Morgan County artists in ‘Best of West Virginia’ show
Local quilter Jane Frenke and metal sculptor Mark Schwenk have works displayed in the 2010 Best of West Virginia Juried Exhibition at Tamarack in Beckley. The exhibit began June 13 and runs until August 14.
Tamarack is considered the nation’s first retail showcase of handcrafts and arts made by state artists.
Frenke, a Delectable Mountain Quilt Guild member, submitted three quilts to the show from her leaf design series. The series was inspired by a photo of a decaying leaf from the Amazon rain forest, Frenke said.
Frenke makes and dyes all of her fabric. She creates textural effects on the cloth by taking out color and adding hues in layers, which creates an illusion of depth.
Frenke has other series that include the “There are woods in my cabin” quilts. The quilt construction is a log cabin with leaves in the cabin, she said. This series has yellows, greens and blues from the color discharging procedure, Frenke said.
Frenke has been quilting professionally for 12 years. She recalled pushing a needle through the other side of a framed quilt when she was five or six years old to help her mother. Her mom also did heirloom stitching, hand embroidery and doll-making. Frenke machine quilts.
Frenke likes the whole process of quilt-making and seeing the idea that is in her head evolve into a quilt.
Her quilts can be seen on display at the Ice House, Temptations Café and at Tamarack.
The Delectable Mountain Quilt Guild raised $7,000 for the Hospice of the Panhandle at their Memorial Weekend Yard-Square quilt auction, Frenke said. They also raffled off quilts at the Mother’s Day Piecework event during their annual Ice House quilt exhibit.
The guild welcomes writers to submit one-act plays related to quilting for staged readings at their Piecework event.
An honor
Frenke was honored to have her work chosen for the Best of West Virginia Show. She has entered pieces selected for the show for many years.
“It’s very exciting and exclusive company to be in,” Frenke said.
She felt that having Tamarack represent West Virginia to people driving through was wonderful. Its location is along the north-south route from the mid-West to the South. People stop at Tamarack to eat and love shopping there, Frenke said.
“It’s the best representative of the state we have out there,” she said.
Artist Mark Schwenk
Frog Valley Artisan Mark Schwenk juried a seven-foot piece called “The Bell Tree” and two metal dancer sculptures for the Tamarack show. “The Bell Tree” was accepted for the exhibit. Local artist Kat Braun made the wooden ringer for the tree’s bell.
Schwenk has been creating metal sculptures here for around 14 years. He has also done fine arts photography for years.
Schwenk has memories of working around metal at age four or five. He learned the art of blacksmithing and metal work from his grandfather and father. The trade goes back in his family to the 1700’s.
Traditional/modern blend
Schwenk’s work is a blend of funky, modern themes that also has traditional elements like trees and leaves.
Schwenk makes custom iron work indoor and outdoor sculpture that is nature-inspired or whimsical. He also creates artistic metal railings, fences, gates, tables, room dividers, lighting and other pieces.
Schwenk uses old-school tools that date back hundreds of years along with modern electric welding equipment. He enlists propane and coal forges, power hammers and anvils in his craft.
Schwenk roughs out the shape he wants and hammers the texture into the piece. He may do 40 pieces in a day or take months to complete a large work.
Typically Schwenk will have a dozen sculptures in his shop at various stages of completion. If he knows he has future projects with tree limbs, he will forge 100 branches instead of 20.
Schwenk sometimes works with Frog Valley Artisans Angela Matthews and Veronica Wilson to create stained glass and iron pieces. Glass allows another dimension that can add more emotion to sculpture, he said.
Schwenk was honored to have his piece chosen for the exhibit. The competition for the show is pretty stiff, he said. His work was accepted for the last three Best of West Virginia shows.
Schwenk is the chairman of the Artisan Advisory Board for Tamarack. His work can be seen in Ice House exhibits, at Tari’s Café and at regional arts council shows and galleries.
Schwenk donates some pieces to support local art and art at Tamarack because there are so many artists here.
“It comes from the heart,” Schwenk said.
Best of West Virginia show
The popular annual Best of West Virginia show draws hundreds of entries from artists around the state, said Tamarack marketing director Cindy Whitlock.
“It’s so competitive that it brings out some of the most breathtaking work,” Whitlock said.
It’s the big show at Tamarack and the only one that offers monetary awards for winners, she said. The show features juried handcrafts, paintings, multimedia works, sculptures and other art—all made in West Virginia.
This year artists from 37 counties are represented in the show. Berkeley County fine arts photographer Sterling “Rip” Smith, an Ice House Artist Cooperative member, is also featured.
