Handmade in Virginia: Meet Our Artisans

A trip to Virginia is incomplete without witnessing the pride and dedication of those who work with their hands. Visit our sculptors, painters, basketweavers, luthiers and other passionate artisans and crafters!

Heart of Appalachia | Blue Ridge Highlands | Eastern Shore
Southern Virginia | Central Virginia | Chesapeake Bay
Northern Virginia | Tidewater & Hampton Roads | Shenandoah Valley

Heart of Appalachia

Appalachia - The Appalachia Cultural Arts Center hosts art exhibits, musical entertainment, and local events and has quickly drawn the best of the potters, weavers, artists and sculptors who work in the inspired beauty of Southwest Virginia's mountain scenery.

Big Stone Gap - Granny's Art House is THE place to make baskets, rubber stamps and ornaments! Regional art and photography exhibits offer inspiration for the rest of us beginniners!

Marion - Gary Carroll's Sugar Run baskets are made the old-fashioned way with hand tools such as a drawknife, froe and axe. Made out of white oak, the baskets are decorative and functional, and can be purchased at Handsome Molly’s.

Heart of Appalachia Artisans

Blue Ridge Highlands

Floyd - Ceramic artist Carter Holliday displays his handmade originals in the Carter Holliday Art Gallery. See his tile work on clocks, mirrors and single-item framed decorative pieces.

Rugby - Master luthier Wayne Henderson passionately creates world-renowned guitars in between impromtu jam sessions with musicians who may pop in his shop. Henderson has created guitars for the likes of Eric Clapton and Doc Watson.

Abingdon - `Round the Mountain is working to link travelers to artisan studios, galleries, craft venues, farms, vineyards, and other creative points of interest in Southwest Virginia. Their website offers a Craft Registry that allows you to search artisans, craft venues, and farms in a variety of ways, such as type of craft, location, artisan name, type of venue and more!

Artisan centers are plentiful in the Blue Ridge Highlands! Take home a Virginia mountain craft from one of these locations:

• Appalachian Spirit Gallery, Marion
• Bell Gallery, Floyd
• Bull Mountain Arts, Stuart
• Cave House Craft Shop and Guild, Abingdon
• Cedar Run Artisans Center, Wytheville
• William King Regional Arts Center, Abingdon

Blue Ridge Highlands Artisans | Events

Eastern Shore

Painter - For Mary Onley, also known as Mama Girl, her whimsical paper-maché figures are a result of prayer and years of working in the fields. Each piece is carefully hand-crafted in her studio on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

Onancock - Willie Crockett's paintings are recognized as among the most honest portrayals of the Chesapeake's drama and beauty. Best known for his wildlife art, he transmits to his paintings an ever fresh view of the Eastern Shore landscape, the wildfowl and the marsh. Visit him at his gallery and studio.

Onley - William and David Turner are world-renowned sculptors of bronze life-size and miniature wildlife and waterfowl figures. The Turner Foundry and Gallery displays their magnificent works of art.

Eastern Shore Artisans | Packages

Southern Virginia

Martinsville - At Piedmont Arts one will find theater, music, sculpture and more! Exhibitions, an On Stage performance series, educational outreach in area schools, workshops, and other arts-related programming are open to the public.

South Boston - Bob Cage's Sculpture Farm is a must-see for anyone traveling through Southern Virginia! Children enjoy the myriad of farm animals that frolic through the fields through the sculptures. An ever-changing display you'll want to see often!

Martinsville - de Spot is the spot to see more than 80 regional artisans' work on display. Find everything from paintings, pottery, glasswork, woodwork, jewelry, wearable art and sculpture to handmade soaps and jewelry boxes!

Southern Virginia Artisans | Events

Central Virginia

Richmond - Impressionist painter Jennifer Young displays her landscape paintings at Jennifer Young Studio & Gallery. She paints on-site at numerous Virginia locations and her subjects have included the gardens of Maymont and Smith Mountain Lake near Bedford.

Barboursville - Frederick Nichols has captured such Virginia scapes as Goshen Pass in Rockbridge County, various locations along the James River and Sherando Lake in Augusta County. The Nichols Galleries feature his paintings and silk screens.

Central Virginia Artisans | Events

Chesapeake Bay

Enjoy the new Art Escape self-guided driving tour through the 10-county region of the Chesapeake Bay! Visit 35 galleries and studios to see the works of painters, jewelers and glass workers. Request a map!

Heathsville - Andrew Pitts is a furniture maker in Northumberland County. Most of his hardwood creations are from local trees that have fallen in storms in the Northern Neck. Sturdily built beds, tables and nightstands are meant for and hold up under every day use. Quality is key for Pitts.

Chesapeake Bay Artisans

Northern Virginia

Fredericksburg - Bill Harris is a prolific and innovative artist who handles both large scale murals and intimate portraits. His work is easily identifiable and extremely original, not only for their striking color combinations and light effects, but also for their intriguing and thought-provoking subject matter. Visit the Bill Harris Art Studio.

Round Hill - At the Round Hill Arts Gallery one will find the wonderful works by Virginia artisans like Tiffani Scott, the precious metal clay artisan who creates inspirational jewelry. Or Courtney Fair, who turns warm, rustic furniture from reclaimed hardwoods. And clay artist Richard Busch whose beautiful, functional pieces are inspired by the Virginia scenery outside his door. When artists aren't accessible through public studios and galleries, seek coops and community arts centers like Round Hill Arts Gallery. You're sure to find genuine Virginia-made products!

Northern Virginia Artisans | Events

Tidewater & Hampton Roads

Norfolk - Visit d'ART, 30 studios featuring the works of more than 40 regional artists - all under one roof!

Williamsburg -Nancy Thomas is a nationally-known contemporary artist who has lived and painted in historic Yorktown for the past 30 years. Her work is prized throughout the country and appears in the homes of thousands of collectors as well as in magazines and in decorator books, in museums, in Hollywood films, on Broadway and on television. Visit her Gallery in Williamsburg!

Wiliamsburg Area - Follow the Williamsburg Area Discover the Arts Trail! Area gallery owners, artists, artisans, performers and museum staffs look forward to sharing the rich cultural landscape with you. You are encouraged to visit the Historic Triangle every year on the first Sunday in October during An Occasion for the Arts. This juried arts event hosts more than 30,000 visitors for a day of arts celebration.

Tidewater & Hampton Roads Artisans | Events

Shenandoah Valley

Fincastle - In a world where furniture makers call themselves artists, Jake Cress pokes fun by building pieces that are designed to make you laugh. Several museums, including the Renwick (Smithsonian) own Jake's "whimsical" pieces and his work has been mentioned in The Washington Post and Traditional Home magazine.

Mt. Jackson - From Faber native Nan Rothwell's salt pottery to the oil paintings by Broadway's D.E. Holsinger, The Art Group Gallery, a non-profit artists' cooperative, is a great place to find a plethora of goods by Shenandoah Valley artists.

Shenandoah Valley Artisans | Events