"Earth & Stone" exhibit press release

“Earth and Stone” Exhibit at the Jacksonville Center

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The Jacksonville Center is hosting a “Meet the Artist” reception for the “Earth and Stone” Exhibit on Saturday June 24, 6-8 P.M. The show features arts and crafts made from earth based materials. The exhibit is currently open to the public and will run until July 29, 2006.

Participating artists include: Anne Fournier Anderson, Charlotte Atkins, Jayn Avery, Ernest C. Bryant, Michael Chase, McCabe Coolidge, Chris Deerheart, Alina Ever, Pam Frazier, Carter Holliday, Suzy Nees, Sue Pollins, Gail Rolfe, Chris Shackelford, Gina Louthian-Stanley and Jeanne Woods.

The Gallery sponsors a ”People’s Choice “ award of $50. The public is invited to vote for their favorite piece. The winner will be announced at the end of the show.

For more information, contact the Jacksonville Center at (540) 745-2784 or visit www.jacksonvillecenter.org

The Jacksonville Center is located on Route 8 one half mile south of the stop light in Floyd ,VA.

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Jacksonville Center Names Executive Director

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David St. Lawrence has been named the first Executive Director for The Jacksonville Center for the Arts, a non-profit organization based in Floyd. A native of Massachusetts, St. Lawrence is a retired high-tech executive with sixteen years experience in strategic marketing and business development and has held senior management positions in six successful start-ups. Most recently, he was a senior program manager for Sun Microsystems in Mountain View, California. He has a BSEE from the University of Massachusetts.

St. Lawrence relocated to Floyd in January with his wife, Gretchen, from Charlottesville, VA. He operates a custom woodworking business, “Box-Carts” and worked with thrown and slab-built pottery as a hobby. An avid writer with several weblogs, he is also the author of “Danger Quicksand Have a Nice Day”, a book about surviving corporate employment.

When asked how his corporate background helps the Center, David says, “Fifty years in the corporate trenches has convinced me that the make-break of any enterprise, including nonprofits, is whether the products and services are effectively marketed.” His small-town upbringing makes him aware of how valuable the remarkable culture of Floyd is.

“This is the same culture that built the Jacksonville Center and is one of its greatest strengths today. Any changes to the Center’s operation will be evolutionary -- not revolutionary,” he added.

“This appointment represents a major step forward in our efforts to continue providing high-quality programs in the arts,” says Wilmer Stratton, President of the Board of Directors. “We recognize the need for an executive director and have been working to achieve that goal.” The center now has 3 full time staff, 6 part time staff (including two Experience Works participants) and a large cadre of dedicated volunteers.

In a renovated dairy barn setting, The Jacksonville Center has undergone rapid growth since 2003. After opening Virginia’s first residential crafts school a year ago, the Center offers studio classes in blacksmithing, glassworking and pottery along with courses in many other mediums for the visiting public as well as local residents. Since 2003, the Center has served as Virginia’s first Cultural Arts Business Incubator and currently has ten tenants. The Hayloft Gallery at the Center offers an average of eight exhibits a year and a retail shop featuring work by local artisans. The Center is also home to the Sustainable Living Education Center, a partnership between Association of Energy Conservation Professionals, The Jacksonville Center, Architectural Alternatives and other organizations. Facility use rentals are also available for special events.

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book signing with Fred First on June 4

Jacksonville Center To Host Book Signing by Local Author, Fred First

The Jacksonville Center is pleased to host a reading and book signing by local author, Fred First, on Sunday, June 4 from 4pm to 6pm., in the Center’s Community Room.

IF you live in or long for the southern mountains…

IF you are drawn toward the pace and pleasures of unhurried, out-of-the-way places…

IF you hope for a home you are waiting to find, then you will feel at home in the pages of this "memoir of place", Slow Road Home ~ a Blue Ridge Book of Days by Fred First.

With a naturalist's curiosity, a photographer's eye, and the heart of one who knows that he is living at last where he belongs, Fred First invites the reader to join him on a field trip through time and place.

On Sunday the author will be reading from and signing his new book, with a reception to follow. Copies will be available for purchase with $4 of each sale to be donated to The Jacksonville Center. Attendees can also sign up for a drawing for a free copy of the book.

The Jacksonville Center for the Arts is located on Route 8 in Floyd, Va., a quarter mile south of the traffic light in the center of town where U.S. 221 and Route 8 intersect. It is six miles north of the Blue Ridge Parkway Route 8 exit at Tuggles Gap. The Jacksonville Center is a member-based, charitable nonprofit cultural arts center that houses a cultural business incubator artists-in-residence program, an art gallery, a retail shop, a large community room available for short term rentals and a variety of classes designed for both the regional community and the visiting public.

The Center is open Monday- Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 10am-5pm and Sunday 12noon-5pm March- December. For more information, call 540-745-2784, or visit www.jacksonvillecenter.org.

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