Arts, Crafts & Gifts

GREETINGS FROM CITY GALLERY FINE ARTS!

For more than 8 years, City Gallery has been Galax, Virginia’s only artisan and artist co-op… a place where local artists can sell their wares, meet their customers, and promote their work. It’s been a labor of love, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of this wonderful community and folks who love what we do!

CITY GALLERY’S CO-OP MEMBERS REPRESENT SOME OF THE BEST WORK IN THE REGION:

KARSN CARLSON-MUNCY is a full -time fine art jeweler who specializes in sterling silver and copper metalsmithing. A life-long resident of Southwestern Virginia, Karin currently resides in Midland, VA but her love for this community brings her back to Galax on a monthly basis to work at City Gallery and teach metalsmithing and wirework workshops for Chestnut Creek School of the Arts. Her work is inspired by the shapes and textures of the natural world and her handmade copper leaf jewelry is created with the same love and care that she has for Galax itself.

ANN CHILDRESS loves making utilitarian pottery that semes as art for everyday use. As a teacher at Chestnut Creek School of the Arts she enjoys helping people get started on their clay ‘journey’. She is inspired living in such a beautiful place & surrounded by so many talented and creative people.

THERESA LAZO, an Elk Creek native, has been involved in Chestnut Creek School of the Arts for several years, and had the wonderful opportunity to explore many of the classes offered there. They include wood and stone carving, knitting, paper cutting, and stained glass. Because of the chance to explore all these mediums, she is now making stained glass night – lights, exploring color, light and design.

PENNEY KLAPROTH is a mixed media artist who creates one of a kind art. She convinces most people slie meets to save their “trash” so that she can incorporate items that would otherwise be thrown away into her art. Although mainly focusing on creating books and journals Penney has lately been fashioning multi-purpose tote bags from recycled petfood bags.

BOB LAZO considers himself primarily an art collector, and promoter of the arts.   But he is a moderately prolific painter too, having zero’d in on miniatures in the last few years, (after starting many years ago with large pieces painted on enormous panels from Lowes Hardware) and is currently doing a series of 6 by 6? oils on ceramic tiles (also from Lowes Hardware) that he puts in simple gold plein air frames.

PAULA MELTON communicates her love of nature and the Blue Ridge Mountains in a quiet and unassuming way through her skills in watercolor and acrylics. Her main focus of work includes any flowers, blooms, old homesteads, old trucks and cars, old jars, landscapes, bluegrass instruments, egg baskets and especially loves to paint cats in their finest moment. Influenced by love of her family and homeplace, she has developed a style that is unlike most, realistic with a careful attention to detail that matters.

BECKY WEBB GUYNN considers herself a genre painter. Working primarily in watercolor, she depicts well-known and well-loved places, often things we see every day. She spends quite a bit of time before the brush ever hits paper…waiting for the right light, or angle, taking numerous photographs. She is native to Galax and shares her love of here through her painting. Becky is a graduate ofLongwood University with a BFA in Fine Arts with an emphasis on printmaking and graphic design. She is presently working on one of the City of Galax’s ‘Bass fiddles’ soon to be unveiled as permanent installation art within the city.

KAREN SIMPSON has been a fiber artist for more than 25 years and loves what she does! She creates one of a kind hats, vest, scarves and other wearable art from wool fibers. (Wet Felting technique). Karen teaches in Galax, VA at the Chestnut Creek School of the Arts, Peaceful Heart Alpacas Farm and many out of state locations. See her website for more info….kstylestudios.com

KATHYE MEND£S~greu) up in Northern California artd~rtow resides in Southwest Virginia. She has been painting for’twenty -five years. She works in acrylics, pastels, and oils. She is known for her paintings that capture her love of the New River and many nature themes known to this area. She also does floras, still – life and portrait paintings. Kathye has a framing business out of her home in Independence, VA. She has many originals for sale and giclee prints of most of her work. Kathye is painting one of the bass fiddles for the permanent installation art project for the City of Galax.

KATHYLEEN HILL has been weaving for approximately 25 years – what began as a hobby has become a pursuit and constant study of structure and design for her. She has taught many classes in guild situations and has taken classes at weaving/fiber conferences and the John C. Campbell Craft School, from many well known professional weavers. Her main emphasis is color and texture. Kathleen believes hand-wovens should be well executed and easily distinguished from machine woven fabrics. She has recently been awarded prizes for weaving at the Fiber Arts/Virginia Highlands Festival, Florida Tropical Weavers Conference and the Yadkin Valley juried Art Show.

ANN P. CRAWFORD is a native of Ohio but has made her home in Virginia for 25 years. Ann is from a long line of artists, and came late to }ier passion of beading and jewelry making. She works with semi-precious gemstones, natural stone, and freshwater pearls making custom designed jewelry. Primarily self taught, she has recently been advancing her skills through workshops at Rio Grande Jewelry in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her studio and farm are nestled in the mountains near Fries, Virginia. Widowed and retired, she lives with her horses, Irish Wolfhounds, rescue dog and cats and Japanese Koi; making jewelry, trail riding and gardening.