Appalachian Artists and Craftsmen inspired by the landscape and wildlife of Georgia
Art is an essential part of any culture. Still, in Appalachia, artistry has always held hands with practical craftsmanship, leading to a rich history of folk art as deep as the forest and valleys between the area’s majestic mountains. Across the thirteen states that make up the Appalachian region, quilters, basket makers, woodcarvers, weavers, spinners, potters, and visual artists have been crafting quality art items for centuries.
In this article series, we will showcase a handful of artists and craftspersons from different states across Appalachia that we at Highroads Living believe any Appalachian should showcase in their home. This Month, we’re starting in Georgia to highlight pottery, carpentry, stained glass, and paintings that speak to the beauty of southern Appalachia.
Hickory Flat Pottery
Located in the northest Georgia mountains, this pottery studio and its artists specializes in “decorative, functional, handmade pottery” and has a rotation of featured glazes created by their resident potter and owner, Cody Trautner. Hickory’s current season of featured glazes ontheir earthen ware speak to the natural beauty of the Appalachian mountain country wiith names like “Northern Birch” that resembles the center of a fresh cut tree, “Mountains Sunrise” whose colors of chocolate brown, berry red, and mustard yellow are good enough to eat; “Meloy White” resembling the soft speckled texture of a wild bird egg, and of course “Appalachian”, a classic neutral pattern that resembles the very soil and clay these functional works of art are made from.
Shop their site or visit the pottery studio and gallery in person to find plates, vases, luminaries, platters, jars, pitchers, mugs, and more to stock you cabinets with art you can use and enjoy every day.
Deadwood Tables
The specialty of craftsman Craig Decker is there in the name of his showroom; this pastor’s son-turned-carpenter takes dead wood from the trees of Appalachia and gives it new life in the form of desks, dining tables, side tables, coffee tables, and clocks. Many of his art pieces celebrate the rich grain and natural beauty of the wood itself, allowing the raw edges of the piece to give each table its unique shape.
For those wanting a splash of color or a more modern edge to these custom pieces, Decker places rivers or lakes of epoxy throughout, transforming this singular piece of the Appalachian landscape into a sculpture representing a seemingly stunning aerial view of the forest land it came from.
Wild About Glass
Taxidermy isn’t a foreign concept to those living in the south. It’s an art and a science huntsmen and their families have relished in for years to honor the beauty of nature and the skill of the hunt, and to commemorate and celebrate coming of age first kills, and great adventures. While most taxidermy involves the hide or skiing of the animal, artist David “Opp” Oppenheimer has found a way to honor Appalachian’s time honored tradition of taxidermy through the art of stained glass. Like all artists he has a specialty and his is recreating images of freshwater and saltwater game fish.
If you have a fisherman in your life or a natural outdoors man, think about getting your hands on an Oppenheimer catch to catch the beauty of the Appalachian sun and the bounty of her lakes and rivers.
Virginia “Ginny” McClure
Landscape is what Appalachia is known for and the reason many people come to visit the region, hope to live there, or once they live there, never leave. Visual artist, Virginia McClure uses a range of oil and acrylic paints, sometimes applied over a fine layer of sand, to capture the serenity of the southern appalachian outdoors. Images of mountain ranges, rivers, lakes, trees, and floral still lifes are her favorite subjects, and she captures the Georgia landscape in all her various seasons. The details and textures of her paintings are so fine that many would mistake some of her works as photography from distance. Many of her pieces are large in scale and thus immersive to the viewer.
If you can’t be in the countryside of Appalachia, climber her mountains, or hike her forests, than a Ginny McClure painting is the closest you can get without stepping out your door.
You can shop online and learn more about each of theses artists, their work, their connections to Appalachia, Georgia, and their galleries by visiting the websites linked throughout.
Highroads Living always hopes its readers will support small businesses and artists throughout Appalachia, but if art isn’t exactly how you want to bring the beauty of the Appalachian outdoors into your home, see our article titled “Decorating for Winter: Bringing The Outdoors In” for more indoor decor inspiration.