News and Features

Kathryn Gillispie is interviewed by our William Pounds. She works with the non-profit Art in Green Bank to teach art classes after having worked as an art teacher in West Virginia. She also is and has been a long standing artist in pottery, painting, and more. You can find her gallery just off of WV-28 in Green Bank. What is your story as an artist? I had always been interested in art. When I was going to school in the 50s and 60s… okay we’ll date me… there wasn’t much art. I am from West Virginia, but I was from Kanawha County, which is a little richer county. So they did have art in the schools. That is not true in all counties in the state. I always followed an academic path, but I wanted to be a teacher. I thought I wanted to be an elementary teacher, so I went to college, to Glenville State College. I took some elementary art classes and was persuaded to change my field to art. I got an art comprehensive K-12 to become an art teacher. Then I was recruited to Randolph County, in Elkins, to teach, and I started teaching there in […]

This is an interview with JoLynn Powers, who blogs at https://westvirginiamountainmama.com/ and creates public art and murals. She lives in Upshur county and is currently working on restoring the Golden Rule Building in Barbour County. You can find her MAD page here – http://www.madwv.com/item/jolynn-powers/ What was your first experience with art? I am from a creative family. My father was a welder by trade, but also did welding in an artistic way. He did drawings and carvings, very hands oriented – not professionally trained to be an artist. Probably, in the modern day, now, he could make a very good living with his welding artwork. My brother is a professional artist. I think in our family it was just part of who we were. So, I started drawing as little as five or six. I did my first mural at twelve inside my elementary school. I did not realize that I wanted to be an artist for a living or a career until I was much older. So, it has always been something that I had done. I can remember painting a mural in my bedroom in early high school and having a giant collage on my wall, and taking […]

Our featured event for this month is West Virginia Day at the Randolph County Arts Center! ” Designed to highlight our state’s beauty, our West Virginia Celebration is poised to be one of our best attended exhibits, and will be visited by educators, artists, exhibit jurors, and cultural dignitaries from all over the state and beyond.” Rocky Raccoon by MAD Subscriber Maggi Rhudy. The Arts Center Maggi Rhudy

MAD Interview Series: Sarah Fletcher I recently sat down to interview Sarah Fletcher a weaver and owner of Ben’s Old Loom Barn, which can be found in Canaan Valley. Raised by a teacher of weaving, she now teaches and weaves herself, sharing and selling traditional Appalachian weaving to tourists and residents. Her MAD page can be found here – http://www.madwv.com/item/bens-old-loom-barn/ You can find the video portion of this interview here on our Youtube page – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAtvjiAUAHU What was your first experience with weaving? Actually, I grew up with weaving… in the house where I grew up, which was in the farm house. My mother decided she needed to build a loom barn. ‘Cause the school house where she had her weaving school, the county board of education had abandoned it. The roof was starting to leaking and it was just starting to fall down, the building had been built in the 20s, so she built a loom barn and it was one room, and all the supplies were upstairs and she had six looms in here, and she would have classes and I used to come up, bout when I was a kid and I grew up here in Canaan, […]

You can find JoLynn’s mural at the Barbour County Development Authority in Downtown Philippi and her page with us here – http://www.madwv.com/item/jolynn-powers/ If you see her around, congratulate her on the mural (tell her you saw it here) and finishing up with three years (!!!) of AmeriCorps Service. She writes this great blog – https://westvirginiamountainmama.com/about/

The Mountain Weavers Guild were at the Darden Mill as part of Forest Festival. Here are some photos of their various weaved creations, just in case you missed it! Mountain Weaver’s Guild

MAD WV member Don Hall is holding an exhibition of his plein air paintings in Carnegie Hall in Lewisburg, WV ongoing until October 28!  The Gallery hours are 10:00 AM–4:00 PM, Monday through Saturday; the address is: 611 Church Street Lewisburg, WV 24901

The Pocahontas County Artisan Co-op has more than 40 member artists and craftspeople working in two dozen mediums.  As a business incubator the Co-op assists regional artisans in advancing from hobby to cottage industry and are committed to promoting the arts in Pocahontas County through public demonstrations, workshops, exhibitions and community-based educational activities. Find Pocahontas County Artisans Co-op locations at: 4th Avenue Gallery @ the Marlinton Railroad Depot 720 4th Avenue Marlinton, WV 24954 The Shops at Leatherbark Ford @ Cass Scenic Railroad State Park Cass, WV 24927

This week we are featuring the two artists of Brenwood Forge & Broom: David “Woody” Harman and Brenda Harman. Woody, a blacksmith, is a member of the Artist Blacksmith Association of North America and the Appalachian Blacksmith Association. He has been blacksmithing for 35 years. Brenda, a broom maker, is juried with the Allegheny Highland Arts and Craft Center in Clifton Forge, VA. She made her first broom in 1993. Both artists are founding members of the Pocahontas County Artisan Co-op and juried members of Tamarack. Both are also members of the West Virginia Art Guild. Stop by the following locations to see more of their work: 4th Avenue Gallery, Marlinton Shop at Leatherbark Ford, Cass Allegheny Highlands Arts & Crafts Center, Clifton Forge, VA Addison Visitors Center, Webster Springs

This week we are featuring one of the producers at Ben’s Old Loom Barn in Canaan Valley, Patty Loebig. Patty’s most recent project has been creating tote bags out of recycled plastic bags. She uses bags from different stores to create the color palette (Dollar General is yellow, Walmart is blue, Sheetz is green, Kroger is brown, etc.). She starts by collecting the recycled bags, folding them, and cutting them into thin strips so that they can be rolled and used as thread. Patty then weaves the plastic thread through her loom like she would any other material. The final product is a beautiful repurposing. Stop by Ben’s Old Loom Barn to check out these bags and many other interesting creations. Ben’s Old Loom Barn is also displaying their producer’s work this month in the lobby of Citizen’s Bank in Parsons. Stop by during regular business hours to see some of their incredible work!    

This week, our Featured Event is ArtSpring’s annual Memorial Day Festival! The Festival lasts from Friday, May 26th until Sunday, May 28th. See the full schedule here: www.artspringwv.com. ArtSpring Festival is an annual celebration of the vibrant arts community in Tucker County, West Virginia. The main activities hubs are in Thomas and Davis, and you are encouraged you to explore Canaan Valley, Parsons, Hendricks, Hambleton and the surrounding areas while you’re here. Learn more about ArtSpring’s Silent Auction, hands-on activities for kids & makers, gallery openings & exhibits, craft beer, wine and food, live music and more. Looking for places to stay? Find rooms at Canaan Valley Resort, Timberline Four Seasons Resort, Black Bear Resort, The Billy Motel, Bright Morning Inn, Cooper House, Fiddler’s Roost Guest House, and Purple Fiddle’s Hostel. For information on-site, please visit the Info Booth in Davis, located outside the Davis Firehall and adjacent to the Handmade Art Market, Food Vendors and Music Tent. Please also stop in and say hello at the Silent Auction, located in Cottrill’s Opera House on Front Street in Thomas. See a full schedule of events at: www.artspringwv.com And check out these other regional events this week: Windchimes & Fused Glass class; Tuesday – […]

This week we are featuring a newcomer to the Mountain Arts District Showcase, CREATURE, a gallery, studio, and imaginarium of Seth Pitt’s art. The work spans from hand drawn conceptual cartoons to large format time intensive melted crayon sculptures to absurdist sketches to excerpts of books that were never written. The next time you’re strolling along Front St. in Thomas, be sure to stop in and see Seth’s various works in CREATURE as well as it’s sister galleries, Lamplight and The White Room. To see more of Seth’s work, learn where to find it across the county, and see his business information: check out CREATURE’s page here: http://www.madwv.com/item/creature/

This week our featured artist is writer/blogger Jolynn Powers. A self-proclaimed West Virginia Mountain Mama living slowly, foraging, cooking, canning, hunting, and fishing her way through Appalachia. “I’m a forty something mother of two who was born and raised in the foothills of the Rocky Mountain in Boulder, Co. I have lived, loved, and laughed in North Central West Virginia for 25 years with my family. We Live a rural life, full of family, food and the outdoors. I love to take photos and telling stories about the Appalachian Mountains where we live.” Check out Jolynn’s blog to read more on her adventures through Appalachia: https://jolynnsmountainmama.wordpress.com/ JoLynn Powers

This bright piece of public art adds a splash of color on the outskirts of Davis between the town and Thomas. It was designed and painted by Elkins High School Art classes in 2015. Elkins High School art classes have produced several murals and art projects across the Mountain Arts District. Browse through our gallery to find more! http://www.madwv.com/public-art-gallery/

This week’s public art feature watches over Main Street, like Buckhannon’s own Dr. T.J. Eckleburg. Cock-A-Doodle-Dude was created for ART26201’s Art in Public Places program, which has been very successful at launching several public art  projects across downtown Buckhannon. From ART26201’s site, artist Ginger Diaz says, “Rarely do I view something beautiful without calculating how to capture it in a painting! I am particularly inspired by simple scenes, the way sunlight hits a coffee mug or a sleeping cat on a window sill. I want to convey the beauty I see in everyday objects and create a scene which intrigues the viewer and encourages her to slow down and spend some time with the painting. Recently I became enchanted with the vibrant colors and quirky personalities of my friend’s heirloom chickens and decided that a large-scale rooster would be a perfect mural for Buckhannon’s Main Street. Your town holds a special place in my heart as a community dedicated to celebrating the arts.” To see more of ART26201’s projects click here: http://www.art26201.com/publicart/index.html And to see more public art in the Mountain Arts District click here: http://www.madwv.com/public-art-gallery/

Descendants of the early pioneers wanted to honor the place where the an American Indian village had stood, now Mingo Flats. Though whether or not this village was Mingo or not, is debated. Remains of the village were visible to the first settlers, although clearly abandoned for many years. An online copy of “Monument to, and history of the Mingo Indians; facts and traditions about this tribe, their wars, chiefs, camps, villages and trails. Monument dedicated to their memory near the village of Mingo, in Tygarts River Valley of West Virginia” provides a great deal of information on the statue, the arguments for and against its erection, and even some of the speeches given on the date of its dedication. The inscription on the statue reads: This monument is erected in memory of the passing of the “Red Man.” An Indian village was located near this place according to local tradition. It was frequented by the Mingo tribe, and at one time was an Iroquois outpost – Mingo Iroquois, meaning “Foreign Service”. The Mingoes are said to have been expelled by the Iroquois for disloyalty. This village was on the trail from the Lakes to the South, but had been abandoned prior […]

This week our featured artist is Kathryn Gillispie from Greenbank! Kathryn has taught in many public schools in Randolph County, local colleges and private workshops in WV. Numerous merit awards in painting and Best of Show at Mountain State A/C Fair, Ripley, and twice in the Mountain State Forest Festival in Elkins are some of her accomplishments. She is a juried Tamarack artist and a signature member of WV Watercolor Society. In the past 25 years she has founded 4 art cooperatives in Randolph, Tucker, and Pocahontas Counties as well as advise other states on how to form art groups as cooperatives. Currently she is the owner/ artist of Green Bank Art Center. See more of Kathryn’s art and learn where you can shop for it at: http://www.madwv.com/item/kathryn-c-gillispie/

This week our featured artists are Carrie and Michael Kline! Michael and Carrie Kline weave West Virginia stories and folklore with spine tingling harmonies on voice and guitar. The Klines present their music both as entertainment and social history, with engaging ease and hard-hitting passion. The Klines have performed in Italy, Germany, and across the United States. To hear them and be encouraged to join in on a chorus is to be transported to a country church, a primeval forest, a coal miner’s picket line, or grandma’s kitchen. Listen to a sample of their music and learn where you can find their work to buy at: http://www.madwv.com/item/michael-carrie-kline/