Arts

SPENCER, W.Va. — Before commercial dyes became readily available to mountain people in West Virginia, homespun yarn was colored with natural materials that could easily be obtained in the woods near any farm. The hulls of walnuts and butternuts were perhaps the most common. Both yielded a dark brown color, which could be rendered almost … Read more

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the West Virginia Makes Festival, scheduled for Oct. 6, 2023, the Marshall Advanced Manufacturing Center is offering $10,000 in cash prizes to winners of this year’s design challenge. According to Kara Mullins, coordinator of the festival, makers of all kinds — artisans, inventors, manufacturers, and students … Read more

BECKLEY, W.Va. — The figure of a heroic female was proposed to be added to the State Seal of West Virginia in the 1990s, though the effort died in the statehouse, and the matter ended without explanation. West Virginia artist Earl Ferguson, who was commissioned to design the new seal, said he was disappointed never … Read more

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — “King Coal,” a feature-length documentary by West Virginia-raised and Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Curren Sheldon and Elaine McMillion Sheldon, makes its home-state premiere at the West Virginia Culture Center in Charleston, West Virginia, on July 8 at 6 p.m. The West Virginia International Film Festival presents the event and will feature the 75-minute … Read more

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Nearly 30 years after Patricia Bright was first introduced to the artwork of modernist Blanche Lazzell, she and her husband, Bill Bright, are helping to bring the state native’s work home with a $1 million gift to West Virginia University. The Brights’ contribution supports a $1.5 million fundraising effort to expand the … Read more

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Ideal locations are key to creating good film and television content, say the organizers of a two-day workshop for location scouts and managers in the Mountain State. West Virginia is increasingly becoming a location for television and movie making, according to the W.Va. Film Office and W.Va. Filmmakers Guild, which is teaming … Read more

If you’ve had the benefit of seeing your business profiled in the news, you know how immediate and far-reaching the impact can be. Nothing boosts a business like a news story, and thanks to the Internet, news stories can be broadcast further and faster than ever. West Virginia Explorer Magazine now provides a news-profile service … Read more

Winter in West Virginia is a delightfully varied season. The Ohio and Potomac lowlands and sheltered southern valleys witness only a few blanketing snowfalls, though the Allegheny Mountains, rising to more than 4,000 feet above sea level, are practically Canadian in climate and can be beset by blinding squalls long into spring. Photographer Rick Burgess … Read more

BECKLEY, W.Va. — Former West Virginians are increasingly interested in art that recalls the past in the Mountain State, says an artist launching a series of Christmas sketches he created more than a quarter-century ago. Seay Earehart, who is perhaps best known as the artist who creates monsters in the Stranger Things television series, says … Read more

BECKLEY, W.Va. — Hosted by the West Virginia Storytelling Guild, story-tellers Linda Durrett, Karen Vuranch, Mikalena Zuckett, and Jodi French-Burr will weave tales on Saturday, November 19, from 2-3:30 p.m. at Tamarack at Beckley, West Virginia. The four speakers, who are widely known for their skills, will perform in concert with the worldwide observance of … Read more