Amanda Griffin

Amanda Griffin creates unique wearable art inspired by nature and historical jewelry making techniques. Her work is handcrafted from copper and silver wire and polymer clay. She fell in love with wire in a sculpture class at Hollins University. She has reignited her love of wire sculpture on a much smaller scale with the jewelry she creates. Each necklace, earring, pendant, and ring is handcrafted, so even her favorite designs have inspired variations. 

Amanda is a native of Carroll County, Va., and now calls Galax home. She has been a part of Chestnut Creek School of the Arts since 2014 as a student, a volunteer, a juried consignment artitst, and an instructor.

Mindy Wegener

Rewind to the beginning of the pandemic. In 2020 when no PPE was available for nurses and doctors. I thought I could help in some small way, so I dug out my sewing machine and started sewing. Soon, my husband and I were making and donating masks....lots and lots of masks. We worked at this full time 'job' for months and months. Working with the AUNTIE SEWING SQUAD on FB, he and I made and donated nearly 9,000 masks and sent them to people in need all over the country. Un-homed, migrants, our indigenous population...the forgotten folks.

The thing about making 9,000 masks is that you create a TON of fabric scraps.I knew that I could not just toss these pieces of fabric out.

But, what to do with it all? Lots of things. Wall hangings, dog beds, hot pads, placemats....and BUCKET HATS!

Tremendous resources are used to create fabrics, we need to use them to their fullest before we are done with them. It's just the right thing to do.

So, wear a reclaimed fabric hat....no doubt friends will ask you where it came from. You can start a great ECO-centered conversation, and you will be an environmental hero!

Nicholas Barnes

I call our technique Wood Cloisonné. I start by collecting woods off my Appalachian home place and completing a wood turning. I then treat that turning as a canvas to inlay designs of my choosing. By inlaying each piece of wood (usually which has been wrapped in thin metal) I am able to tell a story that features elements of both nature and me.
I hope you value my work, not only for the craftsmanship, but also for the stories each piece tells.

Aileen Fletcher

I create photos which are printed on mounted canvas and sometimes painted by hand with oil paint. I use both digital and darkroom techniques. I use Photoshop extensively to create panoramas, digital collages, and infared effects. My favorite subject is southwest Virginia. I love landscapes. I also work with color photography and do watercolors. Before retirement, I taught art and photography at New River Community College and I am happy to give out free art and photo advice.