The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

November 30, 2008

Make-N-Take classes offered at Tamarack

Matthew Hill

Just think — for $10 and an hour of your time, you can take home a lifelong craft or artistic knowledge, possibly even the sown seeds of a future profession. Worst-case scenario? If you take Doug Coleman’s glass etching class, you at least walk away with a hand-crafted ornament that is all your own.

Coleman’s is one of several Make-N-Take classes being offered at Tamarack during the holiday season this year, said Cindy Whitlock, Tamarack’s marketing director.

“Total novices can come in and experience how they (artisans) make a living. You appreciate how much goes in to a craft, and the artist demonstrates the value of a hand craft rather than a mass-produced, made in Taiwan item,” Whitlock observed.

She referred to members of the DIY — Do It Yourself — generation that yearn to know how to do things for themselves.

“People might know that Doug does it better than they do, but they may want to try it themselves. There are a whole lot of magazines out right now that feature make-and-take ideas. There is a national trend to make your own stuff, but it’s not a new trend. It’s part of American history,” she said.

If you decide to take Coleman’s class, you will be learning from the man who was commissioned by West Virginia first lady Gayle Manchin in 2005 to design a special, limited-edition Christmas-tree ornament for the Governor’s Mansion.

With 2008 being the fourth in that series, part of the proceeds from its sale go toward the West Virginia Governor’s Mansion Preservation Foundation, Coleman explained.

“I was asked to do this by Tamarack. The first lady contacted Tamarack because she wanted a hand-made, made in West Virginia ornament. Of course, if you’re looking for made in West Virginia, this is the place you come, right,” Coleman quipped from his Tamarack studio. The Fayetteville-based artist plies his trade at Tamarack on a daily basis.

“I think it would be a good time for everybody who shows up. In addition to the educational aspect of it, you can take a piece home with you that you made yourself,” Coleman added.

Coleman will share his expertise of 26 years Dec. 19-21.

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If glass etching is not your cup of tea, you can learn pottery from Jamey Biggs Dec. 6-7 as well as batik from St. Albans-based textile artist Kum Kum Majumadar Dec. 13-14.

All of the Make-N-Take classes at Tamarack cost $10 per person per piece, and they last about an hour in Studio C. They will be offered from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the dates listed.

For more information, call Tamarack at 304-256-6843 or 1-888-262-7225. You may also e-mail service@tamarackwv.com.

— E-mail:

mhill@register-herald.com

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