NEWBERG, Ore. — Yamhill County’s Art Harvest Studio Tour is set to begin its 32nd annual run Oct. 2. This year’s tour includes 50 artists working in a range of media, from painting and sculpture to blacksmithing, mixed media, and more, according to the tour’s website.
Participating artists are located in Amity, McMinnville, Dayton, Newberg, Dundee, and Carlton, with stops in each town.
The tour began in 1993, when an organization of visual artists opened their studios to the public for the first time, according to the tour’s website. It is run by the Arts Alliance of Yamhill County, which is based in McMinnville, and takes place on the first two weekends of October.
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Visitors move through the studios at their own pace, and the website says they can watch demonstrations, learn about artists’ creative processes, and buy artwork. Tour Coordinator James Nelson wrote on the site that the tour is meant to let visitors “meet the artists in their working environment.”
Gary Buhler, a Newberg artist on the tour, told Newsberg in 2023 that seeing every artist over the tour’s six days may not be realistic, but that it is a way to find a few artists of interest and get to know them.
One of the tour’s returning participants is Ken Trox, who specializes in wood and mixed media art and has a studio at 115 E. Sherman St. in downtown Newberg.
Trox started his design career on the East Coast, creating packaging and branding for toys such as G.I. Joe and Transformers. He spent more than 30 years in graphic design.
“I wanted to start making the things instead of just making the pretty packaging,” Trox said.
Some of Ken Trox’s wood lamp art pieces sit on a desk in his north Newberg workshop. (Kingston Gottfried / Newsberg) 
Ken Trox in his north Newberg workshop. (Kingston Gottfried / Newsberg) 
(Kingston Gottfried / Newsberg) 
Ken Trox works on a piece of art using a table saw to create his intricate wood lamp forms in Newberg, Ore. (Kingston Gottfried / Newsberg) 
Ken Trox’s wooden lamp art is created with small, intricately-cut panels. (Kingston Gottfried / Newsberg) 
Ken Trox in his north Newberg workshop in 2026. (Kingston Gottfried / Newsberg) 
Part of the excitement of the Art Harvest Studio Tour is seeing the artists at work, and their workstations. Ken Trox’s workshop in north Newberg is a collection of finished and partially finished wooden lamps, along with raw materials. (Kingston Gottfried / Newsberg) 
Newberg artist Ken Trox specializes in illuminated wooden sculptures.(Kingston Gottfried / Newsberg) 
Ken Trox runs a piece of wood over his table saw, preparing it for a future art piece in his north Newberg workshop. (Kingston Gottfried / Newsberg) 
(Ken Trox’s career revolved around graphic design and consumer packaging, like this “Original Bag of Poo .” (Kingston Gottfried / Newsberg)
He then decided to move to the West Coast and attend the now-closed Art Institute of Portland. He continued experimenting with woodworking, laser cutting, and computer numerical control (CNC) machining. Trox began creating work for night markets, which shaped his current career.
Trox now focuses on pieces such as wood lamps, tree-of-life lanterns, and signs. He still channels the element of fun he experienced in the toy industry through projects such as toy car kits, 3D-printed toys, and graphic design for “The Original Bag of Poo,” a novelty cotton candy product.
Trox credits the tour with being a helpful platform for local artists.
“People come from all around the country for this tour,” Trox said. “It’s about that interaction.”
Working with 3D printing, woodworking, and CNC machining gives Trox the opportunity to teach what he called the “growing group of makers” in the community. He hosts students from Newberg High School’s Tiger Manufacturing program, giving those pursuing the field a feel for working in a studio setting and feedback on their own projects.
The tour runs Oct. 2-4 and Oct. 9-11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A $10 entry button is required and is sold at all studios and select Yamhill County outlets, according to the tour’s website. Galleries are marked with bright yellow lawn signs reading “Art Harvest Studio Tour” with an arrow and a bird.
More information, including artist listings by town, is available at artharveststudiotour.org.
