By Page H. Gifford
Correspondent
The Fluvanna Art Association celebrated 50 years at the Ashlawn Clubhouse at Lake Monticello on Oct. 23. The well-attended event was catered and featured a large sheet cake, designed and donated by Food Lion, commemorating the 50th anniversary. The show’s theme, All Around Fluvanna, included a surprising mix of county icons, history, and nature. As a result, the show was not what one would have expected.
Normally, onlookers would see iconic buildings, including the historic courthouse built by General John Hartwell Cocke, Pleasant Grove, the Haden House, the Holland-Page House, or the Dunbar Schools. However, the only building well represented was the Old Stone Jail. Despite this, all of the pieces were inspirational, unique, and unexpected.
Instead, artists chose different aspects of Fluvanna County, including a beautifully carved alabaster horse’s head, Jim Wilkin’s piece of curled wood, William Snow’s painting of a noble owl perched on a tree branch, or Tom Ellis’ wood sculptures of a majestic eagle or his humorous frog. Pam McKinnon’s Out of the Woods was a beautiful natural piece of gnarled wood she found in the woods, and created a mixed media piece.
Paintings ranged from various elements, including a montage of history and historical figures like Texas Jack Omohundro, who left the county and traveled out west, where he joined Buffalo Bill Cody. The piece also featured a bateau, a tobacco plantation, the Monacan Indians, fishing on the river, paddling on the lake, and cattle farming. Alyce Walcavich’s print of an abandoned meeting house in the woods with the ghostly children surrounding it was impressive and thought-provoking.
Others focused on a single theme or landscape, such as Joanne Braniff’s oil painting of A Tranquil Harvest, and William Snow’s watercolor of a few autumn leaves hanging on a branch, or Diane Wilkin’s graphic print Roadside Virginia, which centered on a single branch and leaves by the side of the road. Many artists shared the beauty of the county with sunsets on the lake, rushing river water in the late morning, and open fields and pastures in the afternoon.
Lisa Daniel offered up a witty wet hen. The viewer can see the sour expression on the bird’s face and the unpleasantness she was experiencing. Ande Kirchenheiter recreated the old riverboat paddle wheel behind the Old Stone Jail. The story tells about a riverboat that sank in the early 19th century on the Rivanna and all that remained was its paddle wheel.
Windy Payne, one of the last remaining original members of the FAA, stated it had been a pleasure to work with all the different artists throughout the years since she joined in 1975. Looking back through the scrapbooks Payne had kept over the years, she recorded the accomplishments and the evolution of the art and artists. Patty Stoughton, June Wiehe, Alice Clifford, Caroline Brackett, Martha Rossi, Coy Roy, and Peg Redd are gone, but their legacy of continuing to move the association into a new age is not forgotten.
The exhibit will be moved to the Fluvanna County Public Library and can be viewed during library hours from Oct. 28-Dec. 8.
