What is the Jax? The Jacksonville Center is a community arts center in Floyd, Virginia, just miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway. We celebrate and facilitate regional arts through classes, exhibits, community receptions and more.
What are you waiting for? Get Jaxed!
Turn every dollar of donation into $5.75 of creative services!
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On Saturday, April 14 from 4-6pm, The Jacksonville Center will host the 8th Annual Education Kick-off and Instructor’s Exhibit Reception, which highlights The Jax 2012 class schedule and features a selection of art by some of the center’s instructors, including Ed Gowen, Gretchen St. Lawrence, Jean Poythress Koon, Karen Sewell, Sharon Hall and more.
Activities during the reception will include demonstrations from local art instructors such as blacksmith John Riddle and ceramics artist Sidra Kaluszka. Glenda George will demonstrate her felted soaps course and give attendees a chance to try it out for themselves. There will also be kids’ activities with Afternoon Arts teacher, Sarah Greene and assistant Rebekah Bordeaux and a talk/demonstration from Japanese Woodworker and Jax instructor, Yann Giguere. Yann will give a one hour talk/demonstration from 4-5pm introducing his love of the art and the goal of the classes he will be teaching in June. Yann is owner and founder of Mokuchi Woodworking and will be teaching a 4-day series of classes on knife sharpening, planing, and small stool making. Registrations for classes made during the event will receive a 10% discount on class tuition.
“I’m really excited about this year’s reception. We have some great demonstrations and activities planned and, of course, great people leading them. I hope we can give people a taste of how fun it can be to participate in our educational programming here at The Jax,” said Amy Avery-Grubel, Director of Educational Programming. The community is encouraged to attend. The exhibit and the reception are free and open to the public.
For more information about these exhibits and more, visit www.jacksonvillecenter.com, email info@jacksonvillecenter.com or call (540) 745-2784.
The 10th Annual “New Works” exhibit in the Hayloft Gallery opened on Friday, March 2, and will run through Saturday, April 28. A ‘Meet-the-Artists’ reception will be held at the center on March 10 from 6-8pm featuring music by classical guitarist David Oakes. Due to a revamped gallery schedule, the show opened earlier in the year and attracted a number of new artists. “Don’t miss this chance to see the latest works by your favorite artists and artisans and work by a number of new artists who are exhibiting at the center for the first time.” said Lore Deighan, the center’s Gallery Coordinator.
Exhibiting artists include: Charlotte Lou Atkins, Samuel A’Court Bason, Susan Brittingham, Ernest Bryant, Ron Campbell, Audrey Caywood, Rick Cooley, Lore Deighan, Susan Egbert, Aileen Fletcher, Glenda George, Art Haase, Winter Hart, Don Johnson, Fred Jones, Charlie Knighton, Floyd Bud Lohr, Gina Louthian-Stanley, Cheryl Mackian, Glenda McAlexander, Swede McBroom, Nathan Popp, Dennis Ross, Karen Sewell, Helen Shaw, Sylvester Simard, Kimberly Simmons, Gretchen St. Lawrence, Agnes Stringfellow, Teri Walters, Howard Wenger, and Gerri Young.
Visitors to the center can also view the Breezeway Gallery’s exhibit featuring Joli Ayn Wood’s collection of works entitled “Inspirations in Multi-Media” which will close at the end of March. The next Hayloft Gallery exhibit “Make Me Laugh” will open Friday, May 4.
All exhibits at The Jax are free and open to the public during regular business hours, though a $3 donation would help offset daily operating expenses for the galleries. The reception includes a cash bar and refreshments in addition to the live music. For more information visit jacksonvillecenter.org/at-the-center/hayloft-gallery.
 Moving on by Karen Sewell
November’s Second Saturday featuring the Blacksburg Photography Club will be November 12 from 4-6pm. Come out and see the “Water” themed exhibit.
 Tranquil by Jeremy Riffe
Check it out! Our OnDemand classes have been so popular that we have updated our catalog with a whole slew of new classes! Our new selection of classes include Modern Metalsmithing, Handmade Books, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Felting Soaps, Traditional Quilting, Glass Blowing, Etched Glass, Watercolor, Painting Landscapes, Whittling Wood and more!!! Ask about our Fourth Friend Free promotional opportunity!! For more information click here, call 745-2784, or email education@jacksonvillecenter.org.
 "Bitter Sweet" by Sidra Kaluszka In March 2011, The Jacksonville Center welcomed Sidra Kaluszka into the family as a studio artist, instructor, and as manager of the pottery studio. After graduating from Floyd County High School, Sidra studied painting and ceramics at Virginia Tech before going on to earn a double MFA in both ceramics and watercolors at Radford University. Sidra cites Asian and Zen Buddhist art as well as an awe of nature and found objects as her influence and inspiration, and she favors simple, elegant forms and flowing lines in her work. You can find Sidra’s artwork on display at the Jax as well as many other venues and galleries throughout the region.
For more than six years Sidra has been an art instructor for Virginia Tech’s Upward Bound program, designed to help encourage high-school students to pursue a college education, and she also teaches art at the YMCA in Blacksburg. Earlier this year Sidra began facilitating Afternoon Arts at The Jacksonville Center in March, and she also joined the center’s Floyd Art Reach (FAR) program to foster creativity in our local schools.
 "Lidded Orchid" by Sidra Kaluszka During her time at the Jax, Sidra has helped to reorganize the center’s pottery studio and transform it into a safe, efficient, and welcoming place for students and seasoned potters to work, learn, and play. She is also working to improve and expand the studio’s supply of glazes so the center has more to offer for classes and studio rentals.
“I feel very fortunate to have had such supportive, generous mentors along the way,” Sidra said. “The Jax has allowed me to continue to do what I love by using their equipment and their space to create and display my work. I just want to give some of that back.”
To find out more about Sidra and her work, visit her flickr photostream or stop by her studio at The Jacksonville Center. And to learn more about our extremely affordable pottery studio rentals (prices start at less than $5 per day!) visit the Jax pottery studio rental page or contact the center at (540) 745-2784.
What’s sixteen feet long, three feet tall, nearly thirty years old, and hanging in The Jacksonville Center’s Hayloft Gallery?
Here’s a hint: some of you Floydians may remember seeing it at Pine Tavern years ago.
Give up? It’s The Big Picture, a stunningly beautiful acrylic painting submitted by our very own Charlotte Atkins for The REALLY Big Show at the Jax.
 "The Big Picture" by Charlotte Atkins Charlotte said her painting, which was commissioned for Kathleen Ingham’s living room wall in the early 1980s, also spent a number of years hanging behind the bar at Pine Tavern before being tucked away in a basement just a few feet away from a wood stove. Charlotte had all but forgotten about the painting until her husband, master woodworker Ernest Bryant, suggested she enter it into The REALLY Big Show.
Continue reading Come to The REALLY Big Show to see “The Big Picture”
 Karen Sewell Our current artist spotlight focuses on Floyd County native, Karen Sewell. A lover of the outdoors and observer of the magic in every day moments, Karen often draws her inspiration from the small vignettes of everyday life. Her work illustrates simple reminders of where we come from and hints of where we are going.
Karen currently offers a painting course through our On-Demand Classes at The Jax, called Portraits Made Easy!
Let’s take a closer look into one of Floyd County’s passionate painters!
 Ben Carter As we enter our third installment of the Artist Spotlight we share insight from potter Ben Carter. Ben has traveled far and wide because of his love for ceramics, both learning and sharing along the way. We are thankful for his involvement in the Jax and look forward to a future including his varied expertise and energy. If you like what you see, be sure to check out his On-Demand class at the Jax in March.
Let’s gather ’round the table and read about Ben and his journey into a life of usable ceramics and creative nourishment!
 Table set with Ben Carter creations Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Ben Carter
 Slab work vase by Jayn Avery In our second installment of The Jax Artist Spotlight, we are excited to share the musings of our talented clay throwin’ Jayn Avery. In true artistic style, Jayn decided it best to share her survey answers in story form. We hope you enjoy reading a chapter in the book of Jayne Avery’s life, and the story of her personal creative evolution.
Without further adieu, we bring you, Jayn Avery -
Continue reading Artist Spotlight: Jayn Avery
As the Jax continues to evolve and expand its community involvement, we plan on periodically giving our readers an inside look into our artists’ creative process and overall viewpoint. Envision this as your personal meet-and-greet with the artist from the comfort of your own home, an opportunity to get inside their head. Our spotlight will allow each talented artist a chance to answer questions tailored to the Jax community, and help include us all in varying areas of each artist’s work.
 Scarves Hand-Dyed by Glenda George Our first spotlight shines brightly on Glenda George, who offers On-Demand courses at the Jax using varying fiber and woven media.
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