By Page H. Gifford
Correspondent
Once again, Fluvanna County is celebrating its artists with the annual Studio Tour, featuring various media and artists from throughout Fluvanna County.
A total of 27 artists are participating in this year’s event. The artists include Marcie Stahl, Mike McGurk, Windy Payne, Linda Staiger, Ruthann Carr, Susan Edginton, Diane Wilkin, and daughter Blair Barbour. Woodworkers include Jeff Carr, Chris Nothnagle, Jim Wilkin, and Dennis Meyer. Mary Jane Cathers works magic with her alpaca yarn from her beloved alpacas at Sacred Acres Alpaca Farm and Mary Beth Pfeiffer works additional magic with her fiber art. In addition, glass artists include Carol Sorber, who creates her designs using the flame-work technique, Wayne Cain, who specializes in stunning stained glass pieces, and Eileen Butler and her inventive mosaics. Jewelry designer Gillian Ruffa returns, as well as iron worker Kyle Lucia.
Duffy Dillinger and Johannah Willsey return with their distinct sculptures, joined by Karen Lilly, whose work features whimsical, humorous mixed media.
“I first began selling my art in a small gift shop in Winter Park, Florida, and have been working at it for 30 years,” said Lilly. Her exaggerated animated faces convey human feeling and emotion through vivid colors.
Joining the tour this year is jewelry designer Dale Nomura, whose pieces blend Japanese influence with polished stones and scrollwork.
James and Dianna Roberts, also new to the tour, have built a photography business focused on real estate, weddings, and their passion—outdoor and nature photography.
“Our background in photography goes back a long way for both of us. We’ve always enjoyed taking photos, and as time went on, the interest stayed with us,” said James Roberts. “The passion for photography grew enough as we got older that the investment in the equipment was made. Our hobby turned into a business three years ago, and we’ve been making it work while keeping it fun ever since.”
Their nature photos capture the stillness, beauty, and peace in nature.
“We shoot mostly in nature, so our inspiration comes from God’s beauty that’s all around us. It doesn’t take long to find wonderful images to capture if you’re out there and your eyes are open,” he said. “We also have loving family’s who support us and who genuinely like to hear about our adventures and see what we’ve seen through the lens.”
Like most photographers nowadays, the Roberts use some modern software and a computer to store and enhance their images.
“We’ve always maintained that we want to keep post-processing work to a minimum and leave the pictures the way we saw them when we took the picture. A little cropping to remove some unwanted and sometimes unavoidable artifacts, and maybe a tweak here and there. He added that the one exception to this is that they have recently discovered AI software that turns photos into different styles of artwork. “It’s been fun to explore this option, and people have largely responded well to the look…
“Our photos are then professionally printed, and from there we show them in a variety of ways. For example, I’ve discovered that there are many old and sometimes ornate frames out there that just need a little TLC, and they show our work well. We have also gotten some old wooden windows that we’ve restored and used to frame some pictures.”
As for Dianna, James says she enjoys this work.
“It’s been a fun and learning experience being out there showing and selling our work and meeting and talking to all the people we’ve met along the way. It’s humbling and satisfying when someone likes the work you’ve done enough to want to give it as a gift or look at it in their home for many years to come.” James and Dianna sum it up for all the artists on the tour.
The Studio Tour will be on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 18 and 19, rain or shine, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. This is a self-guided studio tour. For more information, visit artsfluvanna.com.
