Twenty Virginia artists are throwing open their studio doors near Lanexa this weekend for a free, self-guided tour that lets visitors watch pottery take shape on the wheel, glass get blown into form, and jewelry get hammered into existence. The 2026 Greater Lanexa Studio Tour runs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and continues Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., spanning eight studio locations across the area.
According to Williamsburg Families, the weekend event is entirely free to attend and requires no reservations, letting visitors move at their own pace between stops. The tour's official site, greaterlanexastudiotour.com, confirms the event is completely free and self-guided, with 20 artists spread across eight different locations around the Lanexa area.
The mediums on display cover a wide swath of craft traditions. Per the tour's website, visitors can expect to see pastels, woodturning, jewelry, glass and pottery, among other artistic practices, with each stop offering the chance to watch techniques unfold in real time rather than just viewing finished pieces behind glass.
Live Demonstrations and Conversations With Artists
What sets the tour apart from a typical gallery walk is direct access to the people making the work. The event includes live demonstrations and insightful discussions with the artists about their craft and inspiration, according to the same site, giving attendees a chance to ask questions about technique, materials and the ideas behind each piece.
Visitors can engage with some of Virginia's finest artisans over the two-day run, the tour's website notes. A map on the site's studio-locations page highlights every stop, with each pin representing a unique studio that's part of this year's lineup.
Meet Two of the Tour's Featured Artists
Among the participating artists is Bonnie Bridgewater, a retired physical education teacher from Varina whose work draws on her love of gardening and time spent outdoors. Her artist profile on the tour's site describes her use of watercolors, oil pastels and colored pencils, often accented with pen and ink, to translate those outdoor experiences onto paper.
Also on the tour is Melissa Orendorff, a paper-collage and found-object artist based on Putnam Point Road in Lanexa. Her profile describes a practice built around reused materials — recycled paper, cigar bands, old maps and vintage ephemera — assembled into mixed-media pieces that, in her words, bring history and art together.
The tour's website points to October 2026 as the event's return window, inviting the public back for another year of studio visits. For anyone curious about where woodturning meets watercolor or how a found cigar band ends up in a collage, this weekend offers a rare, no-cost chance to see it all happen firsthand.
