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Online directory simplifies search for artisans, galleries
WAYNESBORO - Looking for crafts? The search has just become easier. The Allegheny Craft Network supports an online directory of artisans, and the galleries and festivals that carry crafts made within nine rural counties of the western part of Virginia.
The network is funded by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development through the Artisans Center of Virginia, and includes a directory, exhibition and conference focused on small towns, villages, and rural areas of Alleghany, Augusta, Bath, Botetourt,Craig, Highland, Roanoke, Rockbridge and Rockingham counties.
"The Network serves as an important planning resource for out- ings," says project coordinator and former furniture craftsman Stephen Clerico. "After you locate a craft online, you need to see and touch the item to sense its value," he says. Collectors in search of fine craft add that you also need to hear directly from the person who crafted the object to be reminded that 21st century artisans are caretakers. America's artisans hold the key to something vital that can enrich daily life, and inform family and community... provided you slow down enough to go in search of it.
"After just a couple of preliminary trips to this area, I am reminded why I love this state so much," says Clerico. "Craft artisans often select small villages and remote rural environments in which to live and work."
Clerico added, "Rural craft does not mean unsophisticated craft. Both contemporary and traditional designs can be found in the rural parts of our state. Expect to be surprised by the diversity of style and the individual expressions of the well-made objects you will discover as you travel the scenic byways of rural Virginia."
For more information on area crafts and the artisans that make them, click on the map of Virginia a t www.artisanscenterofvirginia.org/ network and view the online directory.
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