YVCG Members Meet & Greet

Just like Paris before the War



On Tuesday evening, Sept. 23rd, The Yadkin Valley Craft Guild held it's bimonthly member's get-together in our studio at 125 West Main Street (2nd floor) in Historic Downtown Elkin. A fitting location for an historic occasion. Since occupying this space almost 4 years ago, we have envisioned just this sort of gathering. Reminiscent of the Paris salons of the early 20th century where the great and talented minds of the time would gather to discuss art, philosophy, politics and the events of the day.

And these great and talented minds did just exactly that.

The intellectual depth and artistic vision of the conversation was truly amazing. In this photo, you can actually witness Rosy Beverley (third from left) embracing an observation from Linda Jacobs (left) that is so profound Caleb Wyatt ( 2nd from left) is visibly taken aback.

At almost the same moment, Lynda Colvard (second from right) is badgering Ruth Hutton (far right) for her kick-ass sangria recipe.

No salon would be complete without artists showing off their latest work. Here we see Tom Gwyn with one of his recent projects, a lovely square bowl beautifully accessorized with delicious hot wings. It's hard to believe Tom started studying ceramics just a few months ago after stepping down as the long time Mayor of Elkin. The wings he's been doing much longer.

You'll notice in the background, Linda consulting artist/teacher/Gypsy, Donna Pumphrey (second from left) on how to handle the sangria recipe situation. Donna, possessing the soul of a Gypsy, and maybe the bloodline, might be able to offer some sort of charm or spell. One never knows, do one?

Now it's Rosy's turn to astonish Linda J. and Caleb. Meanwhile Lynda C. has returned for another go at Ruth bearing whatever Romani secrets Donna has armed her with. She's like a dog with a bone. Ruth, we wish you luck.

Meanwhile back at the bar, Bill Suggs (left), an ardent birdwatcher and husband of noted bead artist, Carole Wells, enjoys a wistful tete' a tete' with Doris Petersham (center), the only person ever to obtain an MFA in both ceramics and fiber from Kent State University. Charlie Cummings (right), observes this little exchange in utter astonishment.

Ruth has finally extracted herself from Lynda C's clutches and shares a red carpet moment with Dot Genton (right). Ruth's somewhat glassy-eyed stare makes one suspect that Lynda may have, in fact, released some of Donna's dark Gypsy magic on her.

Like the rest of the art world, fine craft can be a cutthroat dog eat dog world. But thanks to the YVCG's leadership in providing just these sort of gatherings, the worlds of fiber (Ruth) and glass (Dot) can drop their differences and just get along. If the political leaders of the world would just make use of Ruth's sangria, maybe we could finally have world peace. This could possibly explain Lynda's tenaciousness in obtaining the recipe. Or maybe she's just planning an early autumn barbeque.

As Charlie processes the fascinating tidbits he recently overheard from Doris and Bill, yours truly, (left), our artist/Gypsy, Donna Pumphrey, (second from left) and infamous social commentary artist, Tory Casey, (third from left) discuss their respective roles in the coming revolution and their wardrobe plans thereoff.





On the other side of the room, stone sculptor extraordinaire, Steven Robinette (left), overwhelms the best and possibly only Nantucket basket maker south of the Mason-Dixon line, Julie Otteson, (center) with his trademark charm and wit. Jerry Brady, a talented woodworker in his own right, turns away to conceal his reaction. Rarely has Jerry seen so much manure shoveled outside of a stable.

Woodworker Diane Heft's husband, Kenny(left), Tom Gwyn (second from left), writer and arts marketing genius Denise Lyon, (third from left) and last living film photographer, Erik Dahlager (right) are being amused and astounded at the sheer amount of crap Steven is loading on Julie.

In the midst of all this good cheer, a possible altercation rears its ugly head. Donna Pumphrey stares unbelievingly as an unidentified female dares point her finger right in Donna's face after Donna has stated flat out that Picasso was not fit to wipe Matisse's butt. Tom Gwyn's initial reaction of "Hot damn, a catfight" is overpowered by his legendary diplomacy skills. Being the Southern gentleman that he is, Tom turns on the charm and a dicey situation is averted as Picasso's honor is restored. Local government's loss is YVCG's gain.

The future of art, fine craft and the artistic salon is alive and faring rather well in the safekeeping of the Yadkin Valley Craft Guild.

Check out some of the work of these and other fine artists and craftsmen of the Yadkin Valley at YadkinValleyCraftGuild.org

Bethabara Apple Festival

Yesterday, we took our show on the road and went to Bethabara Park in Winston-Salem to sell our wares.

Bethabara is a charming place, part city park and part historical restoration. It is the site of Winston-Salem's first settlement in the mid-1750's. That's wildly early for this part of the world. Most of the towns in the Yadkin Valley didn't come into existence until the mid to late 1800's.

In honor of the original Moravian settler's intense work ethic, the folks putting on this festival worked like dogs, or more accurately, horses. My vote for hardest workers is a 3 way tie. Ms. Russell can be seen in this picture standing in front of the Herman Buttner House, (our digs for the festival,) completely done up in her 18th century garb luring festival visitors into the house to view the historic house and our wares. She stood there for the complete run of the festival, over six hours, without so much as a bathroom break and we had a solid stream of visitors. Thank you, Ms. Russell.

The other two winners are the two horses pulling this wagon completely loaded down with hay and tourists. Unless the horses had stunt doubles they also worked for a solid 6 hours. Considering the generous amount of frothing at the mouth, I think it was the same ones all day.

Bethabara originally invited the Yadkin Valley Craft Guild, of which I am a member, to occupy the Buttner House during the Apple Festival in hopes of filling it with potters, weavers, spinners and other heritage crafts in keeping with the 18th Century re-enactment feel of the festival. Well, when not enough heritage crafts were available, the invitation was expanded to include all members. That's where yours truly comes in. Although silk painting and dyeing was being done long before the 18th century, it was primarily an Asian and, to some degree, European, art. Certainly wasn't happening in the NC Piedmont wilderness in the 1750's by a group of devout Moravians. Not to mention the bright, intense colors I favor were not generally available before the invention of aniline dyes in the mid 19th century.

Nevertheless, in we go, and our original display, seen above, was moderately tasteful, although not particularly interesting. The room was a little dark. The only light came from a small metal chandelier that had, thank God, been wired for electricity, but it was more suited for an intimate dinner party than a craft show. So since we got there early and could get dibs on whatever space was available, we snatched a prime spot by the window. A small, multipaned window but some additional light. Imagine our distress on arriving on Festival day to discover that the situation has become considerably more crowded and we have been nudged gently away from the window in order to make room for all. Well, we took matters in our own hands and magnanimously gave up our now less than prime space and moved to the front porch. Though this photo is a little dark, since we, as usual, can never remember where to place ourselves in relation to the sun, a careful examination will still reveal a second floor porch at the top of an intriguing set of stone steps with Mrs. Russell standing at the bottom doing her best to fill the house. Trust me, in person, the brightly colored silks fluttering in the breeze were much more prominent.

The powers that be were somewhat concerned that "purple, gossamer lingerie fluttering about" were not in the true spirit of the festival, but being good sports, said to give it a go, anyhow. And as you can see, it was pretty fluttery, but we must say, in our own defense, that it is not lingerie. This is, in fact, an evening coat. Probably a distinction lost on an historical preservationist but we felt the need to speak out. Most of the visitors seemed to like the colorful display. Of course the ones who didn't like it probably didn't say anything. If you can't say something nice and all.

But it was a fun day and it was good to hear what people had to say about our work and get some feedback. And there are worse ways to spend a beautiful fall day than sitting on a breezy porch/balcony and watching big draft horses pulling loads of people on seriously old-school wagons. Our locale, the Butner house had, back in the day, been the residence of Bethabara's distiller and his family. The original house burned and this one was built to replace it in 1803. So even though it replaces the original, it's still pretty old. Frankly, I can't believe it didn't burn again with all those walk in fireplaces big enough to roast an ox that had to be the only source of heat for at least a century or a century and a half.

So goes the fall festival season. We'll keep you posted on the rest of it as it progresses.