"The mission of the Art Tour is to foster meaningful interactions between artists and the public within their creative spaces." That line comes from the Greater Lanexa Studio Tour's listing on the New Kent County calendar. The silver jewelry, fused glass, quilts and handwoven textiles on this weekend's tour are made in studios along Colony Trail, North Waterside Drive and Putnam Point Road. Most of the year, those roads look like any other set of addresses. This Saturday and Sunday, they become stops on a free, self-guided art tour.
The 2026 tour runs Saturday, October 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, October 25, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. According to the tour's own site, 20 artists will show at 8 locations around the Lanexa area. Admission is free.
Twenty Artists, Mostly on Three Roads
The artist profiles on the tour's website each list a studio address, and the pattern is clear once you group them. Fourteen of the 20 profiles fall on three roads: Colony Trail, North Waterside Drive and Putnam Point Road. Those three roads hold five of the eight stops. The other three stops are on Black Horse Lane, Skillman Drive and Brickshire Lane.
| Road | Artists listed | What they make |
|---|---|---|
| Colony Trail, two stops | Pamela James, Emily Dill, Kary Nicholson, Sue Maloney, Karen Clancy | Contemporary realist oil painting, jewelry made from repurposed silverware, found-wood and bottle art with bird and bee habitats, sterling silver jewelry, handwoven textiles |
| North Waterside Drive, two stops | Linda Knight, Pat Bell, Glenda Creamer, Cindy Greczek, Gary Caricofe | Fused art glass, wire and repurposed-fabric sculpture, abstract acrylics with ink drawings and watercolors, beaded jewelry, wooden treasure boxes |
| Putnam Point Road | Melissa Orendorff, Ami Weigartz, Patti Dwyer, Rae Oney | Paper collage and mixed media, quilts and sewn bags, ink and graphite drawing, paintings in ink, acrylics and metals |
| Black Horse Lane | Robin & Keith Kennedy, Bonnie Bridgewater | Custom leather purses, belts and accessories, watercolor with oil pastel, colored pencil, and pen and ink |
| Skillman Drive | Wanda Hollberg, Lynn Trott | Architectural stained glass and fused-glass jewelry, pottery |
| Brickshire Lane | Paul Kershner, Robert Schuler | Furniture and detailed cutting boards, paintings of landscapes, buildings, workboats, portraits and animals |
Because the stops cluster, a single road can cover several very different crafts. The two Colony Trail stops put oil painting, silversmithing and weaving within the same short drive. On North Waterside Drive, one stop has four artists working in glass, sculpture, painting and beadwork, and a second stop has Gary Caricofe's wooden boxes. Robert Schuler's paintings of workboats sit next to Paul Kershner's cutting boards on Brickshire Lane. That pairing suits an area where life follows the Chickahominy River as much as the roads.
A Tour That Came Here With Its Founders
The tour started in 1994 with sculptor Richard Green and his wife, Hilary. According to the tour's history as reprinted on the county calendar, the couple had earlier co-founded an art tour in Bracebridge, Ontario. The county listing describes live demonstrations and conversations with the artists about their craft and inspiration, set in the studios themselves.
The tour is "now based in Lanexa," in the organizers' words, though the stops range from Toano to Providence Forge. That spread matters for planning. A visitor coming from the James City County side and one coming from Providence Forge will start at opposite ends of the route.
Planning the Loop Road by Road
The official studio map places a pin at each studio, and clicking a pin gives you directions. Stops are labeled by letter. The North Waterside Drive studio hosting Linda Knight, Pat Bell, Glenda Creamer and Cindy Greczek is Site E. The tour publishes no demonstration schedule by artist, so the best way to plan is by road and by the hours you have.
- Pick your anchor road first. If you want to see a lot in a short window, Colony Trail and North Waterside Drive each offer five artists across two stops. Putnam Point Road has four artists at a single stop, which makes it the densest single stop on the tour.
- Group the outlying stops. Black Horse Lane, Skillman Drive and Brickshire Lane each host two artists at one stop. Look at the map to decide which of the three fit around your anchor road.
- Use the Saturday head start. Saturday opens at 10 a.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. That extra hour on Saturday is the easiest way to fit all eight stops into one day.
- Check the map the morning you go. Artist profiles on the site list a studio address, and the live map is the place to confirm who is showing where before you leave.
These studios are working spaces at private addresses. The 4 p.m. close both days is a firm end time, not a suggestion.
Shopping Without a Sales Pitch
The tour presents itself openly as a holiday shopping opportunity. Original work is for sale, and the organizers say pieces are "priced to accommodate every budget." In the next sentence, they add: "there is no obligation to buy; the focus is on exploration, learning, and enjoyment at your own pace."
The roster makes both promises believable. The tour offers notecards from Glenda Creamer and wristlets and wallets from Ami Weigartz alongside Wanda Hollberg's architectural stained glass and Paul Kershner's furniture. The tour falls at the end of October, so a Saturday on Colony Trail could take care of a few December gifts. Each one comes with the name of a neighbor who made it.
Lunch From Another Pair of Local Makers
The food stop on this route fits the same theme. Josh and Bethany Everhart are a Toano couple with restaurant backgrounds. According to the Daily Press, they opened J&B's Country Store "this past fall," as of that March 2026 story, in the former Brizendine Store on Old Stage Road. That building first opened in 1938 and closed in 2020. Bethany is a baker who began by selling her Division Bakery & Co. goods at farmers markets. The Daily Press reported that the store carries local honey, jams, seasonal produce and eggs, plus a deli counter with breakfast sandwiches, burritos, coffee and lunch sandwiches. It is at 9831 Old Stage Road and is open every day. If you are starting from the Toano end of the tour, it is an easy first stop for coffee.
That same March report said the Everharts planned to open Split Chick Grill at Rockahock Campground in Lanexa. The grill now takes pickup orders at 1428 Outpost Road. Its online ordering page describes the spot as "located at Walker's Dam off of the Chickahominy River." The hours listed there fit tour weekend well:
- Saturday: 11 a.m. to 8:45 p.m., so it is open for lunch during the tour and for dinner after the studios close at 4.
- Sunday: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., then 4 to 8:45 p.m. The morning window covers breakfast before the studios open at 11, and the evening window opens right as the tour ends.
The grill is closed Mondays. Hours on an ordering page can change, so call 804-557-5122 before you drive out to Walker's Dam.
If you'd like to talk through what makes daily life here feel like home, from the backroads studios to the spot by Walker's Dam, Amber Gentille would enjoy that conversation. Let's Connect.
