JURY SESSION ON OCTOBER 18th , 2021
Calling all craftspeople and artists who want a sales outlet for their items: Holston Mountain Artisans, one of the oldest crafts cooperatives in the country (now in our 50th year!) will be holding our 3rd jury session of 2021 in October. Membership is open to those who live within a 100-mile radius of Abingdon. Each applicant must bring five items for review along with the application form and a $10 non-refundable fee to the shop at 214 Park Street in Abingdon, VA.
Email or call for more information: holstonmtnarts@gmail.com / 276-628-7721.
Featured Member:
John Dickens
Master Woodcarver
By Bunny Medeiros
The carvings of John Dickens are exacting and rival the illustrations of Audubon and Peterson in their detail. He began his woodworking craft as a twelve-year-old boy scout by drawing
neckerchief slides, copying animal heads out of library books. He knew the basics of being a good carver rested in learning to draw well and advanced to portraits and landscapes. He had no formal art classes in high school, but after attending Wytheville Community College and ETSU, he finished with an Industrial Arts Degree.
John spent his youth in Hillsville and Galax, and following college began a 30-year teaching career in Saltville, Virginia. When he was in the army, he witnessed how the youngest of children learned woodworking crafts in the far East, a memory he carried into his teaching. He found it rewarding to gain students' interest in learning by teaching a craft. Through classes in welding, electricity, drafting, and woodworking, his students learned complicated mathematics without even realizing they were gaining that knowledge. John also taught Earth Science before he retired from teaching.
It was 1978 when John became involved with the Cave House, and he is now very active in the second chapter of this craft cooperative at Holston Mountain Artisans. He continues his love of teaching by being involved at the 4-H Center. It was not until his twenties that he learned woodworking was what he enjoyed most, and he remains committed to passing down this craft to younger generations.
John explains how he teaches woodcarving. The first thing is for them to learn how to make a square stick round. Using a sheetrock knife (an Exacto with a bigger handle) he teaches a two-thumb technique. Students progress to making candy canes, snakes, and spoons, and when they have mastered carving chains, John says they can carve anything.
There is no end to the things John has put his woodworking skills to: bows and crossbows, dulcimers and banjos, a 6-foot cigar-store Indian, and cabinetry. His creativity has extended to fashioning functional items from old railroad spikes. John comes from a family of stonemasons and brick masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, wagoners and weavers. He has found ancestral origins in The Islands, England and Wales he believes, as far back as the 1500s, and through his love of genealogy has traced family surnames in America to 1624. "The craft is genetic", he says.
Among the delightful collection of animals in John's carvings are bears, beavers, raccoons and mules, but birds are clearly his favorite and the detail in their feathers and faces is remarkable.
John tells the story of when he tried to put pictures of his birds on Facebook to sell. They were rejected because Facebook believed they were real animals and feared legalities.
John's wife Linda also carves. Romance shined upon them when they met in a carving club.
They have been married for 20 years.
John Dickens
Master Woodcarver
By Bunny Medeiros
The carvings of John Dickens are exacting and rival the illustrations of Audubon and Peterson in their detail. He began his woodworking craft as a twelve-year-old boy scout by drawing
neckerchief slides, copying animal heads out of library books. He knew the basics of being a good carver rested in learning to draw well and advanced to portraits and landscapes. He had no formal art classes in high school, but after attending Wytheville Community College and ETSU, he finished with an Industrial Arts Degree.
John spent his youth in Hillsville and Galax, and following college began a 30-year teaching career in Saltville, Virginia. When he was in the army, he witnessed how the youngest of children learned woodworking crafts in the far East, a memory he carried into his teaching. He found it rewarding to gain students' interest in learning by teaching a craft. Through classes in welding, electricity, drafting, and woodworking, his students learned complicated mathematics without even realizing they were gaining that knowledge. John also taught Earth Science before he retired from teaching.
It was 1978 when John became involved with the Cave House, and he is now very active in the second chapter of this craft cooperative at Holston Mountain Artisans. He continues his love of teaching by being involved at the 4-H Center. It was not until his twenties that he learned woodworking was what he enjoyed most, and he remains committed to passing down this craft to younger generations.
John explains how he teaches woodcarving. The first thing is for them to learn how to make a square stick round. Using a sheetrock knife (an Exacto with a bigger handle) he teaches a two-thumb technique. Students progress to making candy canes, snakes, and spoons, and when they have mastered carving chains, John says they can carve anything.
There is no end to the things John has put his woodworking skills to: bows and crossbows, dulcimers and banjos, a 6-foot cigar-store Indian, and cabinetry. His creativity has extended to fashioning functional items from old railroad spikes. John comes from a family of stonemasons and brick masons, carpenters, blacksmiths, wagoners and weavers. He has found ancestral origins in The Islands, England and Wales he believes, as far back as the 1500s, and through his love of genealogy has traced family surnames in America to 1624. "The craft is genetic", he says.
Among the delightful collection of animals in John's carvings are bears, beavers, raccoons and mules, but birds are clearly his favorite and the detail in their feathers and faces is remarkable.
John tells the story of when he tried to put pictures of his birds on Facebook to sell. They were rejected because Facebook believed they were real animals and feared legalities.
John's wife Linda also carves. Romance shined upon them when they met in a carving club.
They have been married for 20 years.
Just one of John's many beautiful carvings.
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Members Gallery
These are just a few of our 100+ members, most of whom live within 50 miles of Holston Mountain Artisans. Click on the pictures to see a larger image. |
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