A textile depiction of a familiar regional sight earned top honors at this year’s Rock Spring Art Show at Virginia Tech’s Reynolds Homestead.

Karen Towns received Best in Show for "Tobacco Barn," which also took first place in the textiles category. The Best in Show award was sponsored by Calliope, Circus of the Arts.

The Rock Spring Art Show is one of the Reynolds Homestead’s longstanding opportunities to support and showcase the region’s creative community. The historic Virginia Tech property serves Patrick County and surrounding communities as a center for cultural programming, lifelong learning, and community engagement.

Reynolds Homestead and Bull Mountain Arts celebrated the artists and announced this year’s winners during the show’s opening reception and awards ceremony Sept. 11 at the Reynolds Homestead Community Engagement Center in Critz.

The annual exhibition brings together artists from the region and showcases work across a variety of media, from traditional oil, acrylic, and watercolor paintings to textiles, glass, drawing, and mixed-media pieces.

“The Rock Spring Art Show gives us an opportunity to celebrate the creativity of artists across our region and to bring people together around their work,” said Julie Walters Steele, director of the Reynolds Homestead. “Supporting local and regional artists is an important part of the Reynolds Homestead’s role as a place for community connection, learning, and cultural experiences.”

In addition to Towns’ Best in Show recognition, two works received special community awards. Bull Mountain Arts selected Susan Huskey’s watercolor "Sun Rising – October 8th," which also earned first place in the watercolor category. Reynolds Homestead selected Leslie Marsh’s "Reynolds Homestead Rug," which placed third in textiles.

First-place awards across the show’s categories went to Donald Towns for "Wagon Iron" in oil painting; Mavel Vinova for "Muse Me!" in acrylic painting; Huskey for "Sun Rising – October 8th" in watercolor; Linda Park for "Trumpet Vine" in drawing; Jan Atkins for "No Child’s Play" in 2D mixed media; Karen Eggleston for "Swan Egg 'Treasures'" in 3D art; Karen Towns for "Tobacco Barn" in textiles; and Steve Eanes for "Then and Now" in glass.

Second- and third-place honors and honorable mentions recognized additional artists from throughout the region, reflecting the range of styles, subjects, and materials represented in this year’s exhibition. Click here to see a full list of winners.

The exhibition remains on view through Oct. 31. 

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