Felts Park Fiddlin’ Figures

City of Galax Public Art Projects- Just in time

(Galax, Virginia) – Friday, July 30, 2021

The City of Galax Public Art Committee has launched several projects with the goal of completion in time for this year’s Fiddlers’ Convention. Gratefully these projects have come to fruition and just in time with Fiddlers right around the corner.

The first project is to cover electrical boxes with artwork of local talent. The committee started with the electrical box located by the Galax Smokehouse along Grayson Street . A Painting by Paula Melton was chosen by the committee and approved by council to be printed on vinyl then affixed to the electrical box itself. The imagery of this covering is of the Blue Ridge Mountains including Galax Leaves. “We wanted to use existing structures and there’s an electrical box at each stoplight so that’s how the idea became realized” says Sharon Ritchie, Council and Committee Member “…the imagery was selected as it best and clearly represents some of our finest natural assets.” With the successful covering of this box it is the hope of this committee to cover as many of these boxes as possible using both this imagery and another of instruments and fall colored Galax leaves painted by Kathye Mendes. Both Paula and Kathye have given permission to use images of their work to this end.

The other project was conceived in response to a request by Tony Quesenberry to do something on or with the pillars at the gatehouse at the Felts Park entrance. The committee thought long and hard about what options there were and Becky Guynn presented the idea of installing animated instrument sculptures as a way to welcome convention attendees. This idea was promptly unanimously approved and conversations with Galax High School Agricultural and Engineering Departments quickly followed. “Both Aaron Horton and Dustin Carter and their students have just been amazing to work with.” Shares Becky Guynn, committee member and genre artist, “They not only cut out the shapes of these figures in metal, but they helped weld them upright and install the whole thing. We could not have done this without them”. Becky coordinated the cutting of the shapes, the positioning of them to the stand and the painting of the figures themselves. “It’s such a thrill to see great ideas come to fruition and we remain so grateful for the talent and generosity of our community members to help make these ideas happen and especially to Galax City Council for their support making any of our work possible.” Shares Chris Pollins, Committee Chair.

The City of Galax Public art Committee consists of representation from: City Council, Arts Council, Chestnut Creek School of the Arts(CCSA), City Grants Administration, Downtown Business Owners and

locals artists. This committee was formed to celebrate our community’s heritage, ethnicity, commonality and civic pride by stimulating collaboration and understanding between artists and the city’s diverse community; To enhance the City’s image locally, regionally and nationally by ensuring the creation of the highest quality of public art; To promote artists to live and work in the City and to participate in public presentation of their art in the City; and to encourage federal, state and private support for the city’s public art program.

For more information call Chris Pollins, Public Art Chair and CCSA Executive Director(276) 236-3500 or visit us online at www.chestnutcreekarts.org.