Sunday, October 08, 2006

Yesterday my wife and I visited the Festival at Waterford, Va. In a quaintly rustic town there were an incredible amount of old world artisans who adhere to the original craftsmanship techniques. Their wares are unique and vivid. There were metalsmiths, pottery makers, wood crafters, rug and material loomers, original musical instruments and musicians, civil war reenactors (Southern sypathizers, of course, "Give 'em hell, Bobby Lee!"), punchneedle works, basket weavers, floral artisans, Old World sign makers, and paint artists. The return to a simpler era began with a 3 hour drive from the Philadelphia area to Waterford, Virginia. It was worth every second. We went back in time to a town that holds the traditions and ways of a town that treasures its roots. We visited and spoke with James Stewart the sign carver (www.woodsunlimited.com), Judth McKellar, a sculpture artist from Warrenton, Pa, Joanne Evans, a wonderful coutry painter, among others. We hope to get these people and others that we have met to exhibit their terrific work on our site, www.artiqueandcraftmasters.com. They embody the vision that I have for this site and hope that you will be seeing their work shortly on our site.