SOUTH NEWFANE – Rock River Artists (RRA), a collection of fine artists and craftspeople whose studios span Brookline to So. Newfane, have welcomed three new area artists into the fold: Ed Jekot, painter and sculptor; Nancy Libby, painter; Noelle VanHendrick and Eric Hendrick, clay artists of ZPOTS.

They join eight other artists on the 2026 tour: Brittany Bills-Coleman, painting; Chris Darrow, clay; Richard Foye, raku pottery; Gayle Robertson, painting; Gianna Robinson, painting; Deidre Scherer, thread on fabric; Matthew Tell, pottery; T. Breeze Verdant, inlay jewelry.

Jekot, Director of Marketing at Mary Meyer in Townshend, came to Vermont several years ago after listening to a podcast featuring an old friend and fellow Rhode Island School of Design alumni, Adrianna Alty, with historian and writer, Jill Lepore.

In his studio at the back of his small art space, Gallery 1330, in Newfane, Jekot has been working lately in more three-dimensional modes. What he plans to show most on the RRA tour, though, will be encaustic paintings, a method that involves wax, resin, and pigment.

“I am very interested in process and materials,” he says. “I like to try techniques and materials combining in ways that create creative accidents: My work often incorporates both narrative and representational styles.”

Having taken the Rock River Artists’ Studio Tour a few times, it was “exciting to see this community of artists that live in the woods here:” some may be well-known; others new to the scene. It’s all part of a community, Jekot says, and he’s happy to be part of that. While his work will be front and center during the RRA 2026 tour, the walls of his little gallery will be filled with submissions to what he calls a teeny art show featuring works from within the region.

Nancy Libby has been painting since high school. “I’ve always had a little studio, a little place to paint, and a place to do art, and knew when I retired,” as she did recently from a 30-year career in computer software, “it was going to be my full time gig.” Seen in several shows over the years Libby has worked in various media; lately, her focus is on acrylics.

“So I start really with just making marks. And I think what inspires me is what’s around me,” she says pointing to a hillside view from her studio.

“I spend a lot of time in the woods with my dog walking and hiking just clearing my mind and letting go.” Of the various pieces in her studio in process, she says, ” I’m always working on more than one thing at a time, often three or four things. I spend a lot of time alone creating, and so you live in this little bubble” aiming to “ stay true to what moves me and what I find interesting.”

Looking forward to being part of the RRA tour for the first time, she says, “It’s inspiring to hang out with fellow artists just to talk — it doesn’t even have to be about art– just creative minds” gathering: the organization of Rock River Artists offers that potential.

Noelle VanHendrick and Eric Hendrick join the tour after having tried 20 years ago when the geographic reach did not include Brookline, Vt, the home of ZPOTS.

In a busy, multi-annexed, yet moderately-sized studio, the couple and a few others produce work to be marketed as the 25-year-old ZPOTS through 100 galleries across 50 states and abroad. They’re regulars, too, at both trade and retail shows up and down the East Coast.

The two and one other throw the pots; another tends to the flatware, and all tend to next steps before Noelle Van Hendrick writes and paints on each piece before it goes to glazing.

“A lot of folks don’t recognize or realize that it’s all hand inscribed. They think it’s like a decal, but everything is hand done”—all the stars and hearts and the words and expressions of inspiration.

“Our mission has always been to help create world peace,” VanHendrick says, “and that begins at the home and in the heart. So I think it’s the energy of the pieces: our intention here is to serve the common rituals of humanity as artists.”

Being part of the RRA community, she adds, helps fulfill ZPOTS mission. “We’re happy to be a part of and included within this community of artists. We’re really excited.”

New and existing members are gearing up for Rock River Artists annual Open Studio Tour starting at South Newfane Schoolhouse, So. Newfane, Vt. Saturday and Sunday, July 18 and 19 from 11am to 5pm. For more information: rockriverartists.com.