August First Friday will be a celebration of Native American culture at the Blue Ridge Art Connection. From 5 PM to 8 PM on Friday, August 7th Chris Deerheart will be performing Native American music. The perfect compliment to John Dancing Crow’s artwork.
Crow will be displaying a variety of his soapstone carvings, as well as artwork and painted buffalo hides. John Dancing Crow comes from a mixed-heritage Cherokee family and he learned the craft of carving from his grandfather. “My first carvings began with the help of my Granddad. For some years he was a ceremonial pipe maker for the Cherokee. When he grew older, he showed me how to carve soapstone.”
John Crow’s first carving attempts were met with mixed success, but he persisted. One of his first commissions was to do a ceremonial Peace Pipe with a bear on it. He said chuckling, “I carved it and presented it to him and he said he wanted a bear... not a pig.” So Crow went back to fill his mind with images of bears and kept carving away and finally he had his first satisfied customer. Shaping soapstone pipes seemed to lead naturally to doing soapstone sculpture.
Crow is proud that his sculptures are all done without any machine grinding. He has stated on occasion that if the stones have been formed over the centuries, the least he can do is treat them with respect and take the time to bring out the shapes within. Crow’s inspiration comes from animals and people. He said, “Sometimes I dream of a finished sculpture. When I wake up, I sketch it, then carve it.”
The Blue Ridge Art Connection is pleased to be showing the beautiful work of John Dancing Crow for the month of August. Gallery hours are Thursday and Saturday from 11 AM to 5 PM and Friday from 11 AM to 8 PM. (Sundays by chance, although you can schedule an appointment by calling 540-745-7433.) Crow said, “I hope you enjoy my work as much as I enjoy carving them.”
The Blue Ridge Art Connection also shows a broad sampling of artwork from members of the Floyd Artists Association. Located in the newly renovated Station, across the street from the Floyd Country Store; 203 S. Locust Street, Suite C, Floyd, VA. 540-745-PENS www.FloydArtists.com