WHAT’S HAPPENING IN AUGUST WITH FALL ART TOUR VENUES AND ARTISTS!
Come out to Rappahannock this month to enjoy world-class local and national fine art art – there are fabulous exhibits at all of our galleries! It’s a wonderful time of year to come out to the County for the day or weekend, do some shopping in all of our galleries and local shops, and enjoy our wineries, micro-breweries, farm stands and markets.
Visit these links to award-winning local wines and micro-breweries, numerous amazing restaurants for every budget (did you know there are 3 new restaurants in Rappahannock?!), and lots of options for overnight accomodations.
There’s something for everyone in Rappahannock!
Check out the permanent collections at these local galleries as well as the current exhibitions featured below:
R.H. Ballard Shop & Gallery: Housed in a 1930’s building on Main Street in Washington, VA, since 1996, Ballard’s includes both a beautiful art gallery in its downstairs space as well as an award-winning shop upstairs featuring one-of-a-kind finds, table wares, European & vintage items, women’s accessories, and so much more. Ballards has won many awards and accolades, including “Best Shops in the South” by Southern Living Magazine, “Best Shops in Virginia” from THE SHOPKEEPERS, and in the press in the Washington Post and Washingtonian Magazine among others. It has also been awarded 5-stars and touted on TripAdvisor by loyal fans and clientele.
Cottage Curator: Cottage Curator is an independent art gallery owned by artist/curator Jackie Bailey Labovitz. As a curator with over thirty years’ experience in organizing art collections for corporations, embassies and public spaces around the world, Jackie now assists residential clients with the purchase and placement of her own art as well as artworks by other local, regional, and nationally recognized fine art and fine craft artists.
Haley Fine Art: Established in 2000, Haley Fine Art (HFA) presents its collection in Sperryville, Virginia. Ensconced in the Blue Ridge Mountains, HFA provides a quiet natural space for collectors and artists to connect. The gallery offers two to three shows annually, typically on the second Saturday of May, October and December. Decades-long relationships are the norm, Chris Stephens, Robin Purnell, Patton Wilson, Drew Ernst, Michael Fitts, BK Noh, Woody Blackwell, and Tom Mullany are among the artists represented by HFA for more than twenty years. HFA features works sold for each artist on the website—a testament to lifelong commitments.
Hazel River Arts and Antiques: This local gallery and antique shop features the work of several local artists on the Fall Art Tour. The shop and gallery covers over 8,000 square feet and features these artists as well as over 100 dealers, and consignors displaying antique and vintage furniture, home decor, art, rugs, jewelry, collectibles, and much more.
Thornton River Art is a collaboration of three Rappahannock County artists: Patricia Brennan, Heidi Morf, and Martin Woodard. Located on Main Street in Sperryville, it features the work of 30 local artists.
Here’s what’s happening this month:
Click all images to open them in lightbox.
MIDDLE STREET GALLERY
“THREE FRIENDS – THREE VISIONS”
Francie Schroeder, Joyce Harmond, Ray Boc
July 26 – September 1, 2024
Reception: August 17, 2024, 2:00 – 5:00 PM
Middle Street Gallery
311 Gay Street, Lower Level, facing Main Street & across from Ballard’s Gallery
Washington, VA 22747
Hours: Friday – Sunday, 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Image by Ray Boc, This is a digital infrared image which is a narrow part of the infrared spectrum beyond what is visible to us. It is reflected by photosynthetic vegetation as shown by the pinkish color in this late afternoon winter/early spring scene. I have manipulated the color of the original image to produce this coloration to, in my mind, better define the scene in a more poetic style.
GAY STREET GALLERY
Martin Woodard, Kristen J. Morsches, and Kevin H. Adams
August 10 – October 16, 2024
Artist Reception: August 10, 2024, 4:00 – 6:00 PM
Gay Street Gallery
337 Gay Street
Washington VA 22747
540-227-5100
Wednesday-Monday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, or by appointment 540-522-9688
“Sunset Rain” by Martin Woodard
Martin Woodard draws inspiration from the panorama of the Blue Ridge Mountains as well as intimate details found along old back roads. The Sperryville-based artist’s oil paintings embrace shapes, colors, shadows, and compelling compositions to provide thoughtful interpretations of nature. “My work is inspired by nature but it is really about a philosophy of life,” Woodard has observed. “I hope to express my belief in the beauty of nature, the goodness of man and the importance of self-awareness. It is eliciting emotions such as joy, sadness, loneliness, security, love or dignity that makes a painting sing with life.”
“Hidden Treasures” by Kristen J. Morsches
Kristen Morsches, who currently lives and works in Evanston, Illinois, formerly was Resident Artist and an instructor at the Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton, Virginia. Morsches constructs delicate and intricate sculptures in stoneware, porcelain and paper clay. Her work ranges from installations to intense sculpted objects of complex narratives. As she explains, “I draw upon my love of the natural world and everyday objects to hand-build vignettes of experiences that present notions of conflict and change through memories of the passage of time.”
“Smith Island” by Kevin H. Adams
The Gallery also continues to show signed and unsigned oil paintings, watercolors, prints and other “sketches” from the archives of the lateKevin H. Adams, the Gallery’s beloved and much-missed co-founder.
RIVER DISTRICT POTTERS
River District Potters
7 River Lane, in Copper Fox Antiques complex, Sperryville, VA, 22740
Hours: Friday 12:00 – 5:00 PM, Saturday 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Sunday 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
The process of turning a lump of clay into a beautiful ceramic piece is a lengthy one, requiring not only sculpting the piece but also drying it, bisque firing it, glazing it and then refiring it to 2300 degrees to vitrify the clay and the glaze. Because of the lead time needed to make ceramics, the potters at River District Potters, 7 River Lane in Sperryville, are now busy working to make pieces for the upcoming Art Tour. But they have not yet said “good bye” to summer. Potter Nancy Nord is finishing work on a collection of Tiki mugs. Summer drinks just taste better out of a tiki mug. And for a real taste of summer, take one of the mugs across the parking lot to Copper Fox Distillery and fill it with one of their signature tiki drinks.
CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS:
GAY STREET GALLERY
Cathy Suiter-Henry, Maureen Storey, and Kevin H. Adams
May 25, 2024 – August 13, 2024
Gay Street Gallery
337 Gay Street
Washington VA 22747
540-227-5100
Wednesday-Monday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, or by appointment 540-522-9688
The new show features paintings by Cathy Suiter-Henry and the glass work of Maureen Storey.
The Gallery will also continue to show work by the late Kevin H. Adams, collage paintings by Aster da Fonseca, and clay work by Shawn Ireland.