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A weeklong class at the Jacksonville Center for Floyd County high school students last week led to one of the Center’s first public art installations on its grounds. The class taught by Ed Dolinger provided the students with real world experience in working as a team of artists, designing the proposed work, presenting it to a committee for approval and then meeting a deadline of the end of class to install the completed work.
Dolinger, who can point to his own experience of having his work installed in public venues, wanted the students to experience a typical process of how public work is approved and installed. “I wanted the students to learn how to present a proposal to a committee, explain their concept and implement it,” Dolinger explained. “It was a challenge to do it within a week and fortunately the weather cooperated on Friday for the installation outdoors.” As part of the weeklong course underwritten by the Greenfire Fund, students also worked on individual projects incorporating sketching and painting. Students who participated in the class were: Mariah Akers, Becky Bordeaux, Suzanne Burgess, Lois Callahan, Fiona Mahar-Milani and Callie Via. Jasmine Calvert, the daughter of Piedmont Arts Association Executive Director, Peter Calvert, served as Dolinger’s studio assistant. “Students were invited to participate based on their interest in art or their talent using recommendations of local art teachers in both public and private schools,” said Chris Shackelford, the Center’s Director of Educational Programming. A committee, comprised of members of the Center’s board of directors and staff, met with the students on the second day of class after the students worked on individual concepts. “The students were provided a history of the Center and its programming to incorporate into their ideas,” pointed out Shackelford. “The Committee looked at the different concepts and worked with the students to develop a unifying theme.” The final concept embraced the sun as common theme for both inspiration and fire as a unifying factor in finishing ceramics, glassworking and blacksmithing. The project will remain in place indefinitely for public viewing. The Jacksonville Center is located on Route 8, one-half mile south of the only stoplight in Floyd, VA. For more information, stop by or contact the Jacksonville Center for the Arts at 745-2784 or email
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. The Center’s hours are Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm; Saturdays, 10 - 5pm; and noon to 5pm on Sundays.
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