Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 25, 1990 TAG: 9005260447
SECTION: SMITH MOUNTAIN TIMES PAGE: SMT-8 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: By JEFF DeBELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The guild made a splash on March 17 by busing the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra to Rocky Mount for a concert in Franklin County High School.
"I've had people stop me on the street to say how much they enjoyed it," said guild president Jean Bernard.
The guild tentatively has booked the orchestra for a return visit next spring. In the meantime, it is on the lookout for other opportunities to import events to Franklin County.
The other major player in the arts boomlet is the Smith Mountain Arts Council, which is linked to the Smith Mountain Lake 4-H Center at Wirtz.
Both groups say they are responding to the area's changing population.
Retirees from big cities and city-dwellers with second homes at the lake are a growing demographic factor.
They're accustomed to "culture," and the arts council and guild are working to see that it's available.
"This is going to be a very, very interesting place 10 years from now," resident Rene Clark said. "It's already interesting. It's Virginia's own little melting pot."
She and her husband, Mike, are part of the melting pot. They moved to Moneta 2 1/2 years ago from the Hampton Roads area. They stay busy with a graphic arts business, Art House, and a gallery, Another Roadside Attraction, in Moneta.
Moneta portraitist Martha Seidel is one of the artists represented in the gallery.
Her work also can be seen in The Little Gallery, a lakeside shop at nearby Bridgewater Plaza.
"If you had told me there could be two art galleries out here that seem to be fairly successful, I wouldn't have believed it," said Seidel, a Franklin County native.
Like Another Roadside Attraction, The Little Gallery specializes in the work of regional artists and artisans. Carol Swain of Hardy is a co-owner.
"You get people moving here from all over the country," Swain said.
"They love art, and they're happy to find there's art here."
Swain and the Clarks have something in common besides being in the gallery business.
Along with about 115 other people, they are members of the Smith Mountain Arts Council.
The council promotes the arts, coordinates arts events, and provides opportunities for lake-area residents to enjoy the arts both as spectators and participants. It grew from the agendas of Jettie Harris and Mark Humphrey.
Harris, a New Jersey emigrant, organized and conducted a patriotic cantata called "Liberty" at the lake last July.
At about the same time, Humphrey was looking for ways to expand the community involvement of the 4-H center, of which he is director.
He got in touch with Harris, and the council eventually grew from their association.
Harris' choir went on to organize itself as Thee Chorale Societe and to become the first group under the council umbrella. The hope is to organize similar production groups in other disciplines.
Though self-sufficiency is the council's eventual goal, it is associated with the 4-H center for now. The center fronts money for council events and is reimbursed from proceeds.
The Franklin Guild began to take shape at about the same time as the arts council. The guild was envisioned solely as a symphony support group, but that's not how it worked out.
"One thing led to another, and we decided we'd support all of the arts," said chairman Jean Bernard.
Ferrum College and county school administrators have been active in the guild.
"We're interested in encouraging people who're interested in culture," said Jody Brown, head of the fine arts division at Ferrum. Brown is on the boards of both the guild and the arts council.
There was some early concern that the two groups might conflict, but that faded when it became evident that their objectives differed.
The council is production-oriented, whereas the guild is oriented more toward bringing the arts into Franklin County from outside.
by CNB