Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

Living large in Floyd...

Gretchen and I stayed at the new Hotel Floyd the other night.  It is a celebration of casual luxury and environmentally conscious design.

I have written about the hotel before as I have been impressed with the concept from the very beginning, but it is one thing to write about something and quite another to immerse oneself in the actual experience. Staying at the Hotel Floyd is a real treat.

This unique boutique hotel has been a hit with visitors and locals alike ever since it opened last year. Apparently almost every weekend is booked for the rest of the year.

The first phase has only 14 rooms and it seems to me that the phase two expansion to 40 rooms cannot come too soon.

We stayed in the Floyd Artist Suite which features the work of local artists including some of Gretchen's pastels.

The Artist’s Suite has two bedrooms and a living room, with High Definition flat screen television in every room. Locally made handcrafted furniture used throughout the suite creates a stunning effect.

Explore the Hotel Floyd website for the full story.

We really enjoyed the proximity to downtown Floyd. We were able to walk to a Chamber of Commerce After Hours Event that night and to the Blue Ridge Restaurant for breakfast the next morning.

I understand that there are plans for more apartments in downtown Floyd. I think there will be no difficulty finding tenants who want the amenities of living in the downtown area of this tiny hub of artistic activity in Southwest Virginia.

Unattended children...

Unsupervised children who are let loose in stores to "play" must be a retailer's nightmare.

Some Floyd Galleries in high traffic areas have little signs which politely mention that if your children break something, you pay for it.

This cheerful sign seen in Margie Ryan's Over the Moon Gallery in Floyd, Virginia suggests a novel response to overly permissive parenting.

Thanks Margie, for the gentle humor.

Dickens of a Night in Floyd

It was a crisp, cold Friday night and the sound of Christmas caroling filled the air. Almost every merchant in Floyd was open late with holiday treats for visitors.

The Town of Floyd was holding its 8th annual Dickens of a Night with hayrides and Christmas carolers in period costume.

I spent much of the evening with fellow bloggers Colleen Redman and Fred First at a book signing at NoteBooks, 117 S. Locust St. across the street from the Floyd Country Store.

There is no lack of conversation when you have six authors and a falcon in one room.

The falcon, CJ to his closest friends, was being handled by Lee Chichester, author and falcon handler.

Cj held up his end of the conversation once his handler took his hood off.

At the same time, Gretchen and her fellow artists were holding open house at Art Under the Sun. Business is brisk now that the El Charro Mexican restaurant is open seven days a week.

I enjoy the El Charro and really appreciate that it offers good food and is open when other restaurants are closed.

Here's to the start of another holiday season. I hope that yours brings you the opportunities you seek.

A cautionary story

Friends of ours on the Christiansburg Pike in Floyd lost their Golden Lab during the last thunderstorm. The dog was wearing an electronic collar but the power went off and the dog got spooked and bolted.

This is the wanted poster for the frightened fugitive.

With all of the care we take to protect our families and loved pets, there will be times when it will not be enough. That's when we hope that upbringing and the bonds of love will pull them through the situation they find themselves in.

If you live in Floyd County and have seen this stray dog, call and give the owner an update on its whereabouts.

(Click to enlarge the image)

A funny thing happened on the Blue Ridge Parkway today

I encountered this "mutant" wild turkey that apparently has four legs. Now, if we can only cross-breed one of these with domestic fowl, we will have more drumsticks than we can shake a fork at.

This was an adult turkey guiding a flock of young turkeys across the Blue Ridge Parkway and one of the little ones must have been directly behind her. All in all there were about 15 young turkeys in the flock and her family procession stopped traffic for a few minutes.

This is just the tail end of the procession and  momma is bringing up the rear.

As the young turkeys made it to safety, the female turkey arched her back and slowly strutted the last few steps across the Parkway.

It made a grand finale to the procession.

It's showtime again at the Floyd Country Store

Ann Bower has just finished freshening up the roster of musicians for tonight's Friday Night Jamboree at the Floyd Country Store. There will be some fine local musicians playing on stage and on the street around the store.

The weather appears to be cooling down so it should be a great night to wander down South Locust Street and listen to the groups of musicians playing Bluegrass music.

You will find that it's had to resist the infectious beat of this traditional music. After a few seconds, you will find yourself tapping out the rhythm and possibly doing a little flat-footing. It is a great way to meet new friends and renew old acquaintances.

My neighbor Tom King, who is almost my age, has just purchased a set of shoes with taps and has been practicing his footwork. I will be looking for him tonight to cheer him on.

If Bluegrass is not your thing, you might check out Cafe del Sol, the Blackwater Loft, or the Over the Moon Gallery to see what live music offerings are on tap for tonight.

Friday night in Floyd is fun for the entire family. We have 6 year old cloggers and 70 year old cloggers and they sure do dance up a storm. I will see if I can capture a few minutes of the fun on video.

Hope you are ready for a fun and relaxing weekend, wherever you are.

Country commuting

We were on our way to an appointment this morning and I snapped this photo to show how much this area of the country differs from our daily route in San Jose, California.

Where's the other lane, you say?

We are on it.

If you were coming the other way on this road, we could probably squeeze by each other with a little care and a friendly wave.

If you look at this picture again, you will see that we were making good time. All of the nearby trees are blurred.

It is a gravel road and the county scrapes it frequently enough so that the dreaded washboard effect doesn't last very long. There are roads nearby where the soil and the drainage seem to work together to produce instant washboards. Your car's suspension is at risk if you drive those roads often.

This is a major highway compared to Goose Creek Run which runs by Fred First's house on the other side of the county. On that road, you can reach out and touch the underbrush on either side in the lush summer months. If you meet someone coming the other way, one of you has to back up until a wider spot is found.

We spent a long time finding this part of the country where we could commute on roads like this and live at a slower and more satisfying pace. There is a lot more to see and there are enough open roads that we don't have to drive bumper to bumper.

In a rapidly evolving world, we take every moment to be thankful for the remaining miles of country road that still exist.  Next time you are in a road like this, treasure the moment.

Cruising along the Blue Ridge Parkway...

About mile marker 150.5, there is a dry goods store that you might enjoy visiting, if you enjoy browsing through old-time stores with merchandise piled everywhere.

Amy Gravely, the proprietor, is the vital force who keeps this off-the-beaten-path store running and attracts crowds of friends and visitors to her Sunday concerts and impromptu craft shows featuring local artisans.

In spite of a recent crippling injury, she maintains a positive outlook and has a cheerful disposition. Fortunately, she has help from other family members in running the store. I find a lot to admire in people who continue to make positive things happen even after an incident which normally would mark an end to any productive career.

After you see this slide show on Flickr,  you might want to mark down the next concert dates on your calendar.

The Sunday concerts feature the Guard, a group of musicians from Franklin County who play rousing Bluegrass and Bluegrass Gospel music. Their future concert schedule is: August 19, Sept 9 and 23, October 14 and 28.

Families bring their lawn chairs and blankets and spend the afternoon listening to music and socializing and they also bring a dish for the regular picnic which begins after 5pm.

You can see Amy most weekends and some weekday afternoons sitting in front of her store talking with visitors.

If you can't stop, wave as you go by.

UPDATE: The Guard musicians have been playing together for about 15 years, according to Carol Yopp, who filled me in on the group. Carol is the wife of Roger Doss who plays banjo, harmonica, and several other instruments as well as doing vocals. Brian Greer plays bass. Alan Messenger plays guitar and does vocals. Will Staton plays the mandolin. They are also the house band at the Coffee Pot on Brambleton Ave in Roanoke where they play every Wednesday night from 6-9pm.

Sunday at FloydFest 2007

I had to satisfy my curiosity and see how a second day at FloydFest would seem. I was game to go there and was prepared to enjoy myself, but I wondered if it would be like going back to a circus for a second visit.

It was still an enjoyable experience because FloydFest is not a circus. For the most part, it is real people and real entertainment by performers who are willing to take time to talk with you when they are not on stage. On this second day I saw many things I had missed the first day and it was every bit as enjoyable.

One of the things I noticed on the first day was the Camp Store and I thought it was a fantastic idea!  Today, I stopped in and chatted with John Crawford who came up with the idea of a store last year while camping at FloydFest 2006. He and his wife Jolee created the store to provide campers with the necessities of life like boots, tents, water, camping chairs, etc. It was a successful operation from the very first day. John, Jolee and son Tucker have been working from 8am to midnight all through FloydFest to keep up with demand and they ran repeated trips into town for more supplies.

I have posted most of today's pictures on Flickr and they are in the beginning of the slide show.

The fact that most of the staff, volunteers and vendors are from the local area gave the entire festival a feeling of small-town hospitality. I found myself spending more time chatting with staff and vendors than watching performances.

As a matter of fact, most of the videos I shot of people dancing to the music showed vendors dancing in front of their booths when they weren't waiting on customers. This festival is more of a party and is more light-hearted than any other festival I have seen.

My artist friend Alina Ever plays the 9 ft tall Blue Fairy granting wishes to all and sundry, while husband Chris Deerheart accompanies her playing a native American flute. She granted me a wish and it came true.

Even though it was the end of the fourth day, everyone seemed still seemed to be enjoying themselves although many of the vendors I talked to admitted that they were bone-weary after days of non-stop effort and late night celebration with old friends.

Dancer Vivian of Spiral Hoop Dance was still able to perform so I could video her, but even she said she was beginning to run down. Her hoops are for dancing and are larger and heavier than the hula hoops that were childrens toys. I saw people dancing with her hoops all over the festival grounds so she must have been spreading the word about the spiritual side of hooping.

Natasha the Caterer had the Sushi booth and she sold out several days in a row and had to close the booth for lack of food to sell. That was a surprise for everyone including Natasha! After all this is the Blue Ridge Mountains, not California.

When I arrived at the FloydFest grounds, a cloud had enveloped the festival and the air was damp and cold. By Sunday afternoon the sky was clear and the sun was hot. The booth that sold Apple Crisp with ice cream had long lines of customers standing patiently for their turn.

Potter Tom Phelps had a huge new tent to ward off inclement weather and was doing a land office business.

Eli Shwartz-Gralla of Inner World Glass  had exquisite individually designed pendants and earrings that had to be seen to be believed. They are masterpieces of the glass workers art.

I saw one I wanted to bring home as a present for Gretchen. The pendant had 24 karet gold smoke captured in the twists and swirls of molten glass and I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

However, I need to generate more disposable income before I can afford that $250 bauble. Post-corporate life does have its limitations and limited disposable income is one of them. The freedom we enjoy more than makes up for that inconvenience.

One last image captures the natural joy and artistic freedom experienced by even young attendees. These children found a small puddle left by a rainstorm and were using the mud to draw pictures on pieces of wood. They went about it very deliberately. The boy stirred the mud to a liquid consistency and then both used the liquid as colorant to draw on pieces of wood. These future artists embody the creative energy that infuses all of Floyd County and the area around it.

All in all, it was a fine end to the weekend. I can't wait to get to the Cafe del Sol for a recap and find out what I missed. 

FloydFest 2007 is truly satisfying

I made it to FloydFest 2007 today and it met every expectation, even though thunderclouds threatened.

I could only spend a few hours there but I captured some of the sights and have posted them in a slideshow on Flickr. This was my first Flickr upload and the images seem to be in random order, so bear with me on this. I will get better as time goes on.

For those of you who have never been to Floydfest, it is a yearly celebration of life held on a hilltop just off the Blue ridge Parkway. It gives you a chance to connect with the music of other cultures, eat some of the best food you have ever tasted in an outdoor setting, and celebrate with friends. Thousands brought their tents and RVs this year and are camping out in several well-kept camping areas on the festival grounds.

FloydFest features continuous musical performances on seven stages so you are surrounded by music wherever you go. There are also dancers wherever you look. They range from exotic belly dancers to the Hoorah Cloggers who are an crowd-pleasing Appalachian dance troop.

This is definitely a family-friendly event. Children are playing imaginative games everywhere. There is a section called the Children's Universe where all of the tents feature attractions for children and there are special performances for children.

You see people dancing all by themselves. You see people wearing fanciful costumes or fantastic body paintings. You will probably see more people dancing with hula hoops than you have ever seen before. There were thousands of people just sitting on the grass enjoying the view.

There were booths selling beautiful clothes, others selling fine craftwork, others were selling real estate! They all seemed to be doing a brisk business.

The first thing you notice when you arrive at FloydFest is how happy people are and the next thing you notice is how clean it is. This is the result of a great deal of planning and hundreds of volunteers who handle security, parking, logistics, visitor assistance, and garbage collection. Nothing is left to chance. From the moment you arrive, you feel that you are in a safe space where you can enjoy yourself.

Oh, and did I mention the food? I can think of nothing finer than eating delicious food while listening to great music from all around the world. This is one festival that covers all of the bases. Thanks to Erika and Kris who make this incredible show happen.

I didn't make it to Floydfest today

This is Tommy Bell winching my van up onto his tow truck. I had a complete transmission breakdown on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is one of the more scenic places to drive but there is generally no cell phone reception.

After a morning of chores, I had finally got things wrapped up and headed for FloydFest. The sun was still out and I was happily driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway, one of the scenic wonders of Virginia. I did not have a care in the world and I would easily make it to FloydFest in less than a half hour.

Suddenly, the van sighed, at least that's what it sounded like, and I lost all forward motion. The engine was running fine, but the transmission just quit working and I had no way to get off the highway.

After turning off the engine and restarting it, the transmission started working again for a few minutes and I was able to ease the van onto a grassy shoulder which was firm enough to support the vehicle.

I pulled out my cell phone and saw no bars at all, but the phone worked well enough for me to call Gretchen and ask her to send a tow truck. This was an absolute miracle because the Blue Ridge Parkway has really bad cell reception in this area.

It turned out that I was luckier than I knew because I could not receive incoming calls! My phone would chirp and tell me I had missed a call and had a voice mail from Tommy Bell's Road Service. I would try to call him and I could only get his voice mail. We went back and forth for about fifteen minutes leaving messages for each other.

Once he knew where I was, he called the Parkway Service for permission to pick me up and arrived in about 15 minutes. The Blue Ridge Parkway does not allow commercial vehicles so tow trucks have to get permission to tow stranded motorists.

The rain started just as Tommy arrived. He brought the van and me down into Floyd where Protocol Automotive set about determining what was wrong.

Gretchen picked me up and I spent the rest of the day helping out in the studio under the Winter Sun. I figured if I can't get to FloydFest, I might as well be doing something useful.

I will make it to FloydFest tomorrow.

Incidentally, I would have been OK even if the cell phone had not worked at all. Several people stopped and asked if I needed help and the Parkway Rangers stopped by to check up on me and to tell me that Tommy Bell was on his way. People are really helpful in this part of the country.

Floyd County is beginning to party and it's only Thursday

FloydFest 2007 kicks off tonight and I have been asked by everyone today if I was going to be there. Yes I am, because this is the entertainment event of the season in Floyd County. The town of Floyd has been full of excited visitors since early this morning.

I will be attending FloydFest for three days and will try to capture the spirit of this years event with images and sound recordings. In spite of gloomy weather predictions, the weather has been mostly sunny and seems to holding steady. I will bring boots and rain gear just in case.

I would have been there tonight, except I had to work until 9 pm. I am launching a new business venture which has already created enough interest that I have a backlog of work in the shop and more on the way.

This is entirely new area for me, so I will be posting my progress, discoveries and mistakes in getting it organized and up to speed for the use of anyone who is setting up their own small business in a field that is new to them.

This will not be a conventional start-up, so there may be some interesting ideas falling out of this, especially in the area of marketing.

For those who ask, "Why another project?", I can only say that this was a case of doing something to help someone else and getting enough interested responses that I was up and running before I knew it.

I will post more later. For now, I am going to take it easy this weekend and spend some time at FloydFest.

Perhaps I'll see you there.

Ukulele Magic - Jake Shimabukuro

Last year at FloydFest 2006, I missed Jake Shimabukuro's performance.

I didn't think much about it until I heard Scott Perry say, "I used to say I played the ukulele, until I heard Jake playing today. Now I say I am working on playing the ukulele."

Scott Perry is a competent musician and he plays many instruments well so this made me determined to look up Jake Shimabukuro and find out for myself. I found Jake's website and learned that he has an international reputation and a number of CDs to his name.

I still hadn't heard any sound clips, so I kept searching until I found a few brief mp3 snippets on a few sites. These were interesting, but I did not get the sense of a performer of the stature that Scott Perry had described.

I finally found this video on YouTube where Jake is playing George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps". You have never heard a ukulele played like this...

Wine Down the Music Trail - 2007

A Wine Festival and a half on the Blue Ridge Parkway

Wine down the Music Trail is a joyous celebration of fine wine, music, gourmet food and mountain crafts on July 7 and 8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Villa Appalaccia and Chateau Morrisette Wineries.

The weather was bright and beautiful and people were enjoying themselves playing games on the grass. As a non-drinker, I was there for the food, the music and the crafts, and I had a wonderful time eating, shopping and listening to the music.

The rest of our party roamed through the two huge tents where 16 wineries were doing a brisk business offering samples of their products and ringing up sales.

Gourmet Food

I'm sorry that I didn't take time to photograph the food, but I was sampling everything in sight so I can recommend these offerings:

- Two Trees Catering / Admo's Fish & Chips served Flash-fried Calamari and Beer Battered Cod.
- A stand across the way served up Filet Medallions on Baby Greens and Spanish Paella on rice and there was a huge line waiting to order.
- Natasha Shishkevish, one of my favorite chefs, was selling Sushi, California Rolls, etc and it was going quickly.
- There was a also a stand selling Crab Cakes which everyone of our party agreed was a fine appetizer.

Crafters and Artists

An assortment of wearables and handcrafted works were on display and there were pots  and dishes from our neighbor Tom Phelps.

Delightful Music

Wherever you walked, you could hear the sounds of music drifting from one of the three stages. From the melodious sounds of Scott Perry to the exciting tempos of Blue Mule, you could find tunes that suited your mood.

As I exited the festival to fetch the car, I could hear Gaelic Storm warming up the audience with a tale of surviving a tornado in a Kmart out in the middle of the US. The last words I heard were, "..somehow, I never expected to die, you know, in an aisle in Kmart...(audience laughter) and then the music started and they were off with a wild rush of Celtic music.

They will be open today, so if you are in driving distance of Floyd, bring the family for a fantastic afternoon in the mountain sunshine. It's on the Blue Ridge Parkway, south of the Rocky Knob Visitor Center.

 

A sight you don't see every day

This is a true Paparazzi moment! Woody Crenshaw, one of the most active movers and shakers in Floyd County was caught on camera while sitting down, seemingly at rest.

I was inspired to capture this moment because Woody is never still and almost never sits down unless it is to meet with someone. Actually, I have to confess that this photo opportunity is taken totally out of context.

Woody was actually testing his new purchase, a recycled church pew, which will provide additional seating for visitors to the Floyd Country Store. Within seconds of this photo he was up and on the go again preparing for Fourth of July at the Floyd Country Store.

Now that the Country Store is open from Tuesday through Saturday, with a lunch counter and ice cream bar plus a clothing store stocked with Carhartt and other fine work clothes, there is increasing traffic and those who wait patiently outside while their spouses shop will have a splendid spot to sit and watch the comings and goings on Locust Street.

This will also be a prime spot to sit and cool off during the Friday Night Jamboree. Come by next Friday night and see for yourself.

[Disclaimer: I am the webmaster for the Floyd Country Store as well as for other Floyd businesses. I do not receive compensation for my stories and they do not represent the opinions of anyone other than myself]

There is a lesson in here someplace...

Click on image to see entire house

Every year this building becomes more dilapidated as stormy winds tear pieces of the roof off and every year the roses bloom brightly in great profusion.

It is located at the intersection of Poor Farm Road and Franklin Pike in Floyd County at a spot that is identified on the map as Pizarro, a town that no longer exists, but was the hometown of more then a dozen men who entered military Service during World War I.

The building provided a variety of useful services for many years and now serves only as a rose arbor. It was in a town that had sufficient vitality and public spiritedness to send at least 13 young men to war in 1917 and 1918.

At this time there are probably less than twenty people who live within a mile of this intersection. Only this tired ruin is left to mark what was once a dynamic community, and the roses are slowly taking over.

Perhaps the take away lesson is that there will always be a use for everything we've built, even if it is not the use we intended. Furthermore, whether it is a house or a carefully tended lawn, nature will start to take over as soon as we turn our attention elsewhere.

Even the Pyramids which were among the most massive structures ever built are but a shadow of their former glory. Their polished facades were stolen and dispersed while Europe was still populated by people living in huts and wearing skins.

Perhaps that is as it should be. We create places to live and work in and when the time comes to move on to other things, we build anew with different goals in mind.

There is a certain poignancy in an abandoned building, as it represents an abandoned dream. But the important thing to remember is that there are always new dreams to pursue. If a dream is no longer viable, maybe it is time to seize upon one that is.

Wildwood Farms is open again!

You do not want to miss this opportunity if you have any interest in obtaining the finest in daylilies for your garden. This nicely landscaped garden is located just a few miles south of Floyd on Route 221.

Last year Gretchen and I discovered the daylilies at Wildwood Farms and we were amazed at the number of varieties they had to offer. They have more than 1200 different plants to choose from and the helpful staff makes it very easy for you.

They even have shaded swings for non-plant-buying husbands to rest in while their spouses amble from bed to bed going, Oooh!... Aaahh!... Look at that one!

These images were taken today and the beds are about one quarter in bloom. In the next two weeks, they expect their daylilies to be in full bloom.

To get an idea of the variety of plants they have, see these images and these from the article I wrote last year.

Owner Judy Bowman and her sister Lou Hall are very knowledgeable and they provide an excellent customer experience.

It takes two hands to blog...

There is an old sailing expression, "one hand for the ship, one for yourself" which relates to using one hand for hauling on sails and one hand to prevent yourself from falling to the deck far below.

Unfortunately, blogging is not a one-handed operation. For the past two weeks I have been so involved in the preparations for Floyd's Grand Re-Opening weekend that I have not had time  to blog about them. Now I am trying to catch up.

The Grand Re-Opening celebration ran from Friday through Sunday and involved Gallery openings, a Friday Night Jamboree with Wayne Henderson and The Looping Brothers, a Saturday Ice Cream Social put on by the Chamber of Commerce and a concert by King Wilkie, and a Sunday concert by the psychedelic country rock band, New Riders of the Purple Sage.

To add to the carnival atmosphere, the Carhartt Swat truck which is a high tech clothing showroom on wheels was parked across from the Floyd Country Store and provided an opportunity for the boys (and girls) to test their tire-changing and bull-roping skills.

The Grand Re-opening refers to the fact that both the Winter Sun building and The Floyd Country Store have been extensively rebuilt and refurbished and are great places to bring visitors.

Gretchen and her partners in the Art Under The Sun Gallery had a fantastic opening weekend, and well they should have, because they had worked non-stop for many weeks getting the Gallery painted and set up for business. My task was putting up the track lighting and I could not have done it without help from Mike Limke and Bill Smith.

Here is a glimpse of the the trio who played during the opening and behind them you can see the custom counter built by Mike Limke, which is a work of art in itself.

The Floyd Country Store was packed on Friday night and the crowd overflowed onto the street. As usual, there were visitors from far places at the Friday Night Jamboree. At least one came from Australia and another from New Zealand. They both received souvenir hats from Woody Crenshaw, the friendly proprietor of the Country Store.

Meanwhile, out in the Floyd County countryside, Laurelsong and Luke Staengl celebrated their marriage in a beautiful and moving ceremony along the river that borders their farm. The alternative community and international guests partied until the wee hours to the music of John Winnicki and Sonic Safari.

Click on images to enlarge them

Interesting week so far - can't wait to see what's next

I've found that hyperlocal blogging has expanded my awareness of Floyd and the people who give it a unique character. I try to capture the images and sounds and experiences that make every day an adventure.

On Friday night, the Jamboree went off just as planned, even though the Floyd Country Storefront was covered with scaffolding. I got to hear Blue Moonshine perform in front of the Floyd Barbershop and they gave me their new CD of mountain music to review. More about that later. It is fine music!

Contrary to what you might expect, the more I write about Floyd, the more I see that I want to write about. Every day I see new relationships that were not visible before and new business opportunities being developed by people who are creating startups on a small scale with a minimum of resources.

All of this takes place in the midst of bucolic scenes that fairly scream to be photographed. As I drive around the county on errands, I can't take the time to dismount and soberly set up tripod and fetch the light meter. Instead, I slow the van and shoot through the open window or occasionally through the windshield if it is clean enough.

I spend some of my daylight hours networking with potential clients, visiting with friends, or developing stories for the Floyd Press. I volunteer as staff photographer for the Jacksonville Center and I am constantly shooting photos in an effort to capture a visitor's experience in Floyd County.

In the last few days, I been able to share the excitement of the five artists who have opened a gallery-studio and a teaching studio under the Winter Sun in Floyd. Gretchen and four of her talented friends have been working for weeks to get the gallery ready and are already seeing a steady stream of visitors even though their sign is not up yet.

If you are visiting the Winter Sun clothing store or the Cafe del Sol, make sure you come down the stairs and visit them in the Art Under the Sun Gallery.

In the midst of all this activity I managed to fix up this weblog design and make it a little easier to navigate.  The nice little scrollbars I installed work on Firefox, but not on Internet Explorer, so the weblog appears different to different browsers. I am not through yet, so if you have suggestions or comments, this is a good time to let me know what you are thinking.

Wednesday afternoon in Floyd VA - Slideshow

 

 

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I made a sortie into town today and brought back a sampling of what the local folks are doing. I then created this experimental slide show to see if I could give you an idea of what is going on using the least amount of web page real estate. Let me know if this works better than a static display of 12 pictures.

Woody Crenshaw has a team of men putting in new windows and siding on the Floyd Country Store. You can see them dismantling the scaffolding.

The Greenfire Fund Art Camp is still going strong with children doing wheel thrown and hand-built pottery under the direction of McCabe Coolidge. At the other end of the building, Rick Cooley is instructing both youngsters and adults in the theory and practice of illustration. The reason you see these students holding their hands in grotesque positions is that he has them showing emotion through distortion of the figure.

Out on the Blacksmith Shop students are working with fire and hot steel and having a great time under the direction of Elmer Roush.

A Quiet Monday in Floyd?

According to conventional wisdom, everything is closed on Monday in Floyd, Virginia.

That's true for some retail establishments and restaurants, but the Jacksonville Center was running full-tilt. I visited two classes, Drawing for Adults and Kids which was taught by Illustrator Rick Cooley, and Intro to Wheel Throwing which was taught by McCabe Coolidge.

This was the first day of the Greenfire Kids Art Camp at the Jacksonville Center and the place was full of students. This is encouraging because it is their first-ever camp for kids from ages 8 to 15. About 45 kids and a few adults are involved and all of these classes are underwritten by the Greenfire Fund, an anonymous fund for the purpose of making art accessible to under served populations.

The classes cover polymer Clay, Introduction to Wheel Throwing, Drawing for Adults and Children, and Self-Portrait in Tile Mosaics.

This first effort was involved primarily with young people, but the next generation in the Fall will be an inter-generational series where guardians and minors will participate together. That should be an exciting series to watch.

Meanwhile, down in the Blacksmith Shop, Elmer Roush, one of the nations top tool smiths, was teaching The Making of Tools. If you have never seen a master blacksmith at work, you should drop by and see what these students are learning.

We all rejoice when we see full classrooms at the Jacksonville Center because that means that the master craftsmen and artists who teach here are transmitting their knowledge to a new generation of up and coming artists and craftspeople.

The unfortunate reality is that too many of the Jacksonville Center classes are canceled for lack of attendance, because not enough people know what is being offered!

The  opportunity to learn from these experts is limited and it is a huge loss when a class or workshop cannot be scheduled because enough students did not hear about it in time to sign up.

I am working with Chris Shackelford of the Jascksonville Center to publish a weekly newsletter for the Craft School so that potential students can keep up with the new courses being offered.

If you can't break free to take one of these classes, tell someone else about them.

Here is a quick snapshot of some courses coming up in the next few weeks:

The Blacksmithing Forges are blazing at the Jacksonville Center: On June 16 &17, Master Blacksmith Jesse Ward teaches a Blacksmithing Intro Weekend. Jesse introduces her students to the thrill of making things with iron and routinely gets them to make things they didn't know were possible.

There are seven more Blacksmithing Courses following this one, so there is no reason for you to miss out this summer. Acquire a skill that will serve you for years to come.

More Pottery Classes are coming up fast: Martha Sullivan will be teaching Functional Pottery from the Wheel June 18-22. This one week course will have you creating usable objects for the table such as bowls, mugs, and lidded objects.

Jayn Avery will be teaching hand building techniques for creating functional pottery by hand using tools and props that can be found in almost any kitchen. Make bread pans, serving plates, ladles, gravy boats.

The Glassworking Studio is heating Up: Ed and Martha Biggar will show students how to create beads that stand together as your personal "totem". This involves Soft glass flameworking which allows a student to create complex designs using techniques such as dotting, masking, raking, and adding on.

Old Time Whittling is Back: Brad Smith, whose whimsical roosters are seen in several galleries, will be teaching carving of useful and decorative folk art projects.

Check out the Jacksonville Center website.

Spending Saturday in Floyd

There is so much to do and see in Floyd these days that you could spend the entire day within sight of our single stoplight and you would still barely scratch the surface.

After a morning spent planting Pampas Grass I took myself into town to pick up supplies, visit with friends, have some lunch and hopefully shoot photos of the afternoon's act