ELENA ROUSSEAH KAZMIER

Elena Rousseau Kazmier is a mixed media artist interested in themes of transcendence and rebirth. Her artistic practice is a unitive exercise in which historic preservation meets modern art. Incorporating Italian giltwood fragments, sourced primarily in Florence and the region of Tuscany,  into her buon frescos is the current focus of her work. Kazmier recently returned from her first buying trip in Italy with two suitcases full of rare pieces!

She states, “These 17th and 18th century artifacts, which are finite in number and difficult to source, have been separated from their original places of belonging (usually churches) and discarded into an uncertain future.” With sculpted canvas, gesso, and paint, or with handmade buon fresco plaster on terra cotta tile, she creates stunning new settings for these artifacts.

Kazmier moved to Rappahannock County with her husband and four childen in the fall of 2020 during the high drama of Covid, purchasing a property in Flint Hill. The smaller of the two street-front buildings, formerly serving as the office of a local architect, is now Kazmier’s studio, “The Florence Room.”

See a preview of Elena’s work on her Fall Art Tour webpage.

KC CROMWELL

KC Cromwell spent more than half of his life serving in the US military, but he has always had a passion for woodworking. While deployed in foreign lands he would often purchase pieces of exotic wood to use in his creations. Cromwell currently creates beautiful wooden bowls and decorative items from primarily local trees that die or are damaged and require removal, using wood from maple, walnut, cedar, cherry, and more. Each piece is slowly and carefully made from the wood hand using generations-old techniques.

Cromwell rough turns each bowl and then lets it naturally air dry for one to three years. He does the final turning with a lathe, carefully hand turning each bowl while using woodworking tools to shape the pieces. Each piece of artwork takes many hours to produce and is completed in steps over the course of several years. When you visit Cromwell’s studio you’ll see many works in different phases of creation.

See a preview of KC’s work on his Fall Art Tour webpage.