Take a walk through the arts
Downtown opened its doors to the arts Friday for the Museum and Gallery Walk
By Will Fawley, contributing writer
Posted on October 23, 2006

Downtown Harrisonburg was alive with artwork, live music and dance performances, open galleries and free food for the Museum and Gallery Walk last Friday. There were many exhibits, but the variety and liveliness of the event were what really made it a success.

In the amphitheater in front of the Massanutten Regional Library, local musician Randy Black strummed his guitar as maps of the 30 events were handed out at the information table.

The traditional art galleries such as OASIS and The Smith House offered a lot of paintings and pottery one would expect to see on a gallery walk. However, there were a few surprises.

Located on the third floor of the Public SafetyBuilding was a collection of antique fire-fighting equipment, uniforms, fire extinguishers and trucks. The hallway was lined with news clippings of rescues from fires past.

OASIS featured art made by local artists such as former Bridgewater College professor Paul Miller Kline and Bridgewater painter Lev Norford. They also had a musical group, the folk band Nonesuch, playing on the top level of the gallery. This group’s old-time sound added a cozy, welcoming atmosphere to the gallery.

The Museum and Gallery Walk was also a good opportunity to meet some of the artists and talk with them about their work. One of the artists was Waynesboro potter Michael Gamble. His work ranges from large plates and bowls to tiny flower holders. When his daughter kept bringing flowers home, Gamble thought, why not make a holder for them out of clay?

“I took pottery as an elective in school, and then I fell in love with it,” Gamble said of his first experience with clay. “I just like forming things out of lumps of clay, mud.” Another thing that excites this local potter about ceramics is the complexity and variety of glazes.

Another artist at the event was wood turner Alyce Pollock. Laughing, she described the process and showed the tools that she uses in the process. She explained how the bowl she was finishing was attached to the turner by a wooden piece that she had made herself to fit exactly into the mouth of the bowl.

“We turners are as proud of the tools we make as we are of the finished products we create,” she said.

In addition to visual artists, there were also a variety of musicians present at the Gallery Walk. Several restaurants featured live music. Musician Mickey Glago performed aboard a trolley, which ran around the square every 15 minutes. The men’s ensemble Cantore sang from 5 to 7 p.m., livening up the square with its music. The JMU Marching Royal Dukes drum line took over at 7 p.m. for the grand finale. About 50 people gathered around Court Square to watch the show.