Observations from the Woodshop

The Chair and I Get Social

Last Saturday night the “Meandering” chair and  I spent a lovely evening socializing at  the Tamarack Foundation’s  annual gala.  The Tamarack Foundation is dedicated to preserving  West Virginia’s cultural heritage and the development of a strong economy through it’s work in the improvement, growth and support of arts related industries.  The gala is a fund raiser for the foundation as they have both a silent and a live auction of art and craft donated by West Virginia artists. They put on quite an affair with a wonderful dinner prepared by chefs from the Greenbrier resort, an open bar, and a band.  My blacksmith friend Jeff Fetty and I collaborated on a table for the live auction and rode down to Beckley together on a bus supplied by a foundation supporter.

The theme for the evening was “Hats off to the Arts” Jeff had to model his choices for us. We helped him to select one which he subsequently left behind.

(L to R) Randy Cox, Mr. Jeff, Colleen Anderson, and seated in the chair, Anne Bradley

Here is the crew getting ready to board the bus in Charleston.

It was raining when we arrived

It's sometimes a lonely vigil being the keeper of the chair.

We have arrived

There were several luminaries present.

Former WV governor Gaston Caperton, the chair and I

Jeff (again) the governor, and Sally Barton, head of the foundation

Sally, the chair and I

I think the evening was a success. The auction was spirited and I got a few more people to pose with the chair before the evening was over.

Jeff and Jim's donation

Jeff with Tamarack general manager Cheryl Hartley

Tamarack supporter (actually a bit of an understatement) Cela Burge

Belle Manjong - Belle did the decorating for the gala

Ceramic artist, musician, and foundation board member Keith Lahti

A Visit to Jeff Fetty’s

A couple of months ago the “Meandering” chair and I paid a visit to Jeff Fetty’s blacksmith shop on a hill top over looking Spencer, West Virginia.

A few years ago, Jeff’s shop near his home, started sliding off the hill side, and he was faced with the difficult task of building a new shop and starting over again in a new location. Well, Jeff is never one to do something halfway, and he proceeded to build a state of the art metal working shop.

Jeff and I are pretty good friends, and usually he is glad to see me, but on this occasion the chair and I showed up unannounced, and we had to drag him away from visiting with his granddaughter, and I somehow got the feeling  that if he had had his druthers he would have preferred spending time with her to me and my chair.

So,  we decided to take a quick tour of the shop and let Jeff get back to hanging out with his granddaughter.

Chair taking in view of the shop from balcony

Jeff at his office work table (built by Eddie Austin here at my shop)

Jeff's crew

Really don't know what is going on here. They seem to enjoy themselves working at Jeff's.

Jeff demonstrating his best face for us.

Blacksmithing at it's visual best

The chair taking in the view of Spencer from the shop patio.

Jeff and I have been trying to find the time to do some collaborative work. This the first piece of what I hope are many more to come.

A Visit to Earl’s

Earl’s Shop

In a previous entry I wrote about Earl Gray’s stone carvings at the Huntington Museum
of Art.

This day we visited Earl at his home and shop in Mason Co. WV. I feel that I have this rather profound connection with Earl. Earl is the son of a rather famous herbalist who was known as Catfish Man of The Woods. In a way, it is because of his father that Glenda and I ended up in West Virginia. While we were still living in Indiana, we had a friend come to West Virginia to spend the summer living with Catfish and learning from him. He came home after having been here for awhile and told us that we really needed to visit WV, which we subsequently did. The result being that we fell in love with the place and have been here ever since. Even though Earl and I come from very different backgrounds, (my Dad was an engineer and we lived in the suburbs) we are both trying to make a living in rural WV with our art.

Carvings in Earl’s yard

Carvings in Earl’s yard

Earl has worked in several different mediums over the years, including drawing, ceramics, and woodcarving. In an article in Goldenseal magazine a few years ago Earl states, in talking about his woodcarving, that he just looks for the face in the wood. I think he is pretty much doing the same thing with the stone carving that he has been doing the last few years.

I almost forgot that the chair did go with us

I think by now it is probably apparent that I am a fan of Earl’s work. I have a couple of his stone carvings and wish that more people could see and appreciate what he does.

It’s not easy making a living as an artist and Earl does a number of other things to support himself and his wife Barbara. One is he cuts and sells firewood. And lot’s of it.

There is so much of it stacked in his barn that you can’t really get it all in one shot. I think he told me there were 82 truckloads stacked in there.

Earl’s Truck

The view as we were leaving

Franklin Park Conservatory

Earlier this fall, Glenda and I and “The Meandering Chair’ made a visit
to The Franklin Park Conservatory in
Columbus Ohio.

Built in 1895, Franklin Park Conservatory is a botanical landmark two miles east of downtown
Columbus. It is a premier horticultural and educational institution showcasing exotic plant collections, special exhibitions, and a signature collection of work by glass artist Dale Chihuly.

The chair seems to be drawn to Chihuly’s work

Set within the 88 acres of Franklin Park, the conservatory houses 400 species of plants from a variety of global climate zones and features a Victorian Palm House with more than 40 species of palms. It is surrounded by botanical gardens and floral displays.

So, Glenda and I scoped out the museum and contemplated possible shots for the chair.

I keep thinking that sooner or later someone is going to say, “you want to do what?” but to date, I have not been turned down by anyone tohave their picturetaken with the chair, or for us to bring the chair into a building. I think what surprises me the most is that usually people don’t even act like it is that odd. Like people ask all the time if they can bring their dining chair into the museum. Anyway, I digress. Here are some photos, taken by Glenda, of our visit.

Koi Pond with glass balls

The chair with yet another Chihuly

The chair with Koi and balls

A rather grand space

I’m not sure what was going on here. Some nice bonsai and some sort of cave like structures that were kind of cool

I’m starting to think that we like to photograph the chair in front of cave openings

We enjoyed our visit here and if you are in the Columbus area with a little time to kill, it’s definitely worth a visit.

Camp Chesterfield

Maze

This has to be one of the strangest trips we have made with the “Meandering chair”.  Camp Chesterfield is a Spiritualist’s camp just outside of Chesterfield Indiana, on a lovely spot next to the White River. Now we don’t generally go around seeking out camps of this nature, but this one is just a couple of miles from where my wife Glenda grew up and as it turns out, there is a bit of family connection here as one of her great uncles sold the property to the founders of the camp and was also an early officer of the camp. Basically, Spiritualists believe that they can communicate with the dead and at Camp Chesterfield there are all manner of lines of communication with the spirit world if one is so inclined. I’ve been there a couple of times now but have yet to avail myself of any of the services offered there. I just like to walk around.

So we walked this maze, me carrying the chair. Not sure what I got out of it except tired. It’s a longer walk than it looks.

I think this is kind of cool. Busts of the founders of the worlds 10 greatest religions. Don’t know for sure who they all are and one seems to have lost his head.

Monument to the world’s great religions

Monument to Native Americans

Again, kind of cool. One of the members of the camp thought that the Native Americans disserved some recognition and had this built. [notice the black cat]

I guess that one should just accept without question the presence of a black cat at a spiritualist’s camp, but this one was starting to weird me out. I’m not exactly a cat person and this one seemed especially drawn to me, following me all over.  I tried to convince it that it possibly had me confused with someone else, but it persisted in what, in my imagination, was an attempt at communication. The place does have a weird vibe to it.

A formal introduction with the Black Cat

Black Cat

I don’t know what this is supposed to be in the first photo below, but I thought it was kind of cool and made for a nice shot. The second photo is another kind of odd spot. This space goes on to another cave like room, and once again there is some strange energy you sense inside here.

As we were there on Sunday, we just missed the Psychic Fair. Oh well, maybe another year.

Meander Chairs Held Hostage at Border

A few weeks ago I shipped an order of 14 Meander chairs to our neighbors to the north.  It has always been my understanding that we enjoy a good relationship with Canada.  Unfortunately this does not turn out to be the case.

It is unclear as to why the chairs were subject to suspicion. Perhaps my handwriting on the paperwork truly is as illegible as my family claims. Maybe it was because they are so well crafted and stand out from the crowd. It seems unlikely that they look like the tools of terrorists. Whatever the reason these perfectly innocent chairs were held up at customs, pulled off the truck, strip searched and grilled unmercilessly. We believe that at one point in the interrogation the Royal Canadian Mounties were called in.

After a week of negotiating across the border, my customer placed a call to his Member of Parliament. Really. I kid you not.

After secret discussions, in very high places, it was determined that the Meandering chairs were not a threat to Canadian security and that they should be allowed to enter the country. An international incident was avoided and the US Canadian relations are back to normal.

I really don’t think I feel any safer after this incident, but at least if you’re Canadian you don’t have to worry about any terrorist chairs slipping into your country.

A Morning at the Museum

Huntington Museum of Art

A  recent Saturday visit that “The Meandering Chair” and I made turned out to be the most demanding of any of our trips. It all started out innocently enough, as the reason for our visit was their annual book sale, which I came to find out, is taken very seriously by a number of people as is demonstrated by the fact that we had to arrive almost an hour early just to get an advantageous position in line. It was lucky for my daughter Emma that I just happen to have a chair with me at all times.

Well, the chair and I waited there for the sale to start, but once we got in there we quickly decided that the dog eat dog atmosphere of diving for books really wasn’t for us and we decided to go exploring. First we decided to go and investigate some of the sculptures on the grounds of the museum.

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I’ve been told that Emma is making me a grandson

The chair seems to enjoy getting up close and personal with art

Not quite sure what to think of this one

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I must have missed the gentle oak trail

After a quick stroll about the grounds we took off on the nature trail that runs behind the museum. Now the Huntington Museum sits at the top of a hill on the edge of Huntington, and the nature trail basically runs to the bottom of that hill, and in places is quite steep. It was no sweat for the chair as it gets carried every where it goes, but it turned into a workout for me and provided another of those moments where I begin to question my sanity. I rather enjoyed the jogger who happened by that didn’t even look twice, as if seeing some guy walking down a steep wooded path with a dining chair, was an everyday occurrence. I would have asked for his photo but there were these two rather large dogs accompanying him who seemed to be having more of an issue with my presence than him.

I really do enjoy this trail and think that it is one of these little known places that more people should see. A few years ago, a local stone carver named Earl Gray spent the summer carving stones in the hillside there. I am a fan of Earl’s work, and one thing that makes the trail so much fun is that there is nothing that tells you where these carvings are so that you basically just come upon them, and sometimes if you are not paying attention, you just might miss them.

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One of my favorites

One of those you might miss seeing

Pondering our next move

A squeeze for a guy carrying a chair

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After making it back to the top of the hill, and cooling down a bit, we went into the museum and received permission to go and visit another piece of celebrity art. I’m speaking of the Dale Chihuly sculpture that graces the museums conservatory.

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Having some fun with the foliage, while we waited for the women to finish their shopping.

It’s just a pleasant space with exotic plants and Koi and the glass sculpture. We stayed in there for awhile. We didn’t end up buying any books but we had a good day at the museum anyway.

A Visit to Tamarack

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At the Entrance

I recently had a delivery to make in Charlottesville, Virginia, and since Tamarack was right on the way, I decided that a visit from the “Meandering” chair was in order. Metaphorically speaking, going there with the chair I sort of felt like saying, chair, I’ve been a part of this since before it began, [would that be BT?] and participated in seeing it become a reality. Tamarack, for those of you who aren’t familiar with it is a facility started and operated by the state of West Virginia to showcase and market the “best” of what WV has to offer. It was an idea that originated with the office of former governor Gaston Caperton, and the building is named in his honor. It is, in my opinion, an outstanding idea and facility, and one that many other states have only hoped to emulate.

Tamarack showcases the work of 1,200 WV artisans,writers, specialty food producers, performers, and visual artists. It also contributes over $18 million dollars a year to the economy of the state. In it’s 14 year existence there have been over 6 million visitors. It’s just an all around fun place to visit and they also have a great place to eat with food prepared by the staff of the Greenbrier resort.

Once we made it inside, we ran into my friends Greg and Tish Westman, who are two of the artists in residence at Tamarack. The Westmans are string instrument makers who primarily focus on bowed psalteries. They are also musicians and have a group called Psaltrio that recently performed on Mountain Stage.

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The “Meandering” chair visiting with some Dora chairs. Would that be a gaggle of chairs or?

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This is just weird. Not really sure what I was thinking here, but that is me with a 14 year old photo of me

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I also wanted to introduce the chair to another friend of mine, blacksmith/artist Jeff Fetty, but for the time being, an image of him was going to have to do.

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Mr. Fetty in his younger hairier days

Some of Jeff’s work at the entrance

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Cheryl Hartley

Before we got back on the road we were fortunate to talk Cheryl Hartley, the general manager of Tamarack, into posing with the chair for our story. Cheryl has been responsible for keeping Tamarack running for the past 10 years, and believe me, It hasn’t always been easy. But that’s a story for another time.

We ended up spending more time at Tamarack then I had intended and really needed to be heading down the road, but if you’re ever in the vicinity of Beckley, WV, and Tamarack, be sure to stop in.

Sleepover At Rachel’s

This is the story about how I got my own Meander chair, how the original Meander chair came to stay with me for the weekend, and how I got written out of the will for revealing the following:

When I was 12, my dad built me a beautiful cherry writing desk for Christmas.  And for the following 18 years, I had to use a blue metal folding chair to sit at it, because I was never given a chair to go with it. 

It’s okay though, because one day when visiting my dad’s shop, I discovered that the Meander chairs fit me perfectly.  (When you are 5’2” you get used to never sitting with your feet on the ground).    And I convinced my dad that I needed my very own for my desk.  (I might have reminded him about the blue metal folding chair).   I picked out my own upholstery, designed by my favorite fabric designer and I am guessing one of the more unique fabrics his upholsterers have worked with.  It’s hot pink and orange and I love it.  I was very excited to see how it looked in my living room. 

My desk had actually been living at my parents house since I left for college but when I bought my own house I requested that my dad bring me my desk and my new chair.  He showed up on a Saturday with the desk in the back of his truck, his chair in the cab of the truck, and my chair…..back at the woodshop, because he forgot it. 

And that is how I came to host the original Meander chair for the weekend.  It was loaned to me with strict instructions not to let my cats wreck it. But they were allowed to sit on it. First one cat sat on it: 

She was very excited, it’s a famous chair

Then another cat sat on it: 

Then the chair got to visit with some other chairs.  (I think this might be some serious diversity in chair world, by the way). 

 
The chair had to leave the  next day because it had some people to meet at Mountain Stage, so we swapped it out with my real chair on Sunday.  The desk and chair are great additions to my living room.  The Meader chair might be famous, but my chair is hot pink. 

Hyperlink the blue words above to:

http://www.annamariahorner.com

Of Waterfalls and Mysterious Holes, Hawks Nests and Clifftops

        Recently, my wife and I, [ and "The Meandering Chair" , of course] took a trip in West Virginia that took in some of it’s most dramatic scenery, as well as one of it’s quirkier spots, and in addition, a music festival that attracts visitors from all over the world.    And, we did this all in one day.
         Our first stop was at Kanawha Falls, a beautiful spot just past where the New and the Gauley rivers come together to form the Kanawha River. Here we got some great pictures , while also discovering what a conversation starter and friend maker, traveling around with a dining chair can be.  The picture of the three of us was taken by someone who just happened along and asked if we would like for her to take our picture.

Just the Three of Us

Glenda Sitting pretty

Really, I've Been Sitting in Chairs For Years It'll come back to me

 Our next stop was at a place called The Mystery Hole.   www.mysteryhole.com/  The day we stopped it appeared that the hole was a popular stopping point for a number of bikers out for a ride. Once again, we made some new friends as here someone actually asked if they could have their picture taken in the chair. We weren’t able to take the chair down in the hole, and they don’t allow cameras, so let’s just leave it that if you’re looking for a fun stop as you travel the back roads of WV, be sure to stop and see The Mystery Hole.

Our New Friend Nada

This fellow wasn't so sure that the chair belonged here.

Just Chillin with the Bikes

           The next stop on our trip was Hawk’s Nest State park, and a majestic view overlooking the New River. [which ironically is considered one of the oldest rivers in the world.] Once again we found ourselves making new friends as the chair just seems to be a conversation starter.

You never know when you might need a chair

enjoying the view

         The last stop on our trip was at the Appalachian String Band Festival at Clifftop. http://www.wvculture.org/stringband/ People come here once a year to spend a week playing and listening to old time string music. For us, it was more about connecting with some friends, and just taking in the spectacle of seeing the hundreds of campers crammed into the campgrounds here.

The Campground, after alot of folks had already left

Dulcimer Player extrordinaire Hunter Walker playing my dulcimer

In the end, it turned out to be a fun, though tiring day. I’m looking forward to our next road trip, and if you see a couple out wandering about with a dining chair, come up and say hello.

The Chair onstage Makes the fifth time it has appeared on stage