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A new contemporary art gallery is opening this summer in Blowing
Rock, the brainchild of a Winston-Salem
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Judi Russell (pictured) and Lynn
Hill are opening Art & Artifacts, a new gallery, in
Blowing Rock. Photo submitted
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artist and a Blowing Rock Realtor.
The two entrepreneurs, Judi Russell and Lynn Hill, first met
a year ago when Hill was searching unsuccessfully for an office
to house her newly formed real estate company. Russell had a
vacant building and, in a slowed economy, no real prospects
for rental.
The result was a partnership – office space for Hill’s
new company and renovations to create Russell’s long-dreamed-of
gallery.
“Desperation is the mother of creativity,” Hill said
with a laugh.
Russell agreed, saying, “I had hoped to have a gallery
in 10 years or so and instead I’m about eight years ahead
of plan.”
Art & Artifacts, which will have its grand opening reception
Friday, July 17, 5:30 to 8 p.m., features about 20 artists in
all media, from sculpture, watercolors and oils to wood, glass,
photography and jewelry. Its location on Sunset Drive is just
around the corner from Blowing Rock’s busy shopping mecca
on Main Street and in the midst of a growing group of galleries.
Both women have come to this entreprenerual venture in unusual
ways.
Russell, who lives in Winston-Salem, came to that city as a
flight attendant for Piedmont Airlines. Her airline career ended
when she married one of her passengers, but the city has remained
their home. A variety of careers followed, including a stint
as a corporate sales trainer for Wachovia and other banks and
time as owner of a cosmetics business. She founded The Russell
Agency, an advertising agency, in 1979 and sold it several years
ago to employees.
“I decided it was time to recreate myself as an artist,”
Russell said.
Since then, her work has appeared in national publications and
has been recognized by a number of arts groups, including a
current selection as Artist of the Month for Santa Fe Art World.
She is available to teach creative workshops on “Drawing
with your eyes closed,” which she expects to continue at
the gallery.
Because she is an artist, Russell has worked with Hill to create
an artist-friendly environment at Art & Artifacts with a
favorable commission structure.
Hill, who has been a top producer in the High Country real estate
market for several years, has a long-standing love affair with
contemporary art and artists. From the 1960s when she and partners
opened the first Piedmont Craftsmen Inc. shop in Old Salem,
contemporary art has been her passion.
Hill’s career has included management positions at Pilot
Freight Carriers Inc., being CEO of Mandala Center, a private
psychiatric hospital in Winston-Salem, and her own public relations
agency. Hill, who is a native of Winston-Salem, was co-owner
with her mother of The Hidden Crystal Inn and Conference Center
in Hiddenite. She also is president of North American Emerald
Mines Inc., where her son, Jamie Hill, “The Emerald Man,”
discovered the largest emerald ever found in the United States.
It is on exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural History.
Gallery Times
Gallery Times is a weekly news feature of the Focus section
of The Mountain Times, featuring short news items submitted
by local galleries.
For more information, contact entertainment editor Frank Ruggiero
at frank@mountaintimes.com or (828) 264-6397.
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