The Artisans of Heartwood

Located in Abingdon, VA, Heartwood is the gateway to the craft, music, food and local culture of the 19 counties of Southwest Virginia and is the latest and largest effort to market Southwest Virginia as a single, unified destination to benefit the economy of the entire region.


Open for about one year, the 30,000 square-foot building features artisan galleries, a premium restaurant and food court with locally supplied organic fare, video portraits of musicians and craftspeople, and places to visit.


Housed in Heartwood are the offices of ‘Round the Mountain, Southwest Virginia’s Artisan Network, which serves as the hub for a network of more than 400 Southwest Virginia artisans and craftspeople (heartwoodvirginia. org).

And it was the museum-quality products of many of these artisans that attracted our interest. But unlike objects in a museum, these works were for sale.

Artisans who sell their work at Heartwood are members of 'Round the Mountain, Southwest Virginia's artisan network. They are masters of their media, carefully selected through a rigorous jurying process.

I was unable to learn anything about the artwork in the two photos (above and right). These works appeared on either side of the walls just inside the main entrance.

The photos below show examples of the work of some master craftspeople of the area:

Rocker

Clifton Jones













Dolls Ganell Marshall


Quilted Basket Sylvia Richardson


Tray Diane Brzeski and Anne Marie Albergo


Purse Kitty Farley


Quilts Cynthia Mingin-Merrick


A close-up view of another one of Cynthia Mingin-Merrick's quilts


One of the information displays in the exhibit area.


Clay Basket Sara Reese


Glass Vase Timothy Burke


Wood Carving Brad Smith

Wood Carving

George Brooks





















New River Chair

William Simpson





















Glass work

Sandra Hart Davenport










Our walk through Heartwood's impressive exhibits will continue.