Saturday, June 9, 2012

More Heartwood Artisans

We continue our visit to Heartwood, the gateway to the craft, music, food and local culture of southwest Virginia.

Housed in Heartwood are the offices of ‘Round the Mountain, which began in 2004 when former Gov. Mark Warner's Virginia Works Initiative designated funds to develop Southwest Virginia as a major cultural and heritage tourism destination and to begin an artisan and craft advocacy organization.


'Round the Mountain has focused its efforts to ‘promote sustainable economic development of the region's communities by assisting local artisans with marketing, educational, and entrepreneurial opportunities’ to quote our mission statement.

“We have reached out to our members through public-private partnerships to provide educational gatherings and round tables, e-commerce and marketing workshops, and one-on-one coaching for RTM members" (roundthemountain.org).

The results of these efforts to advocate for the artisans and their crafts are present in a walk past the displays of the works of some of the 400 artisans who are members of 'Round the Mountain.

Basket

Deborah Partridge

















Spoons

Lonnie Lewis

The spoons were certainly interesting, but it was the table (and other tables shown below) that I wanted to know more about.












But, unfortunately, I was not able to learn the identity of the woodworker who created the tables.


















Gourd Basket created by Diane Brzeski and Anna Marie Albergo

This gourd was very light and delicate.

Quilt (I believe this was entitled
"Appalachian Spring.")

Margaret Gregg















Wood Carving,
"Goldfinch"

John Dickens















In the center of the building was this stage. Performers and speakers would appear before small crowds (see tomorrow's entry).

Looking upward, we saw that the ceiling formed a cone and came to a point about 30 feet (my estimate) above the floor.
















Confetti Scarves

Karen Simpson

These very narrow scarves were aptly named, having been made from pieces of "upcycled" men's ties.












Basket created by Jane McCall Brinkman

As with many of the creations, I was taken by the details of this basket. The photo below shows a close-up view of a portion of the basket.




Rocker

Robert Bragg

We spent a lot of time admiring this beautiful rocker.

















"A Very Berry (Egg) Basket" created by Connie Bundy

Basket created by Sarah Minick

This basket, which was only about three inches across the opening, had some marvelous detail work. The weaver used reeds and cane for this basket and vines and bark for the work below.

Bark Basket

Sarah Minick


















Decorated Gourd

Sue Shelor

This gourd had a leatherly appearance.

















Quilt

Izetta Fleming






















A close-up view of the lower corner area of the photo above.

Museum-quality works by southwestern Virginia artists and craft people--and they're all for sale.

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