220 Parkway Lane South, Suite 1
Floyd,
Virginia 24091
540-745-2784
or 1-866-787-8806
info@jacksonvillecenter.org
Course Offerings:
Liz Ackermann has been spinning yarn and weaving cloth for 25 years. A college course in weaving and a BA in history led her to Colonial Williamsburg where she spent several years demonstrating spinning, weaving and a variety of 18th century textile processes. More recently she has been giving private weaving lessons and group workshops in Virginia and West Virginia. She is a member of the Handweavers' Guild of the New River Valley and the West Virginia Fiber Network.
Kate Anderson is a professional oil painter and printmaker. Working as a self-taught artist for most of her life, Anderson is a soon-to-be graduate of Hollins University, with a BA in studio art, concentration in oil painting. Well known for her landscape paintings, Anderson finds a continuing source of inspiration from the rural scenery around her in Floyd. Also an accomplished printmaker, Anderson has opened Anderson Gallery & Press which houses her printmaking studio. Her printmaking is based on greener non-toxic processes using the new water-based inks. Anderson has won several awards for her work and most recently had her series of oil paintings, Entropsy, purchased by the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University.
Jayn Avery is a self-taught potter/sculptor/writer living in Floyd County, Virginia. The direction of her life was changed by one introductory class in pottery taken at Cornell University while she was a student working on her MS in environmental education. As advocate of simple living, she bases her technique on the principles of least cost, least equipment, and maximum use of available resources. Her teaching emphasis is on personal creativity and resourcefulness. www.blueheronpotteryweb.com
Jennie Baxter is a self-taught glass artist. Having traveled extensively in her youth, her studies at Virginia Tech evolved around international studies and scientific glass production. She has been a professional glass artist ever since and thrives on expressing her ideas and emotions through glass. www.moltencreations.com
Ed Biggar has been working in glass for over three decades. He is currently artist in residence at the Artworks Studio in Chilhowie, Virginia, while also serving as an instructor, technical consultant, and freelance writer for “The Flow” and “Glass Craftsman” magazines. He is the proprietor of his own studio Artneon and serves as a member on the Board of Directors for Pulaski’s Fine Arts Center of the New River Valley. He has exhibited both nationally and internationally and is the recipient of innumerable awards for work in neon, flameworking, sculpture and mixed media. www.edandmarthabiggar.com
Martha Kelly Biggar is a jeweler who works with Precious Metal Clay (PMC) and fused glass. She is also a teacher whose work takes her from Milwaukee (Bead and Button Show) to the Corning Studio in New York and now to the Jacksonville Center. She is certified by both the PMC Guild and PMC Connection, and holds a BFA in design from VCU. Martha is a juried artisan with the Artisan’s Center of Virginia, The Southern Highland Craft Guild as well as other regional groups. Her work is in galleries and private collections in the United States and internationally. A native of Draper, she raises beef cattle and is active in community and church affairs. www.edandmarthabiggar.com
Jimmie Black is a retired registered nurse. She learned to crochet and make rugs when she was a teenager from her mother. During the depression in the 30's these skills came in handy. Crocheting is a great hobby and has been a lifelong passion for Jimmie. She has been married 60 years to Malcolm Black and has 3 children and one great grandchild.
Phyllis and Orville Bower weave country baskets inspired by her great-grandmother. "Today’s country baskets are tomorrow’s heirlooms,” says Phyllis. When they are not weaving, collecting walnuts for stain, or selling at basket parties, they may be seen demonstrating at the Museum of Frontier Culture and the George Mason Plantation.
Charlie Brouwer has been teaching sculpture since 1987 at Radford University as a professor of Art. With over 200 exhibitions since 1975 Charlie constructs wood sculptures in search of meaning, truth and beauty. Charlie and wife of 40 years live in Floyd County in a renovated 100 year old farmhouse with 9 acres and over 20 outdoor sculptures. www.charliebrouwer.com
Ron Campbell grew up in the country just east of Floyd, where inspirations for his drawings were all around him on the farm or just over the next hill. Drawing with ink since high school, Ron taught himself how to preserve the landscapes of the country by putting them on paper. He worked in the computer industry from 1966 until 2003. In 2003, after a 1- year tour in the big city of Atlanta, he decided to retire, head back to his native Virginia and further develop his drawing skills. Now he lives in Floyd County where he draws with ink and builds custom built furniture. Ron’s work is available through galleries and stores around Floyd, Virginia. www.dreamcatchermeadows.us
Rick Cooley has a fine arts degree from Indiana University and did post-graduate work at Herron Arts School in graphic arts. He served as Assistant Art Director at the Saturday Evening Post, Art Director at Indiana University School of Medicine and Child Life Magazine. Since 1977 he’s been a free-lance artist and illustrator residing in Floyd County. He has won numerous gallery and illustration honors.
McCabe Coolidge and his partner, Karen Day, have opened Wildfire Pots Studio in downtown Floyd at the Wintersun. McCabe throws functional pottery for the kitchen and dining room. He fires with his own wood kiln as well as the kilns at the Jacksonville Center. He has been an episodic potter beginning in 1977 with two years at Meredith College Raleigh, NC ceramics program. His studies continued in ceramics at UNC Asheville. He has taken classes from Ellen Shankin and Rick Hensley of Sixteen Hands and Sarah McCarthy at the Jacksonville Center. McCabe sells his pots in galleries nearby and at the beaches of NC. www.carolinaartiststudio.com/McCabeCoolidge.html
Mary Dashiell is a potter living in Meadows of Dan, Virginia. She is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and has taught classes for the Guild, John C. Campbell Folk School, and other regional craft centers. Mary makes earthenware animal whistles, sculpture and wheel-thrown ware characterized by a sense of humor and colorful, detailed decoration.
Katherine Devine has an undergraduate degree from East Carolina University and a graduate degree from Hollins University. She has over 20 years of experience in teaching art to adults and children. She currently works with Roanoke County's Gifted Art Program and offers workshops with the Jefferson Center Inspire Program and the Art Museum of Western Virginia and exhibits new work locally. www.katherinedevine.com
Elisa DiFeo is currently a graduate student at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, pursuing a Masters in Fine Art. While living in Floyd, Virginia as a studio artist for two years she assisted Silvie Granatelli. She received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. Her home town is located on the coast of New Jersey.
Dillard Frazier has always had an interest in the craftsmanship of the mountain people and has endeavored to learn as many of their techniques as possible. He studies basket weaving under the instruction of Harless Wood. Dillard also does chair caning, wood working and log cabin construction. A native of Meadows of Dan, he now lives in Willis with his wife and two of his three kids.
Paul Garrett has been working as a blacksmith for years and is currently the Resident Blacksmith at the John C. Campbell Folk School. He loves teaching beginners and learning from them as well. He creates a wide variety of functional and artistic architectural designs in his studio in Brasstown, NC.
Gwenn Gearheart is a traditional quilter and lover of antique quilts. She has been a quilt judge at many shows. With best friend of 45 + years and co-teacher, Frances Spencer, many people have learned correct beginning methods to construct pillows, wall hangings, quilted garments and full quilts. This talented duo has taught classes in Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee through Elderhostel Programs. For 10 years they have taught bi-annual classes sponsored by Mercer Country, WV and adult continuing education programs. Frances assisted with West Virginia Quilt Search. She mostly does commission works and antique restoration. She is a member of the New River and Mercer County Quilt Bees and Old Church Gallery Quilters Guild in Virginia.
Don George is a retired engineer who has been doing woodworking for forty years. Since retirement, he’s worked full time making cabinets and furniture. He’s always been drawn to the simplicity and beauty of the Shaker designs and this has led him to learn and practice this art form.
Glenda George has been working for many years with fiber of one sort or another, making clothing, quilts, surface design and dyes on fabric, spinning yarn, knitting and felting. She has found over the years that all skills overlap and build on one another. She has acquired these skills through advanced classes, reading and mostly through lots of experimentation and practice and finding her own best way.
Lora Leigh Giessler is an artist and teacher working from her home studio in Floyd, Va. She completed her BFA from Roanoke College in 1985. For 20 years she has been an immersed mother. In 2003 she committed to her development as an artist. During the last four years her pastel paintings have received several awards and have been exhibited in juried shows and festivals in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Washington and Idaho. Her teaching experience spans over the last decade at Blue Mountain School and Tekoa school located in Floyd. She teaches a variety of mediums and has worked with children ages 4 through 17 with a wide range of abilities within each of these age groups. As a teacher she creates an open minded environment that allows and encourages students to engage in their own unique creative process. www.loraleighgiessler.com
Phil Harrison established the Penumbra Design Studio in 1988 with a focus on producing art and artistic work to be permanently installed in public spaces. Phil has worked and lectured in France, Great Britain and the United States. He is on the board of Tri-State Sculptors and a member/instructor of ABANA and the Timber Framers Guild of North America. www.penumbradesign.net
Tracy Jackson is the owner of The Lacemaker – a shop specializing in bobbin lace, tatting and medieval era textile techniques. She has been making lace over 20 years, studying with teachers throughout the US, England, Belgium and Denmark.
Don and Donna Johnson are a husband-wife nature photography team concentrating on capturing spectacular images in the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains. Don has been a photographer most of his life, having worked for newspapers and major US corporations. Donna, a retired Radford University instructor, has worked as Don’s photography partner for more than five years. www.bdonjohnson.com www.blueridgeviews.com
Steven Kalb has been blacksmithing for over 15 years. He has studied blacksmithing under some of the best American blacksmiths, and taken classes at nationally recognized schools. Sharing the craft is important to Steven. He has completed terms as Program Chairman, Regional Coordinator, and Trustee for the Florida Artist Blacksmith Association. He also does demonstrations at his coal forge periodically at Koreshan State Park in Estero, Florida. Steven’s interest in blacksmithing began with traditional forging. Period cooking gear and traditional joinery were his passion for several years. Then his art took a more organic direction, where he continues to explore it to this day. www.kalbironworks.com
Jim Keller spent days each week at a pottery teaching school before moving to this area. This led him to being appointed studio manager. In the same period he provided designs for customers of a glass company. He then sandblasted these designs onto glass for the customer’s home or office. Since 2001 he spends time each week as a volunteer in the art program of Floyd elementary schools. He has been very rewarded by guiding students in making their clay projects.
Marjorie Langston has been making beads since 1993 and teaching beadmaking since 1999. She teaches regularly at the John C. Campbell Folk School, the Appalachian Center for Craft and from her private studio in Chattanooga. She is the co-author of Just Plain Beads and her work can be found in several other publications.
Katrina MacLean grew up in Pennsylvania, attended Virginia Tech architecture school and received a BA in studio art from Hollins University. She fell in love with Floyd County and has been a resident since 1989. She has been a self employed artisan since 1984. She works in a variety of sculpture media including carving horn and antler and constructing with stucco. www.shrewwood.com
Barbara Mann of Tallahassee, Florida has been carving from native hardwoods since 1971. Her original teachers were Cherokee woodcarvers and she continues to learn from nationally known contemporary carvers. She carves in several styles including traditional, stylized, realistic, caricature, low relief, and chip carving. Her favorites are carving traditional animals and birds, human caricatures, all kinds of Christmas ornaments, wood spirits, and faces and full figures in cypress knees. She has been teaching woodcarving since 1975 in many places including John C. Campbell Folk School, Southeastern Woodcarving School, The Florida, Michigan and Northeast Woodcarving Roundups. Since retiring as a university administrator and faculty member, she displays and sells her carving at craft shows and festivals, and is an active member of the Light N Up Artist Cooperative in Havana, Florida. www.carvers.mytalweb.com
Daniel Marinelli is currently a MFA candidate in sculpture at East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN. Daniel served as a resident artist at Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts, studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Bloomsburg State University, Penland School of Crafts and Bob Jones University. He has taught both college and continuing education courses. He works in a variety of mediums including wood, steel, paper, and clay.
Swede McBroom lives in Floyd, Virginia and has been a furniture designer and cabinet builder for over 30 years in Floyd and beyond. He specializes in custom designs for individuals and companies.
Sarah McCarthy is a full time studio potter who lives in Floyd, Virginia. She is a self taught artist who has studied at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Sarah creates functional wheel thrown and hand built pots with attention to surface decoration and subtle Asian influenced glazes. She hopes her pots add to the beauty of the intimate spaces in our daily lives. www.sarahmccarthypottery.com
Elizabeth Ryland Mears is a full time, award winning, studio artist. She creates work in glass and mixed media using primarily the glassblowing technique of flamework. Mears has taught at the Smithsonian Institution, The Building Museum in Washington, DC, Penland, Pittsburgh Glass Center and The Jacksonville Center for the Arts. Having studied at Penland, Pilchuck Glass School and the Studio School of the Corning Museum of Glass, her work is exhibited in numerous galleries and is included in private, corporate and museum collections nationwide. She is the author of FLAMEWORKING: Creating Glass Beads, Sculptures & Functional Objects published in April 2003. www.elizabethmears.com
Lynda Metcalfe began blacksmithing and designing ironwork during her undergraduate studies in Surrey, England. After graduating in 1992 Lynda apprenticed with an architectural blacksmith in England and worked on a variety of large scale projects including work for the Tower of London. She was an artist in residence in blacksmithing at the Appalachian Center for Crafts in Tennessee and has also taught blacksmithing at the John C. Campbell Folk School and the Appalachian Center for Crafts. She now has a blacksmithing business with her husband making architectural ironwork and a wholesale furniture collection sold through galleries. www.metcalferoush.com
Steve Mitchell produces large raku and wood fired vessels at his mountainside studio located in the Back Creek area of Roanoke County and at the Jacksonville Center in Floyd. Steve developed most of his glazes highlighted by use of silver and gold to accent the mostly classic Greek and Asian forms. Steve has won numerous awards for his work including Best Raku Form at the Mid-Atlantic Clay Conference. Steve has developed a new throwing technique for his raku work making the vessels very light weight at the same time massive in scale. Steve is a Board Member of the Blue Ridge Potter's Guild and a member of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts. His work can be seen in area galleries as well as the Jacksonville Center for the Arts. His studio is open by appointment. 540-525-4002.
Nancy Moore has taught quilting classes since 1981 in North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, South Carolina, and Texas at the Houston Quilt Show. Her early teaching was mostly Seminole Indian Patchwork and garment making. She sold garments on the east coast for a number of years in craft shows. Nancy has won countless awards for her work and authored the book Machine - Quilted Coats, Vests and Jackets published in 1991 by Chilton. She has been a member of the Old Church Gallery Quilters Guild for ten years.
Dale Morse, proprietor at Clay Hill Forge, began blacksmithing in 1976 at the age of nine. He has worked at a number of studios around the US and studied at Penland and John C. Campbell schools. In addition, he has studied under Manfred Bredhol of the Vulkanschiede in Aachen, Germany, Joe Stokes of Shropshire, England, and Gabrielle Curtolo of Venice, Italy. www.clayhillforge.com
Cy Olson expresses her creativity through the art of handmade jewelry. Cy strives to develop her skills and experience by traveling to attend national educational workshops to learn from master wireworkers and bead artists. Many of her projects involve using tools to form sterling silver, gold or copper wire into elegant pieces of jewelry. Moving to the east coast beachside has led Cy to discover her niche, the joy of finding and fashioning ancient pieces of worn glass, known as genuine sea glass. She calls them “Artfully Worn” and presents them as wearable specimens in a range of colors from common (though uncommonly lovely) to extremely rare and therefore, precious.
Linda Osborne is a multi media artist who currently specializes in lampwork beads. She has worked extensively with leather and glass and enjoys combining a variety of materials in her many art forms. Her interest in leather is re-emerging from the 70’s when she made custom fitted shoes.
Tammy Parks majored in Art and Spanish at Emory and Henry College and the University of Southern Mississippi. She has been teaching in both areas for thirteen years. Currently, she is the owner and designer of All Glass with Class, selling custom stained glass, glass jewelry and ceramic masks when she is not catering to the whims of her six adoptive cats, one dog and one husband. www.allglasswithclass.com
Dandee Pattee was born in Wyoming. She grew up in Lander, which rests at the foothills of the Windriver Mountain Range. She received her ceramics undergraduate education starting in Wyoming at Casper Community College going on to finish at Southern Utah University where she received her BA. She spent one year as a special student at the University of Nebraska. Dandee was a summer assistant at Peters Valley Craft Center in Layton New Jersey, a summer resident in Ely, Iowa with Clary Illian, and most recently a studio assistant with Silvie Granatelli, in Floyd, Virginia.
Diane Patton is a teacher and artist inspired by every day life to create flora and landscape watercolors that explode with color and passion. Subtle yet dramatic, Patton’s work exhibits a sensitive interplay of shadow, light and expressive vitality. Her method is unique, using layer upon layer of glaze, pigment and pastel to create a distinctive vibrancy of tone and energy of feeling. Essentially self-taught, Patton has studied extensively with many nationally renowned painters. She is a signature member of the Virginia Watercolor Society, associate member of the American Watercolor Society and member of the League of Roanoke Artists. She has received numerous regional and national awards.
Marsha Slopey Paulekas is a founding member of the Floyd Arts Group, the Floyd Artists Association and Art Under the Sun Gallery. She studied at the Fort Lauderdale Art Institute before moving to Virginia. Marsha sees life as art and art as life. She enjoys working in many mediums and sharing the pleasure of discovery with others. She teaches classes and workshops to students of all ages at Studio One in Floyd, Virginia.
Sue Pollins is a graduate of the University of Michigan, College of Architecture and Design with a BS in design, a painting major. She is a roster artist of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts-Education program as an artist in residence, a signature member of the Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, and member and past president of the Pittsburgh Watercolor Society. She has exhibited in innumerable regional and national exhibits. She is a frequent lecturer and juror, has taught in the continuing education programs at Seton Hill University, Penn State, Fayette University and Westmoreland County Community College and has taught for many years at Touchstone Center for Crafts. Her work is part of the permanent collection of Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art and the Westmoreland Museum of American Art and many private and corporate collections. www.watercolors-gallery.com/showartist%20pollins.htm www.greensburgartclub.org
Donna Polseno received her BFA degree from the Kansas City Art Institute where she studied under the renowned ceramics teacher, Ken Ferguson. She received her MFA degree from the Rhode Island School of Design and then moved to Floyd in 1974 where she and partner, Rick Hensley founded their pottery studio and have been working as independent artist-potters for over thirty years. They have been artists in residence at the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana and they have also taught several semesters and summer programs at different universities including Rochester Institute of Technology, Kent State University, University of Michigan, Alfred University, Arrowmont School of Crafts, Penland School, Anderson Ranch Center and Virginia Tech. In 2003, they were asked to participate in an International Symposium of Ceramics Artists in Izmir, Turkey. In 2004, they taught at the Jingdezhen Institute of Ceramic Art in China in connection with West Virginia University. Both Donna and Richard are recipients of the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts Grant. In 2004, they were asked to begin the ceramics program in the brand new Visual Arts Center at Hollins University where they teach both undergraduate and graduate level courses. They continue a robust exhibition schedule and Donna was honored this past summer with a major mid-career retrospective at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum on the Hollins University campus. They both continue to work in their studios and exhibit locally with the 16 Hands, a group of local craftspeople that they helped to start nine years ago. www.16hands.com
Emily Reason is a full-time potter in Western North Carolina. She received a BFA from West Virginia University and has studied at Penland School of Crafts, Chautauqua Institution School of Art and was a resident artist at Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts and EnergyXchange. Emily now focuses on her pottery business, teaching, and writing an introduction to wheel thrown pottery book. She has a love for the pottery making process and is passionate about craftsmanship. www.energyxchange.org
Elmer Roush has been blacksmithing since 1970 and has been fully professional since 1987. He is mostly self-taught but has studied with William Fiorini, James Horebin (England), Varlav Jaros (Czechoslovakia) and Peter Ross. Elmer has taught at Touchstone, Peters Valley, John C. Campbell and Cearte Inona (Ireland). He has attended and demonstrated at a number of annual blacksmiths gatherings in Australia and at a number of conferences throughout the United States. www.metcalferoush.com
Jeff Sebens brings a varied educational background to his dulcimer teaching. From early training in classical music to experience teaching history and industrial arts, he has melded these experiences into a love and appreciation for both the lap and hammered dulcimers. Currently he handcrafts a variety of musical instruments, as well as keeping an active schedule with festivals, workshops, and Elderhostels. www.jeffsebens.com
Karen Sewell was born and raised in Floyd County with a pencil in hand. She has been creating art ever since. Two years of art in high school gave her a basis to grow upon and she taught herself whatever she wanted to expand into. Basically she works in oils and pastels, but loves to work in and incorporate other mediums to alter the desired effect. Karen has work in collections in Europe and across the US and she has won numerous awards over the years. After living all along the east coast as a naval wife, she became involved in different art groups that fueled her creativity. She is glad to be back home in Floyd County. www.ksewell.com
Chris Shackelford has been sculpting since 1987. With a BS in philosophy from the University of Michigan and a BFA in sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University, she continued studies at the Corcoran, Parsons School of Design (Paris), Touchstone Center for Crafts and post-graduate work in sculpture. Chris has taught both continuing education and college level courses. She works predominantly in stone, clay and wood, revering process and teaching above all else. www.blueridgeviews.photoreflect.com
Brad Smith is an Appalachian folk artist who works in both green wood carvings and pencil drawing. Brad’s professional background started as an apprentice at Newport News Shipbuilding. He worked in metal fabrication for twenty years. During this time his hobbies in pencil art and traditional woodcraft developed into his new careers as an artist and craftsman. His numerous drawings and handmade wood craft can be found in galleries and restaurants in Virginia and North Carolina.
Kelly Smyth is frequently chosen for Early American Life magazine’s Directory of Traditional Crafts, an annual juried selection of the best practitioners of traditional trades in the country. Selection is based on quality of workmanship, fidelity to period design, and use of traditional tools or techniques. In addition to items necessary or typical for hearth and home, Kelly has forged (not fabricated) ships’ hardware for five recently constructed historic ships: Discovery & Susan Constant / 1607 / Jamestown Settlement (VA), Kalmar Nyckel / 1638 / near the Rocks on the Christina River (Delaware) plus the third quarter eighteenth century, Sultana and the John Smith 400 Shallop both in Chestertown (Maryland). She participated in the prestigious Folklife Festival on the MALL in DC. Developing, presenting, and teaching workshops is the logical continuation to nearly ten years spent demonstrating and interpreting historic blacksmiths’ work at two of the premier living history museums in the country.
Frances Spencer is a traditional quilter and lover of antique quilts. She has been a quilt judge at many shows. With best friend of 45+ years and co-teacher, Gwenn Gearheart, many people have learned correct beginning methods to construct pillows, wall hangings, quilted garments and full quilts. This talented duo has taught classes in Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee through Elderhostel Programs. For ten years they have taught bi-annual classes sponsored by Mercer Country, West Virginia in their adult continuing education programs. Frances assisted with West Virginia Quilt Search. She mostly does commission works and antique restoration. She is a member of the New River and Mercer County Quilt Bees and Old Church Gallery Quilt Guild in Virginia.
Jan Stansell has been weaving baskets and chair seats for over 25 years. She has studied with Cherokee basket weavers, South Carolina seagrass basket makers, and others while finding her own unique style. Jan maintains an active teaching schedule in the Southeast, including the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC. Her work is on display at the Georgia Heritage Center for the Arts in Tallulah Falls, GA. She resides in Suches, GA where she has a working studio. www.blackmountaincrafts.com
Kurt Steger has spent seventeen years as a professional artist. His works are found in numerous private and corporate collections. He shows in The Oakland California Museum of Art and The Sonoma Museum of Visual Art. In addition, Kurt has a Public Sculpture commission in the Sacramento City Hall. www.stegersculpture.com
Wil Stratton is a retired scientist and college professor who also taught photography courses for many years in a college fine arts department. He is currently a member of the Jacksonville Center Board of Directors.
Jean Sumner has been a professional woodturner for 20 years, since studying with master turners at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in 1987. For many years she has demonstrated bowl turning at Sugarloaf Arts and Crafts Festivals and for a variety of turning clubs. She maintains an active membership in both the American Association of Woodturners and the International Wood Collectors Society. Her work can be found in several galleries on the east coast including close to her home in the New River Valley.
Aven Tanner is an elementary art teacher and an active local artist in Floyd, VA. She has taught children ranging from K-12 for seven years. She received a BS in art education and a BFA, concentrating in ceramics, from Radford University. Her interests range from drawing, painting and collage to ceramics. She finds inspiration from nature, music, a variety of cultures, children and intuition.
David Tucciarone has been blacksmithing since 1987 and runs his own shop in Rustburg, Virginia. He has studied his craft with Francis Whitaker among others in North Carolina and teaches each year at the John C. Campbell Folk School. He is a member of ABANA and the Old Dominion Blacksmith Association. David specializes in making decorative ironwork for the home and garden.
Anne Vaughan has earned higher degrees in education and the environment. After the birth of her second child, and over a decade since she last created jewelry, she began to explore the art of jewelry creation once again. She enjoys every aspect of the process, from hand selecting beautiful materials to exploring new techniques, creating wearable art and creating treasures for her customers to appreciate for years. www.annevaughan.com
Teri Walters moved to Floyd in 2000 with her family and an array of pets. She was introduced to polymer clay in 1999 and has been obsessed with it ever since. She has a great desire to pass on her knowledge and experiences to anyone interested in this versatile and inspirational art medium. Teri has participated in several exhibits and her art has been televised locally. She sells her creations at local stores, festivals, and craft fairs. www.terisclaysmiles.com
Jessie Ward is a third generation farrier. Her love of art and admiration for tradition led her to embrace the methods handed down by her grandfather. Jessie works in a variety of media including stained glass, paper, sculptural iron work, and traditional smithing. She participates in international blacksmithing competitions and has received numerous awards in painting, stained glass and photography. Her work, mostly commissioned, can be found in museums, galleries, business and individual homes. She teaches regionally in Southwest Virginia and serves on the Education Committee of the Jacksonville Center for the Arts.
Brad Warstler is a self-taught wood turner and furniture maker. He has maintained a woodworking studio in the mountains of southwestern Virginia since 1977, selling to galleries throughout the country as well as taking reproduction and one-of-a-kind furniture commissions. He is a juried member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and the Artisans Center Of Virginia and a founding member of 16 Hands (an association of artist craftsmen). Brad and his wife, Ellen Shankin, have built their home and studios in rural Floyd, Virginia.