In keeping with a now bi-monthly tradition, the Art Walk in Thomas on Saturday drew a substantial crowd viewing the various art offerings on display.
An impressive array of diverse art forms was displayed throughout the galleries on Front St. Installations, paintings, sketches, garments, photographs, sculptures; you name it, it could be found on Front St.
Local as well as regional artists were featured. One such regional artist was Pocahontas County artist Molly Must.
Her art was on display for the first time in Thomas at The White Room Art Gallery. Must traditionally focuses her artistic energy toward creating murals that contain a narrative element. “This is kind of a new thing for me to make paintings,” Must said.
Her paintings contain a slice of the story telling that is prevalent in her murals. “A mural, you know, there’s a huge canvas, so you have a lot more interaction between characters. A painting is much smaller, so it’s more intimate,” she said.
ArtSpring recently began hosting exhibitions in their space on Front St. “Now that we have exhibition space we will participate in the Art Walks by having openings,” ArtSpring President Bruce Wilson said. Art by Joan Crawford and Jamie Lester was on display for the walk.
Crawford’s paintings are colorful and abstract with geometric sections that give a sense of order to the boldness of hue and movement. Lester’s portraits of West Virginia coal miners went on display in the ArtSpring Gallery for Mountaineer Days and continue to be shown. “It relates very well to this area, so we were happy to have it,” Wilson said.
ArtSpring is on the cusp of launching a membership program. “The exhibitions will be related to the memberships,” Wilson said.
Local artists Kimberly Joy Trathen, John Ryan Brubaker, and Nathan Baker showed their art at the newly christened Gradient Project Space. “
We wanted to create a space where we could work with artists on projects that are more exploratory and experimental,” Trathen said.
Brubaker’s art in Gradient was crafted with coal he found in the woods and waters of the area. “To me it’s about the complexity of coal in Appalachia and current politics,” Brubaker said. Brubaker sees the relationship of coal with this area as a nuanced topic with many layers of history and culture that all deserve open conversation.
In keeping with the spirit of explorative and installation art at the core of Gradient, Trathen’s work on display was constructed with reclaimed garments, specifically leather. “I think I like to work with reclaimed leather, because I like the idea of people having worn it before,” Trathen said. Tapping into the experiences and stories of others is an important component to this aspect of her art Trathen said.
The first Art Walk took place on an ArtSpring Festival weekend. “Well the Art Walks really started with ArtSpring,” Wilson said. “They were a collaborative effort of the Front St. Galleries.” From there, the idea of hosting the event blossomed from just Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends to an every other month event.
Many of the artists with work on display commented that the Art Walks are a strong motivating factor to keep pushing their limits and preparing for another exhibition. “These Art Walks are bringing good artistic energy, and it’s just good as a community to come together every two months,” Artist Seth Pitt said.
Be on the lookout for the date of the next Art Walk in September.
