Local artisan John Schweighardt will be opening the doors of his Lanark Highlands studio to the public for two consecutive days on Dec. 6 and 7 between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. For a number of years now, Schweighardt has been inviting people to his studio in early May and early December to view firsthand, the vast and varied collection of art he has created from Ontario stone. Works are displayed in a gallery setting inside a charming century old log building as well as outdoors in a sculpture garden amongst a grove of mature pines.

Schweighardt has personally collected throughout Ontario a wide array of stone from quarries, farms, road cuts and almost anywhere a stone can be found and his creations make one keenly aware of the varied colours and rock types that Ontario has to offer.

From a tiny vase made of a stone from the shores of Lake Superior that sells for $15 to a granite sculpture with amethyst hair and headdress that he says depicts an Iroquois warrior and sells for more than $6,000, Schweighardt figures there is something for almost everyone. No stranger to community giving, earlier this year Schweighardt donated more than $2,200 worth of product to a fundraiser that his church held to assist a local couple after a devastating fire.

Having just returned from an art show in Sarnia in which ten per cent of all the artists’ sales went to a local organization for suicide prevention (http://www.aneventapart.ca/), he decided to do something in his own community through his open studio event.

The proud father of six beautiful daughters and happily married for more than 31 years, Schweighardt finds it difficult to comprehend women having to live in the kind of

fear and anxiety created by an abusive partner and wanted to contribute in some small way to an organization that assists women in those kinds of situations.

Schweighardt says that fifteen percent of all sales made during the Dec. 6 and 7 event will be donated directly to Lanark County Interval House who will be gathering at Moore House in Carleton Place on Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. to honour the 25th anniversary of the Montreal massacre.

Schweighardt’s daughter Tara will be selling her acrylic paintings as well during the weekend event. All are welcome from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. both days and light refreshments will be provided.

The studio is located at 1787 3rd Concession Dalhousie, Lanark, Ontario, K0G 1K0.

For more information about John Schweighardt and his work, please visit his website at: livingstonessculptures.ca.