Meet Our Artisans

I photograph the places and objects people have built, repaired, neglected and refurbished, destroyed or re-purposed.

My photos imply and portray people through their possessions, their signs, their spaces and the stories told by the objects and marks they leave behind.

The actions recorded in the things and places we make tell more about us than a smile or a pose, and hide less.

For more about me, visit KirkCarter.com.

I handform, paint, glaze and sign porcelain WineToppers that are unconditionally guaranteed for life. I accept commissions and have created designs for various businesses and weddings. I create vessel forms in porcelain that are handfinished to a smooth surface that is left unglazed. This is my own technique. I also create Raku for love of the process and the resulting product. More about me and my work can be seen on my website.

My work consists primarily of Celtic designs and quilt patterns sized to serve as window decoration. I use bright, transparent or translucent colors chosen to maximize the effect of sunlight. I also produce a variety of suncatchers as well as larger pieces, such as cabinet doors, by commission.

Raised in the mountains of Virginia when self-sufficiency was the norm, the Alexanders have been making traditional mountain brooms and poplar bark baskets for over 40 years. The brooms and baskets retain their functionality while at the same time reflecting the personalities of their makers. Our mission is to clean up the earth one sweep at a time.

Photographer Michael Alford captures the beauty of Tazewell County and other areas of Southwest Virginia with his digital prints. His work is featured in several local book publications and is displayed in businesses and residences throughout the area. His digital photography was featured in an art exhibit at Southwest Virginia Community College in 2007.

I hand paint miniatures of birds, animals and plants on bone, antler and synthetic materials. These are then set in sterling silver as pins and pendants. Often the jewelry pieces open and have a Biblical inscription inside that relates to the subject of the piece. I hope to communicate the intricacies of Nature and the amazing way that each part is a reflection of the Creator.

I specialize in making quilts even though I am qualified in many areas of working with fabric. Taking pieces of fabric and turning them into art gives me much happiness and safisfaction.

Since the days of high school home economics class, I have loved to sew. As a young married girl, I made a few quilts before getting busy raising my children and working. After joining the local quilt guild, I not only experienced a renewed interest, but found what I will believe be a life long passion for using beautiful fabric to craft quilts, wall hangings and runners. I use techniques of traditional piecing as well as paper piecing and machine applique. I love most of all to "free motion" quilt. My sister and I own and operate All To Pieces Fabric store on Main Street in Haysi. I find constant inspiration from my quilting friends and all the wonderful fabric that is available to today's quilters!

wood turning

Located in Troutdale, Virginia, Gerald Anderson constructs guitars and mandolins that feature local Virginia White Spruce, Indian and Brazilian Rosewood, and other exotic materials. Gerald also travels the country performing with the Gerald Anderson Band.

I consider myself to be a potter. Making pottery that will find a place in someone’s home and be used is my goal, sometimes a lofty goal. Because of this, I strive for clean, comfortable and well-crafted pots. I am interested in how and why utilitarian pottery has a place in present-day society.

I use the wheel as my first tool. After a basic form is thrown, I seek to make my pots active through pushing, darting, trimming and carving. The surfaces of my pots are often decorated with patterns that come from Chinese influences; others from quilt blocks and grids, and some from old needlepoint patterns that belonged to my grandmother.

My color pallet tends to be bright, the colors of candy I enjoyed as a kid and continue to take pleasure in today. I want my work to have a light and lively feeling. Therefore, the clay I use is a grolleg porcelain that I fire to cone 10 (2350°F) in a gas kiln. This clay provides a very white canvas that gives vibrancy to my glazes and decoration. With each pot and kiln load, the choices I make in color, form and decoration come together to form a body of work that continues to create new challenges, questions and solutions.

Angels Rest Creations is the creative outlet for Tracy Schwartz who primarily creates museum quality miniature quilts for which she was awarded Artisan status with the IGMA (International Guild of Miniature Artisans) in 2010. These diminutive treasures are either hand or machine pieced and then elaborately quilted by hand. Her quilts have found homes in museums and private collections around the world.
Tracy also creates spa quality soy candles, melts, and lotions.

My one-of-a-kind pieces begin in the form of precious metal clay and are sculpted, carved and manipulated to form a unique piece of wearable art. Using traditional metalsmithing techniques, I make many of the chains and findings. All stones and glass are selected for their unique value and quality.

I make stoneware wheel-thrown and hand-built pottery designed to be used in the kitchen, at the table and in the garden. Nature provides the inspiration for much of my work.

Marrying an artist’s sense with grounded sensibility, Anne can best be described as a collage artist.
Vintage finds, water color acrylic, semi-precious gemstones, hand selected turquoise and other unique components are combined with fine and vintage metals to create one of a kind pieces to be cherished. Anne creates jewelry that is described as organic… yet it remains simple and elegant in form and function.
Anne’s pieces are created with a timeless appeal that crosses generational lines.

Native to Appalachia, Journel was born into a family that valued hard work, self-sufficiency and hand skills. Both his father and grandfather made tools and furniture for personal use and sale or trade. After many years as a skilled carpenter and contractor, in the 1980’s he turned an enduring interest in woodworking into a second trade. He draws on and takes pride in his heritage then adds his own contemporary spin to his bowls. His “food-friendly” exquisitely carved and decorated turned salad bowls start with hand-picked woods native to the southern Appalachian Mountains. Sustainable practices guide his work and the unique north-south range of the mountains he lives in results in a wide assortment of rare, unusual and beautiful woods. His bowls are turned on the lathe and embellished with unique, hand-carved designs.