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PARKERSBURG -- Artists will explore techniques ranging from printmaking to nature painting while learning about marketing and grant opportunities during the Parkersburg Piccalilli Arts Conference on Friday, Sept. 18.
The event at the Parkersburg Art Center, themed "Artists Take Over with Relish," will feature four rounds of workshops, a keynote address and evening activities. Check-in and a grab-and-go breakfast will run from 9 to 9:30 a.m., according to the conference schedule.
Illustrator and author Rosalie Haizlett will deliver the keynote, "Sell Your Art, Not Your Soul: Mindful Marketing for Artists," from 1:15 to 1:45 p.m. in the ballroom.
Haizlett, who lives in Elkins, West Virginia, operates the studio and shop Meander. She is the author and illustrator of "Watercolor in Nature" and "Tiny Worlds of the Appalachian Mountains" and has been an artist-in-residence at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the National Audubon Society and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
The conference is co-organized by Jessie Siefert, the art center's managing director and director of education, and Sarah Arnold, who founded the online community magazine Clutch MOV and later opened Clutch Collective.
The first workshops, scheduled from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m., will offer three options. Poet and educator Deni Naffziger and artist Mark Hackworth will lead "Words & Images: A Generative Collaboration," which is limited to 10 participants.
Robby Moore, an arts extension educator with West Virginia State University Extension Service, will discuss networking strategies and introduce the West Virginia Creative Network. Bobby Rosenstock, owner of Just A Jar Design Press, will teach rubber or linoleum stamp carving and printing.
From 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., painter Harrison Walker will lead a collaborative mural workshop that includes surface preparation tips. Sara Rosenstock, a professor of graphic design and art department chair at Marietta College, will lead a concurrent session on building an authentic brand.
Lunch, provided by Valley Catering, will run from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. Activities during the break will include opportunities to connect with the West Virginia Creative Network, hands-on activities with ArtBeat Studio, bowl glazing for Empty Bowls and conference bag decorating. A self-guided historic district walking tour also is listed on the schedule.
Afternoon workshops will resume from 2 to 3:15 p.m. with a coiled basketry session led by Lauri Reidmiller, an art professor at West Virginia University at Parkersburg.
A concurrent panel will discuss grant readers' perspectives and preparing effective applications. Panelists will include Maribeth Tanner, senior program officer with the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation and Affiliates; Bobby Rosenstock; and Heather Allender, president and CEO of the Marietta Community Foundation.
Haizlett and writer and artist Julie Zickefoose will lead a nature drawing and painting session from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. Zickefoose illustrates her own books with watercolors, including "Saving Jemima," "Baby Birds" and "The Bluebird Effect."
During the same period, Jenna Green will lead a workshop on grant application questions, changes and preparing successful submissions. Green administers arts programs that include state and federal grants for West Virginia arts organizations, individual artists, schools and communities.
After-conference activities will run from 5 to 7:30 p.m., including an opening reception for Allied Artists of West Virginia, "Ki No Kaze: The Art of Bonsai" and "On and Off the Walls: ReStore ReDesign."
The Market will remain open late with free raffles, while appetizers and a cash bar will be available in the gallery. The evening also will include the Meet Me on Market event throughout downtown.