The 10^th 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

The Jacksonville Center will continue to partner with local galleries and restaurants in Floyd to offer a fun and innovative way for visitors to get a taste of what Floyd has to offer with a Jax+1 Second Saturday coupon.  On Saturday, July 9^th from 5-8pm the Jax will host a meet-the-artists reception to feature two new exhibits: the 9^th Annual New Works Exhibit in the Hayloft Gallery, which opened last Friday, and the 3 Printmakers Exhibit in Studio 122.  David Oakes will also perform a selection of classical guitar pieces during the reception.

Continue reading Second Saturday Meet-the-Artists Reception July 9th

"First Snow" by Erin Coffin

The 3 Printmakers Exhibit, featuring recent work from artists Kate Anderson, Erin Coffin and Jennifer Spoon, is now open in Studio 122 at the Jax through August.  From abstraction to realism, this exhibit provides insight into the variety of printmaking today by showcasing the three printmakers’ different styles and methods of creating original prints.  Be sure to stop in during business hours and check out this spectacular special exhibit!

"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.

The Jacksonville Center’s First Friday receptions had long been a popular destination for art lovers in Floyd and surrounding areas.  This year, the First Fridays have been replaced with Second Saturdays at the center.   Now, we are sponsoring “Jax+1”, a monthly event for every Second Saturday featuring local galleries and restaurants to provide a special focus on visual art activities for visitors and Floydians alike.

“As the first arts organization in Floyd to offer First Fridays, we were pleased to see other arts organizations join us,” said John McEnhill, Executive Director at the Jax.  “Creating the Second Saturday collaboration is an effort to expand weekend offerings for the visiting public and take it to a new level, involving our local restaurants in a celebration of the visual arts in Floyd.”

The Jacksonville Center is partnering with local galleries and restaurants to offer a fun and innovative way for visitors to feed both their bodies and their creative spirits.  On every Second Saturday, “Jax+1” coupons will be available at The Jacksonville Center and five local galleries: Troika, Floyd Artists Association, St. Pierre Gallery (all at The Station on South Locust Street), Gallery 111 on South Main Street, and the Bell Gallery on North Locust Street.

Simply collect a stamp at the Jax and at least one of the participating galleries, then redeem your “Jax+1” coupons for a special offer or discount at one of Floyd’s participating local restaurants, including Natasha’s Café, Oddfellas Cantina, Mickey G’s, The Pine Tavern, El Charro, Dogtown Roadhouse, and the Blue Ridge Restaurant in Floyd and the Woodberry Inn just up the Parkway in Meadows of Dan. Coupons can be redeemed any time during the following 30 days and new coupons and offers will be available each month

Keep an eye on the blog or “Like” us on Facebook for up-to-date information about special Second Saturday events at the Jax and participating galleries.

Donations for The Jacksonville Center’s Memorial Day Weekend BarnYard Sale are already starting to trickle in and the pickings look good: a riding lawnmower, camping gear, wicker furniture, costume jewelry, baby clothes and essentials, and small household appliances.  However, we’re still seeking any unwanted treasures you may have lurking in your basements, attics, cupboards, and sheds.  This is not an old-fashioned yard sale: you can simply drop off your items for the center’s staff and volunteers to sell!

The first $100 of proceeds from the rummage sale will support the Cher Sweeney Scholarship Fund and additional proceeds will offset the Center’s general operations expenses.  All items not sold on the day will then be donated to Angels in the Attic.  For more information or to donate items for sale, please contact educationinfo@jacksonvillecenter.org or call the center at 540-745-2784.

We’re also looking for volunteers to help with the sale on Saturday, May 28 from 8am – 5pm.  To volunteer, please contact Gloria Hilton at gjhilton1@yahoo.com.

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”

We’d like to extend a huge thank-you to Gerri Young for the beautiful and heart-warming letter she wrote to the editor of the Roanoke Times.  Check out Gerri’s letter and see why we feel so grateful to have such wonderful folks in the Jax family!

Gerri Young in a decorative painting class at the Jax

To the Editor:

Just over a year ago I moved to Blacksburg in search of a retirement place full of art. Having discovered The Jacksonville Center for the Arts in nearby Floyd during our  house hunt, it didn’t take long to sign on for my first classes.  When we first moved here, the only people we knew outside of family in the area were those we met through the house buying process.

Today, I feel like we have a whole group of friends and acquaintances and most of them we’ve met through The Jacksonville Center.  Jacksonville was very fast to welcome me with great warmth and terrific classes.  The staff is friendly and efficient, the teachers excellent and the facility itself is a great place to learn about and make art.  As I sign up for every class I can fit on my calendar, I marvel at how I walk into a new class and count among the students the faces of people I now consider friends I made at Jacksonville.

Continue reading Open Letter to the Editor from Gerri Young