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!
|
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
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 9th from 5-8pm the Jax will host a meet-the-artists reception to feature two new exhibits: the 9th 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
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.
We are looking for local and regional artists and artisans to participate in the 9th 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.
 Jeans by Sarah Schula Each year, we like to showcase the talents of our youngest artists and of those who develop their creativity in our classrooms and studios. On display through the end of January are two such exhibits.
In the Hayloft Gallery are works by Floyd County High School students including:
Continue reading Youth and Student Exhibits On Display
Mark your calendar now to help us launch a Breezeway Gallery exhibit that is back by popular demand.
In the weeks before our recent membership dinner, Lee Chichester, a founding member of the center and the current development coordinator, spent days poring over our photo archive, finding images from each of our first 15 years. Those who attended the dinner delighted in seeing themselves with long hair and small children clinging to their pant legs, and reflecting on the barn that the a group of individuals revitalized using little more than enthusiasm and the dream of a vibrant arts center at the heart of this creative community.
 Pat Sharkey & Jyoti Hale at the first Winterfest in 1995 Continue reading First Friday: A Pictorial Overview of the Jax’s First 15 Years
 Blue Ridge Mountains by Larry Petrie What: Meet-the-Artists Reception for the Floyd’s View exhibit
Where: The Jacksonville Center for the Arts, 220 Parkway Lane South, Floyd
When: This Saturday, October 16, from 6 to 8 pm
Cost: Free, though a $3 donation would help offset daily operating expenses
* * *
Back when I lived in Greensboro, NC, I often drove sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway for vacations. I remember looking at the dirt side roads jutting mysteriously off of the Parkway and wondering about the people who were lucky enough to live there. Now, one of those mysterious dirt roads leads to my home and I am one of the lucky ones who putters along the Parkway while out visiting friends or picking up a thing or two at the store.
Continue reading Meet-the-Artists of the Floyd’s View Exhibit
Floyd is always hopping on the first Friday of the month and Friday, October 1 will be no different. Here at the Jax, we’ll be celebrating the opening of a new Breezeway Gallery exhibit featuring the works of Russian artist Lilia Momotova. We’ll be enjoying good food, good libations and good friends from 5 to 8 pm.
Troika Gallery will be honoring one of our favorite folks at their First Friday reception: Don George, Jax board member, artisan-instructor and all-around swell guy. Those of you who attended this years Live Auction fundraiser likely remember the bidding war that took place over the jewelry box Don crafted. Troika will be displaying a selection of Don’s Shaker boxes and furniture from Friday, October 1 to Sunday, October 10. Stop by Troika, located at The Station in downtown Floyd, any time between 4 and 8 pm. Continue reading Don George at Troika Gallery
|
|
