple Street is less than a block away.

The Garden Gallery represents more than 30 artisans. During Art Trek, however, the gallery will feature special exhibits and demonstrations by Matt Cable (mixed media), Becky Collins (encaustic), Joe Cooper (coppersmithing), Grace Lertora (painting and collage), Patricia Roshaven (painting and photography) and Mara and Ford Smith (writing and photography).

Over the Art Trek weekend, these artisans will be giving demonstrations and talks. On Saturday, Lertora will work on a collage and answer questions. Matt Cable will  talk about how he integrates various techniques (painting, drawing, mapping, writing and photography) into original works on canvas and salvaged materials. Throughout the day, gallery manager Becky Collins will give encaustic demonstrations and speak about the process. On Saturday morning, Joe Cooper will appear and show how he works with copper. Saturday afternoon, Patricia Roshaven will talk about her photography and how it influences her paintings.

On Sunday afternoon, Cable and Collins will continue demonstrating mixed media and encaustic techniques. Ford Smith will  answer questions about digital photography, the process of printing with archival inks on archival papers – including how to tone-map your printer for realistic images. In addition, Mara Smith will be on hand with copies of their published books.

To give you an idea of what you’ll be seeing and learning, each Art Trek artisan at the Garden Gallery has described his or her work. Mixed-media artist Matt Cable focuses on contemporary reflections of nature. He said he feels, “Art should be accessible affordable, and appreciated. My artistic process remains organic. Without the experience of creating one work, the next work may not come into existence.”