Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

I've been backsliding - but I can still get up

It has been so long since I blogged, I knew I was slipping back into "corporate mode" where it is all work and no time for reflection.

Starting a business has that seductive quality about it where it seems that with just a little more effort, something worthwhile will be gained and a rest point will be reached.

That is not the case at all, you know, because there is always another challenge around the bend that can be surmounted with just a few more hours effort... Days go by and there has been no time for savoring life.

What brought me up short was listening to some visitors from northern Virginia discussing their lives and careers.

Their work and commuting takes 13 hours a day and they are dedicated executives who are all striving to achieve worthwhile goals in an increasingly unstable working environment. Listening to them was like opening old wounds and I experienced a sudden rush of empathy and personal weariness.

I thought, "I've been there and I've done that and I thought I'd gotten it out of my system. But here I am working 15-16 hours a day in a beautiful country environment and I'm not taking time to enjoy the sunshine and the beauty of country life."

Damn! I've fallen into the clutches of a seductive career opportunity again!

Encountering a career situation that allows you to create almost without limit is incredibly addictive. Days pass with your attention fixed on situations and designs that test you to the limit. The outside world becomes a blur of flickering images and tiny voices that attempt to distract your attention from the designs that challenge you.

Our visitors jolted me to my senses and my absence of blog posts galvanized me into a semblance of action. I'm back in action and I will try to share some of the beauty that I have been observing.

I'll leave you with two images to enjoy. This one is titled, "Elves in my Garden" and it is a new work from local artist Liz Stucki that I had the pleasure to frame.

The earlier image is a photo of the artist's storm-shattered window showing the delicate tracery of the broken safety glass after a recent storm. Liz is currently figuring out how to capture this image in another pen and ink drawing.

I am looking forward to seeing what she does with it.

(click on images to enlarge)

The inside story on Phoenix Hardwoods of Floyd, Virginia

I have been writing about Bill and Corinne Graefe and their distinctive furniture for several years and now they have finally  launched a brand new website which tells their story better than I can and shows many examples of their fine handcrafted slab furniture.

I never knew, for example, that they were inspired by George Nakashima, an artist from the 50’s who made furniture using slabs of wood with the natural edges left intact.

They have spent the last 8 years developing and refining their designs and techniques until it is hard for me to see much resemblance between their source of inspiration and their current products. They are true artists in their own right and they make a significant contribution to the community.

Their new website was constructed in one day by Corinne Graefe, who had never built one before. She created an entertaining and easily navigated portfolio site which shows off their products and answers frequently asked questions.

When you make products that look like theirs, you can bet there are many questions. They answer them all, including where do they get the wood they use for products like this headboard/room divider.

They have a refreshing response to the question why they are still building furniture when the Chinese can build it so much cheaper. I think they must be on the right track because their backlog is steadily growing.

Drop by and check out their new site. It is both a website and a weblog, so feel free to welcome them to the Internet by leaving them a comment or a question

Student Art Exhibit at the Jacksonville Center

The third annual Student Art Exhibit is now on display in the Hayloft Gallery at the Jacksonville Center in Floyd, Virginia. It includes work by adult and youthful students.

This 8x10 foot "Sunburst" quilt by Barbara Murray filled the South end of the Hayloft Gallery with light.

The equally striking "Quilt with Dolphins" by Sally Johnson held my attention immediately. The contrast of supple dolphin shapes and the angular geometry of the main quilt pattern was striking.

Linneya Cooley executed one of the most appealing pieces in the show in my opinion. Her mosaic self-portrait conveys a universal message. Her artist statement says, "This piece of art has a spirit in it. The ghost is me."  Linneya is 9 years old.

The exhibit features the work of 27 students who have taken classes at The Jacksonville Center. The exhibit includes work done in class as well as work inspired by having taken a class.

This exhibit will close January 26.  Try to see it before it closes.

16 Hands Studio Tour brightens up gloomy day

The weather may have been ugly, but the 16 Hands Studio Tour made us forget the weather completely. In addition to the artistry of Silvie Granatelli, Ellen Shankin, and Brad Warstler, we got to meet guest artists Pietro Maddelena from Tuscany, Bernadette Curran from Philadelphia, and Stacy Lane from Floyd.
(click on the images to enlarge)

Studio Tour traffic was heavy in spite of the weather. We saw many out-of-town visitors as well as old friends from Floyd.

The 16 Hands Studio Tour will continue Sunday, May 6, so you still have time to drive down the parkway and visit these artists in their studios.

I think the outstanding feature of these twice-yearly tours is the fact that we have an opportunity to talk with the artisans and get to know them as individuals.

They take the time to visit with us and have refreshments at every studio, so with all of the friends we encounter on the  Studio Tour, it feels like a party as well as an opportunity to buy gifts for family and friends.

We have never failed to come away with new treasures and some of the most intriguing offerings come from the guest artists.

We got off to a late start, so we couldn't finish the entire tour today. We will take care of that omission Sunday by visiting the rest of the studios on the route. Perhaps we will see you there.

The Jacksonville Center Newsletter continues with new publishing team

One of the most successful ways of connecting an organization to a community is to publish an easily read newsletter on a weekly basis.

The Jacksonville Center Team has taken over the task of publishing the weekly Jacksonville Center Newsletter and their splendid first issue makes for interesting reading.

This newsletter is absolutely essential if you would like to keep up with the cultural activities at the center.

I am no longer Executive Director at the Center, but I continue as a volunteer and I find the Newsletter to be a vital link to the good work that is being done at the Jacksonville center every week.

If you are not receiving this newsletter, you are missing out on one of the most important cultural and visitor attractions in Floyd, Virginia.

The Jacksonville Center is a must-see destination for visitors to Floyd and is a great place to bring your relatives when they come to visit you. Make sure you pick up the new Spring Course Catalog while you are there. It has a fine list of fascinating courses and they used a lot of my photos to Illustrate the catalog. :)

You can get on the distribution list of this newsletter by sending an email to newsletter@jacksonvillecenter.org

You will not regret it. It will give you an inside view of Floyd artisans and Floyd art that you will not get elsewhere.

Moving out of your comfort zone - part 4

Earlier this year, I wrote an article about moving out of your comfort zone in which I said that this action can produce rewards beyond your expectations. This pastel drawing is a result of this kind of adventure. It is just one of many of Gretchen's drawings now on display in her new online gallery at gretchenstlawrencestudio.com

Gretchen decided to redefine herself as an artist after years as a high tech program manager and she has been successfully establishing a distinctive style and a following in just a few short months.

In the process, she had to overcome all sorts of self-imposed barriers to becoming a professional artist. She was helped to a large degree by the fact that she works with a group of supportive artists and paints with them on a weekly basis. Working in a community of aligned people eases the stress of moving out of your comfort zone.

Recent changes in technology have lowered the bar to launching a career in almost every area. You can now create and publish your work on the Internet for less than it costs to subscribe to a major newspaper.

You can create professional looking websites and keep them updated for a few dollars a month. This opens the door to new opportunities for professionals in their mid-forties who see career roadblocks looming in their future.

Think of it this way: You have been accumulating business experience for many years on somebody else's nickel. Isn't it time you turned this hard won experience to your advantage and used it to secure a livelihood that gives you great satisfaction and which you can control?

As a self-employed businessman or artisan you may make far less money than you did as a high-flying big city executive, but you gain something priceless: control of your own time.

There is so much that you gain in this transformation that it would fill a book. You can check out the articles I've written in the micro business category to get a taste of what is in store when you move out of your comfort zone and take control of your future by creating a business of your own.

You may not choose to become an artisan, but the path to success in any new field often starts with training or apprenticeship. In October, I wrote my first article about late-life artists who are transforming life experience into art. I noted that many of these mid and late-life artists were launched into a new career by taking a course taught by a professional artist.

I have continued to follow these artists and see that a number of them are producing an increasing volume of excellent work and are developing viable careers. It takes hard work, but they say it is extremely rewarding and would not consider reverting to their previous occupations. 

You have the same opportunity and it all starts when you decide to move out of your comfort zone. When you decide to make your move, you will find that there are people who are willing to assist you

Brad Smith - Appalachian folk artist

Brad Smith's distinctive hand-carved roosters provide humorous social commentary as well as decoration. Brad's roosters are becoming a favorite gift item in Floyd because you can always find one that suits the personality of the recipient.

His roosters range from this cheeful cheerleader dedicated to starting off the day with a rousing crow at the crack of dawn to jailbird roosters and colorful fops who would not look out of place in the most refined salons in a big city.

In his craft fair display to the right, you see a one-legged rooster with a crutch surrounded by a group of roosters which include a patriot rooster and a colorful dandy with a multicolored tail and fanciful stockings. Click on the images to see the details.

Brad is an Appalachian folk artist who works in both greenwood carving and drawing. He has established his own techniques in the process. In the image below, you see him forming parts with a draw knife at a bench he designed and built.

His professional background includes building log homes specializing in hand-hewn log techniques. He is well known for his hand-made woodcraft and his drawings can be found in galleries and restaurants in Virginia and North Carolina.

He is also one of the instructors at the Jacksonville Center, and will be teaching ladder-back chair making and old time whittling during 2007.

Just what are local arts and crafts anyway?

For the casual tourist collecting souvenirs of places visited, this may mean mass-produced craft work with some traditional basis. There is certainly a market for faux souvenirs and a good example of this can be seen at the gift shop at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello. All of the "authentic early American designs" are produced in China.

Floyd blogger Doug Thompson recently cited the example of a Michigan tourist who was looking for work that said "Floyd County" or the "Blue Ridge Mountains".

My take on it was that the woman was looking for a particular form of souvenir rather than an authentic piece of Floyd art. Floyd art is what is created by Floyd artists.

Catherine Pauley's work is a fine example of Floyd art.  It is too inventive and expansive to be squeezed into the artificial construct designated as "local arts and crafts."

As soon as someone codifies and organizes art into tidy little categories suitable for bar coding, it is probably no longer art, but tourist bait. I am sure there is a market for tourist trade "art objects", but these may not be what educated tourists are seeking.

I think it is far better that Floyd artists define what is Floyd art, than letting tourists become the arbiters.

Tourists are free to purchase whatever they want and if they want inexpensive souvenirs, they may end up with items mass-produced by the wonderfully enterprising people in far countries.

If visitors are looking for quality work and original art by local artists, they will find many examples of this in our local shops and galleries.

They should not expect the subject matter to be confined to country roads and old mills. Many Floyd artisans have traveled widely and have refreshingly original concepts to express. Floyd art ranges from the sophisticated to the primitive. The only common factor is that it is made in Floyd.

Subject matter is not a determining factor of whether something is local art. Not in Floyd anyway...

16 Hands Studio Tour Weekend

The 16 Hands artisans put on a studio tour twice a year and each tour brings throngs of visitors to Floyd. These visitors drive around the county visiting the 16 Hands artisans and usually take time to visit every gallery in town and the Jacksonville Center as well.

Gretchen and I did the tour today and we came home with arms loaded with treasures from Donna Polseno, Rick Hensley, Silvie Granatelli, and Ellen Shankin.

The weather was perfect with bright blue skies and warm sunshine. One visitor even did the tour in a convertable with the top down!

There is one more day to visit these fine artists in their studios and if you are within driving distance of Floyd, I urge you to take advantage of this unique opportunity.

Download the 16 Hands Tour Map and drive to Floyd. Enjoy the beautiful countryside, visit the studios, buy christmas presents for your family and friends, and make sure you eat lunch in Floyd where you can see more local craftsmanship at The Bell Gallery and Over the Moon Gallery.

You will also have the opportunity to see other fine artists who open their studios to visitors on this weekend, like Floyd ceramicist and woodworker, Carter Holliday, whose mountaintop studio has an incredible view.

Drive to Floyd and keep an eye out for these signs:

Tag: Floyd, VA, 16 Hands

Tom Phelps - unique production potter

The first thing you notice about any Tom Phelps pottery display is the teeth. Then when your attention is thoroughly snagged, you notice that he also has cups, bowls, and a host of dinnerware items that are just what you need for your home or for gifts.

Tom Phelps is our neighbor. He is an entertaining fellow and one of the most successful production potters in the area. Over the Labor Day Weekend  we finally got time to go over and visit him.

He has a production studio with electric kilns and several propane fired kilns on his farm just over the hill from us. You find his studio by driving down Stagecoach Road off Franklin Pike. Just look for the sign.

He gave us the full tour of his shop, introduced us to his staff and cheerfully explained his approach to making and selling pottery, but it was of little use to me. It was like Picasso explaining his painting by saying he just lays down the lines so they look right.

Tom answered every question thoroughly, but it was quite evident that I didn't have the depth of understanding, even with years of marketing experience, to understand the nuances of his approach to marketing his wares.

All that I know is that every time I see a display of Tom's pottery, I am drawn first to the grotesque faces on mugs and plaques, then to the standard dinnerware in long shiny rows, then to the beads and pendants. I start buying the small pieces and then begin picking up cups and bowls and before I know it am pulling out the credit card and looking at items that I have no earthly reason to buy, except that they are fascinating.

The toothy caricatures were first devised by his son Seth and have since become a staple of the product line.

Even his discards, like this broken pot put away on a dusty shelf, have the power to fascinate. This piece looks like someone's rendering of Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights.

What stays with you the longest however is the strong, clean lines of the more standard pottery. We have a number of bowls and cups and each is a pleasure to use and a delight to the eye.

If you are visiting Floyd, be sure and plan a visit to his studio. For more information, visit his website  or send him an email at info@potterystuff.com

Click on the last three images to enlarge. The details really don't come through on the smaller images.

Chris Shackelford reception at Over The Moon

Here, sculptor Chris Shackelford demonstrates her technique at Over The Moon Gallery

Those of you in the vicinity of Floyd, VA, should drop in on her reception which is tomorrow, Saturday, August 19, 6:30 - 9:30pm

Chris Shackelford, who has been the driving force behind the School at the Jacksonville Center for the Arts for many years, has finally found time to exhibit her own work in wood, stone, and clay  at the Over The Moon Gallery in Floyd, VA. This exhibit, which is titled, "Slightly Askew" contains 19 works representing nineteen years of sculpture.

Chris has been a sculptor since 1987 and has taught at Virginia Commonwealth University, Corcoran School of Art, and the Touchstone Center for Crafts in Pennysylvania.

Chris and her family live in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains and her work shows her reverence for her materials.

If you are celebrating life in Floyd this Saturday night, be sure and swing by the Over The Moon Gallery and say hello to Chris.  While you are there, take time to check out the gourmet menu and wine list at the Over The Moon Cafe. It is a fine place for lunch and for light evening fare during their Friday and Saturday night  events.

Selling new ideas in art, or anything else

The biggest problem with an elegant new artform is how do you describe it to possible prospects when you don't have a sample to show them. It is hard to manage an elevator pitch when there is nothing like what you are trying to describe.

The describing of something new by comparing it favorably or unfavorably to something else is called "positioning". Positioning lets a person understand a new topic in terms of one that is understood, as in, "Oh, so it tastes like chicken, only better!"

You can't just give something a new name and expect people to understand what it is. You can show them a photo of your new product, of course, but photos don't always tell enough of the story.

I ran into this some months ago when I asked Carter Holliday, veteran ceramicist, what exactly it was that he made in his studio. It took him several minutes of discussion and I STILL didn't understand what he did.

I went to his website and even then I couldn't get a real idea of what made his product desirable.

Finally, I saw some of his creations in the Bell Gallery in Floyd, VA, and was so impressed with the quality of Carter's work that I immediately bought one as a gift for a family member.

He describes this particular creation as an art tile, which is somewhat like describing a Mercedes 300SL Gullwing as a car.

Carter designs and fires hand-carved tiles which he then mounts in beautifully crafted bookmatched walnut frames. The workmanship is superb and these mounted art tiles would add an elegant touch to any home or office.

Carter still hasn't worked out what to call his "art tiles" but he soon won't have to worry. People will begin asking for those "Carter Holliday Tiles" and he will have created his own genre.

For the most part, unless a craftsperson makes a commonly recognized article like a cup, jug, or bowl, they have to use a description that decribes how it is formed or how it is used.

In the case of Carter's tile creations, he might have to use descriptions like "framed assemblies of carved art tiles" or something like that to give a prospect some idea of what to expect.

I can tell you from my own experience that it will take some work to come up with a description that matches the reality of Carter's work when you actually see it.

We should all have such problems!

Art is accessible in Floyd

[All images show Ellen Shankin's work. Click on this one to see her website.]

Floyd is unlike many of the "art colonies" I have known which had galleries galore, but not many working artists and craftspeople in public view.

Floyd is a farming community blessed with an abundance of artists. It still has its roots firmly set into the soil, but the future growth of the community may well be determined by how well the artisans of Floyd County can integrate their efforts into the overall economy.

The creative level of an area has a great deal to do with its attractiveness to new settlers and new businesses. Floyd has an abundance of talent and it is readily accessible to visitors.

Places like Pacific Grove, Santa Barbara, Provincetown, Santa Fe, Coconut Grove, etc., are favorite tourist destinations because of their natural beauty and the concentration of all forms of art, whether painting, drawing, clay, sculpture, or jewelry.

Floyd has a few galleries which display the works of local artists and artisans, but the distinguishing feature of this isolated and beautiful county is the wealth of artists and craftspeople on almost every back road.

I live in the northeast corner of Floyd County, nine miles from the only stoplight and there are well-known artists scattered all around the immediate area. You cannot drive down a nearby dirt road without encountering a sign for some studio.

These artists have a wide range of backgrounds from self-taught to MFAs from prestigious schools. Their reputations are often international and they may exhibit all over the world.

The common denominator that I see as a newcomer is that the artists I have met have talent and aren't afraid of sharing it. Some artists have apprenticeships, some teach at the Jacksonville Center for the Arts, others put on workshops.

If you visit Floyd and stay any length of time, you can't help but get caught up in the creative flow. It is probably one of the strongest forces driving people to move to Floyd instead of attractive places offering more choices of professional employment.

Gretchen and I went on the deservedly famous 16 Hands Studio Tour this last weekend and had time to visit two of the studios. On the way to these studios, we passed several other excellent studios which weren't on the tour.  

The net result of this abundance of artists is that you can find art at every price level in Floyd. It is never easy to make a living through art, but there is a community of people here in Floyd who are certainly doing a reasonably good job of it.

There also seems to be an awareness in the community at large that art is an important part of what Floyd has to offer and there are various efforts underway to teach artists how to become more viable.

I hope these efforts bear fruit. I feel that art is the key to Floyd's future.

Tags: Ellen Shankin, Floyd, VA

The Jacksonville Center in Floyd - an unusual resource for artists and craftspeople

Located near the Blue Ridge Parkway in Floyd, Virginia, the Jacksonville Center for the Arts is home to Virginia's first residential crafts school. Now in its second year of operation, it offers numerous opportunities to learn a new craft and to study with some of the best artisans in the region.

There are so many high-value courses available that I plan to post frequently about upcoming courses and what makes them special.

I recently wrote about the Learn to be a Blacksmith course and was fortunate to see the course in action today. If I had not had an appointment to keep, I could have stayed and watched for hours.

David Tucciarone makes blacksmithing accessible and understandable.
Pulling red hot iron out of the forge, he deftly shapes it on an anvil with effortless strokes of his hammer while describing what he is doing and the things to watch out for.

While his blacksmithing students watch attentively, he discusses the finer points of the hammer work necessary to achieve certain shapes. He is able to focus on what he is doing and share the experience with his students at the same time.

I have seen blacksmiths at work before, but none who possessed the ability to explain the finer points of what they were doing while they were doing it.

UPDATE:
If you have any desire to acquire blacksmithing skills, you should check out the next course, Introduction to Blacksmithing, taught by Jessie Ward, a fourth-generation female blacksmith. It will be offered May 13, 20, & 27, Saturdays 9am-4:30am. Visit the Jacksonville Center website for more information.

You can learn blacksmithing in Floyd, VA

Working with fire to shape metal is an age-old skill that still attracts our interest, even in a world where much of what we use is made in other countries. The Jacksonville Center for the Arts offers a series of eight courses on blacksmithing for students with different levels of experience.

The Center has a fully equipped blacksmith shop with six forges in a wooded setting where students can learn the techniques of making and keeping a forge fire, hammer skills, drawing out, upsetting, cutting, punching, riveting and forge welding steel.

Students also work with tool steel to make and heat treat punches and chisels.

I just discovered that there is a course being given this weekend, if enough students are registered. This Learn to be a Blacksmith course is taught by David Tucciarone. Call 540-745-2784 for information and directions.

There are many other courses available at the Jacksonville Center for the Arts. I will  be writing about them in future posts.

If you sign up for a membership at the Jacksonville Center, you get a discount on your course registration fees. Call 540-745-2784 for a catalog or drop in for a visit. Look for the converted dairy barn on Rte 8 one half mile south of Floyd.

Check out their website jacksonvillecenter.org

The new Bell Gallery - another reason to visit Floyd

William and Joanne Bell opened their Bell Gallery & Garden today and it's everything we had expected it would be.

The gallery displays work by top local artists as well as work by William and Joanne themselves.

There was so much to admire and the quality was so uniformly high that it was hard to pick out a display that stood out from the rest, but the large framed photographs by William Bell were truly exceptional.

As you can see from the image above, the photos are so realistic that it is like standing in front of a window. William has developed a revolutionary mounting technique for his large format photos that does away for the need for glass to protect the photograph! As a result, the clarity and intensity of the framed photograph is undiminished from the original image.

After seeing one of these photographs, you will never want to go back to the old method of framing again.

The gallery is spacious and occupies the entire first floor of the building. There is a framing shop on the premises and a garden at the rear of the gallery. You will find it easy to lose an hour browsing through the imaginatively designed displays.

Everywhere you look, you will see evidence of the care with which the Bells created this gallery. For example, in the renovation of this historic building, they discovered that the walls were constructed of 8-inch-wide stacked hardwood boards!

As you can see in this photo, the boards were simply stacked one on top of the other with each row offset from the next to provide a gripping surface for the original plaster. The boards were nailed down and were overlapped on the corners like log cabin construction. You can see the inside view of one wall and a detail view of one of the corners which was exposed during renovations.

An original wall section has been varnished and left exposed in the rear of the gallery. For those of you who are architectural history buffs, it makes for fascinating viewing.

While I was shooting pictures and interviewing the Bells, Gretchen fell in love with some of Joanne's unique hanging glass. As a result, we now have some of these pieces hanging in our picture windows. Very nice!

Drop in and visit the Bells if you are in Floyd. The Bell Gallery & Garden is at 112 N. Locust Street in Floyd, VA, and is located right next to Oddfellas Cantina, where you can retire to celebrate your purchases.

Tell them you saw their gallery on the Internet.

Tag: Floyd, VA

Artisans and Craftspeople of Floyd - first of a series

I keep discovering more people every day who make beautiful and functional things that enhance the quality of life. These people are all artists in their own way and they all have interesting stories on how they came to Floyd and became professional crafts people.

My long-term mission is to get all of these people blogging on their own so you will be kept up to date on what they are producing and how they view their life and their work. That may take a little time as they are not all Internet-enabled. Until that happens, I have an opportunity to present their work and their stories.

I have a bit of a backlog of artisans to present, but I will buckle down and try to produce a few posts every week on the people who make Floyd the arts and craft center of this region. I hope to let their work do most of the talking. This post introduces the work of Bill and Corinne Graefe.

The image at the top is a close-up of the top of a remarkable conference table that can be found at Phoenix Hardwoods on Rte 221 just north of Floyd, VA. The rest of the table is shown here.

If I ever need a conference table again, I will move heaven and earth to get this one or one like it. It has the feeling of a table where difficult projects get accomplished against all odds. It is also a table for the terminally insouciant who think outside the box most of the time. There is an aura about this table that seems to call for incredible results.

I expect that Bill and Corinne Graefe intended to create that effect. Their workshop/showroom is full of similar examples of the woodworking art and all have a unique character.

Gretchen and I were so impressed with their work that we have asked them to build us an end table for our new home. I will be showing more of their work in a future post and will be blogging the saga of our custom end table. I think you may find it interesting.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that Phoenix Hardwoods is open by appointment only. You can call them at 540-745-6403 or email them at hardwoods@swva.net