May 26 marks the opening celebration of the Clay County Historical and Arts Council Museum at the Old Clay County Jail in Hayesville. Music, refreshments and raffles will kick off the event, which will feature work from a number of locally prominent artists.

At 10 a.m. the doors will open to a series of exhibits, including the latest: "Wildflowers in Art." The new setup proves both educational and inspirational, celebrating the "unique botanical bounty of the southern Appalachian region."

Artisans providing their work for the event include Diane Banakas (fabric), Roberta Persick (colored pencil), Virginia Urani (watercolor), Bill Persick (ceramic) and Zoe Schumaker (pastel). The opening will feature demonstrations of painting and weaving in process as well.

"There are different artistic interpretations of beautiful local wildflowers," said Schumaker, who's only been painting for a year, yet holds enormous talent.

"I wanted to try doing something else," she continued. It began when she took a class at the folk school which inspired her to paint. "I tried to pick something I had around my house and something that I really loved as well, which was flowers."

Both Schumaker and Urani are proud to have their work on display at the museum. "I've been doing artwork my whole life," said Urani. After retiring from the "corporate world" in 2002, she moved to the mountains and began painting more frequently, drawn to the flowers that she found around her. Urani serves as a teacher at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown.

In addition to hourly prize raffles from 1-3 p.m. at the museum's opening gala, music will be provided by "Butternut Creek and Friends," a popular band. The event will wrap up around 4 p.m.

Sara Smith, a member of the four-person museum committee for nearly five years now, said that the museum can always use help from people who are interested in the history of the county. "I grew up here, so I like to see as much of the history preserved as we possibly can, because it's going fast," she said.

"My interest is in the sockknitting machines," said Lucy Best, a contributor to the museum. "[The museum] called me when they knew I had some familiarity with them." Best brought a 1923 machine to be exhibited at the museum. She said that after finding instructions on how to operate the equipment online, she discovered how to make socks in a variety of sizes.

Best is only one of many artifact contributors who helps to provide Clay County with a visual history.

The displays only add to the rich history of the old jail building itself.

In case you can't make the opening, the exhibit and the museum will be open for viewing through September 4.

To comment on this article, email Harrison at hkeely@gmail.com.

Other Stories With Comments:
Article	Comments
Land transfer tax-- let the voters decide	1