‘Round the Mountain members are invited to submit proposals for the “Make and Take Holiday Crafts” interactive demonstrations at Heartwood during the holiday season.

The “Make and Take” activity will be scheduled for approximately two hours each day on:

• Friday, November 25 and Saturday, November 26
• Saturday, December 3, 10, 17 & 24

The “Make and Take” activity will involve interaction with Heartwood visitors through the creation of a “craft” item that can be completed by a visitor (child or adult) within an allotted time frame.

Cost of materials for the project will be paid for by Heartwood and a table will be provided for the project. Each craftsperson will receive a meal ticket for the Heartwood Café.

The proposal should include:

• Description of craft project and your experience with this type of activity
• Approximate time to complete the project
• Estimated material cost per item created
• Dates you are available

Please submit your proposal by November 9th to info@roundthemountain.orgor by mail to the attention of Debby Loggans at One Heartwood Circle, Abingdon, VA 24210. Contact RTM at 276.492.2408 should you have any questions or comments.

We are looking for local and regional artists and artisans to participate in the 9^th Annual New Works Exhibit at the Jax, so if you’d like to show off what you’ve been working on lately, this is the show for you!

“Each year, we invite our community to display their latest and greatest works of art and fine craft,” said Executive Director John McEnhill. “This exhibit is not only a way for us to showcase the talents of our local and regional artistic family, it also allows us to keep up with each other as our artistic vision evolves and takes new shape.”

All forms of media are welcome, but work previously exhibited at the Jax or work already exhibited at another venue is not eligible for this exhibit.  Applications are due at the center no later than Monday, May 30, 2011.

The exhibit will run from Friday, July 1 through Sunday, September 11, with a Meet-the-Artists reception on Saturday, July 9 from 6 to 8pm. The application is available for download at http://jacksonvillecenter.org or by calling (540) 745-2784.

Vendor applications are now being accepted for the third annual Floyd Town Jubilee, which will be held on Saturday, June 18, 2011.  For businesses that do not already have annual Town business licenses, a special event license application must be completed and a $10 special event license fee submitted along with the Jubilee vendor application and payment.  The deadline for applications is Monday, May 23, 2011.
Nonprofits are eligible to participate as Jubilee vendors for no charge provided they have official IRS exempt status and that no products are sold in their vendor spaces.  All eligible nonprofits wishing to participate must submit a vendor application and a special event license application but will not need to pay the Town’s special event license application fee even if selling items in their vendor space.

The vendor hours for this year’s event will be 10:30am to 4:30pm with the majority of the non-food vendors being located in the town parking lot across the street from the park.

A key change this year will be moving the headline music performances to the evening beginning at 5:30pm in the park, following the Warren G. Lineberry Memorial Park Dedication at 4:30pm.  The Jubilee will still feature live, local music on several stages during the day along with other performing arts.

Vendor applications and Special Event License applications are available on The Floyd Town Jubilee at floydtownjubilee.org.

Franklin County YMCA Looking for Instructors

The Franklin County Family YMCA is currently looking to expand their fine art offerings into painting and craft classes. They are also looking for instructors to teach children and parent craft classes. For more information contact Kevin McAlexander by phone at 540-489-9622 or e-mail him at KMcAlexander@franklincountyymca.org

Sell Your Art at the Explore Park & Taubman Welcome Center

Inviting artists and craftspeople to consign their works for sale.
Location: Explore Park, Mile Post 115, Blue Ridge Parkway – Main floor of the Taubman Welcome Center (no connection to the museum)
Opening June 15 and closes October 31, including weekends. Explore Park is reopening and the June Bug Center will be in residence from June through the end of October with multiple programs including our summer theatre camps for kids, live theatre performances of a melodrama on Saturday evenings, and live music – The Great American Song Book, on Thursday evenings. To fully utilize the space, we are putting consignment arts, crafts and gifts on the main floor in the Taubman Welcome Center. Last year the park averaged 250 visitors a day; this year will be higher because of activities.  In addition the Park itself has a schedule of events.
Terms: 80% to the artist; 20% to cover operations.
Contact Mary Souder (540) 309-2388 or junebugdir@gmail.com Continue reading Artist Opportunities

The good folks at Rooster Walk Music + Arts Festival are looking for vendors at their fantastic music & arts festival in Martinsville from 5/27 – 28. They have a few vendors signed up to sell jewelry, fiber art, and wooden items, but don’t have anyone selling pottery/ceramic art, or glass!  Please contact Kim Barto (kimbarto1@gmail.com) ASAP if you’d like to get a booth!

Continue reading Call to Artists and Artisans for Rooster Walk Festival

Representative Morgan Griffith has issued a call to all young artists in the 9th Congressional District to enter the annual Congressional Art Competition.

The theme for this year’s competition, open to students in grades 9 – 12, is “Celebrating Virginia’s History” and the overall winner in the district will be invited to attend a reception in Washington, D.C. have their artwork displayed in the Capitol for one year. 

Acceptable media include paintings, drawings, collages, mixed media, prints, computer art, and photographs. 

Applications are due to Rep. Griffith’s office no later than 5pm on Friday, April 15.  For more information, please visit Rep. Griffith’s website.

We hope all the creative young folks in SWVA will take this fantastic opportunity to show the nation what Virginia’s 9th has to offer.  Good luck!

Mothra in Abstract by Claudia Hurt

The Gallery Committee at The Jacksonville Center would like to invite our free-thinking local and regional artists and artisans to participate in a special exhibit honoring abstract art.

The ab-strac-tion exhibit in the Hayloft Gallery will focus on visionary, unrealistic art that breaks away from traditional representations of objects. This departure from accurate representation can be slight, partial, or complete and all forms of media are welcome.

Applications are due at the center no later than Monday, April 4, 2011. The exhibit will run from Friday, May 6 to Sunday, June 26, with a Meet-the-Artists reception on Saturday, May 14 from 6 to 8pm. The application is available for download at http://jacksonvillecenter.org or by calling (540) 745-2784.

Though we at the Jax do tend to be very barn-centric, we do like to share the opportunities and events happening in the wider world of art and creativity, such as:

Opportunities for Artists

• The Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grants. Accepting applications year-round, The Pollock-Krasner Foundation’s dual criteria for grants are artistic merit and      
  demonstrable financial need, whether professional, personal or both. The Foundation‘s mission is to aid, internationally, those individuals who have worked as professional artists over a significant period of time. To learn more about the application process, selection process and more for these artistic grants, visit the PKF website.

• Blacksburg Fork and Cork. There are still vendor spaces available for this April 30th food, wine and art festival! Get your work in front of folks who understand the value of handcrafted, heartfelt works of art and fine craft. Check the Blacksburg Partnership website for a downloadable application and more information on this year’s event.

• The Institute for Interactive Journalism and the McCormick Foundation Grant. If you’re a woman for whom journalism is your medium of choice, this is your grant opportunity! This joint project seeks to fund women who have original ideas to create new Web sites, mobile news services or other entrepreneurial initiatives that offer interactive opportunities to engage, inspire and improve news and information in a geographic community or a community of interest. For more information on funding your journalistic dreams, visit the website of the Institute for Interactive Journalism.

Community Arts Events

Continue reading Happenings in the Wider World

Here at the Jax, we not only want people to come to the barn to experience and exhibit art – we want you to share your art with the world! Here are some opportunities to do so:

Continue reading Community Calls to Artists

Looking for another venue to hitch your craft fair canopy?

The Franklin County Lady Eagles Softball team is having its 2nd Annual Craft and Gift Show just in time to catch people as their minds are turning toward the winter holidays.

When: Saturday, November 6, 9am to 3pm
Where: Franklin County High School Central Gym
Cost: $30 for an 8×10′ space

Download this sheet for more information or to submit your application.

Franklin County Lady Eagles Softball Team