The Hinton Record, Hinton, Oklahoma, Wednesday, November 8, 2006, page 1.
Virginia Kay White with the mural she painted for Tony Mora and his wife Phyliss. The mural is on the side of a shed Mora had built on his property and is a conposition of several different views of Phantom Canyon Ranch behind the Hollis home.
Photo by Jim McCain, Hinton, Oklahoma.
Canyon Spirit Medicine by Virginia Kay White 10-23-2006
My husband, Michael White introduced me to Jim and Amanda Hollis and the “canyon”, when their daughter, Jennifer was about six months old. Over the years, I have had occasion to wander the red rock hills around the canyon where they live, which is one canyon over from Red Rock Canyon State Park. On their property is a view of a sort of plateau that reaches toward the sky up behind their house, which has caught my attention on more than one occasion. It always felt like a powerful place to me and I have tried to emulate that mountain in a couple of things I have done over the years. I carry it’s presence with me.
To my surprise while I was in Hinton for the Arts and Crafts Festival, Tony Mora approached me to do a painting on the side of a new shed he had built on his property and we made an agreement as to the cost and it was later the next day when he came to Phantom Canyon Ranch to discuss what he wanted on his painting. As soon as he mentioned this place he had found behind the Hollis home I knew exactly where he was talking about. Before I left Hinton I went for a hike and took some pictures around the ranch and before I started to paint the wall I showed them to Tony to make sure we were on the same track. He said it made the hair stand up on his neck as soon as he saw it…I thought we were on the same track. Working on this project was a pleasure for me…I listened to Indian flute music and was carried back to the special places in the canyon as I painted. The painting is a composition of several different views on the ranch.
Tony wanted a place for him and his wife Phyllis to sit, and enjoy a view of this special place together…and perhaps with passers by also…
The Mena Star, Mena Arkansas, Thursday, October 19, 2006. White wins at Hinton Art Festival
Photo by Kitty Ogburn, OKC, OK
A really big smile is on the face of Virginia Kay White, SouthWest Artist member from Big Fork after recieving "Second Place", with a cash prize of $60 at the "Hinton Art Festival" in Hinton, Oklahoma. White recieved this award for her feather carved from a red cedar bark slab. aathis piece also won her "3D Best of Show" this past year in the Henderson State University Competetitive Art Exhibition, which also paid $150. White remarks it has been a very successful piece, she has won $210 with it so far and it is still hers. White was redently SouthWest Artists' "Artist of the Month" in September and she recieved a "Studio Art" degree from Henderson State University last May. Her work can be seen on-line at HYPERLINK "http://www.vkwhite.com" www.vkwhite.com. She also has work displayed and for sale at the "W.A.T.C.H. Clinic", 1201 Mena Street and "Betty's Therapeutic Touch, 601 Maple Avenue, Mena.
The Hinton Record, Hinton, Oklahoma, Wednesday, October11, 2006. Small Town Weekend Update by Jim McCain.
The weather was gorgeous as Hinton held it's Small Town Weekend event this past Saturday, Oct. 7. The 27th annual Arts & Crafts Festival opened it's doors at 9 a.m. and drew a good crowd to purchase to make it a good show.
Awards were given to the top 3 in the arts and crafts categories plus various merit and honorable mention awards. In the Art category, 1st place and $75 went to Ed Helm of Weatherford with a beautiful black pottery piece; 2nd and $60 went to Virginia Kay White of Big Fork, Ark, for a large hand carved cedar feather sculpture;...
...Virginia Kay White made a return visit to Hinton to be a participant in my show and was well recieved as she had on exhibit many of her sculptures including the award-winning hand-carved cedar feather sculpture "In Flight," which won her 2nd place award in this show. She also brought the "Phantom Canyon Man" sculpture and many other sculptures, paintings, and carvings. Hers was a very popular booth as she had some very interesting works on display. Your attendance was much appreciated and we hope you enjoyed the show..
.
Photo by Kitty Ogburn, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
SouthWest artist Virginia Kay White offers a variety of mediums
Virginia Kay White of Big Fork is the SouthWest Artist Gallery "artist of the month". White is a native of Oklahoma. As a young girl, she and her family spent much time in the hills of Arkansas. Drawn by her memories of the water and the woods, she moved to Arkansas in the early 1980's.
"My husband Michael and I bought a home close to Big Fork Creek, and I find inspiration all around me.," White said. "I have made art all my life but in the year 2000, my husband recieved his 100% disability from the VA. As a result the VA offered to pay me to go to college. It has been a wonderful opportunity for me. I have had an incredible 5 years learning all kinds of things I had wondered about...and things I had never imagined. I recieved my BFA in 'studio art" last May. My favorite thing to play with is sculpture. I have had fun exploring different mediums, wood, metal casting and fabrication. I love to get my hands in clay...but I still have to get my kiln up and running before I can do more of that. I also liked learning different techniques of printmaking and painting,"
"I am very pleased to have this opportunity to show a portion of my work here at SouthWest Artist's Gallery in Mena," she added, "I look forward to getting to know the other members and guest artist and seeing their work."
White's work will be featured at the gallery through the month of September -- inconjunction with the Irene Mary Reisig Invitational Showing from Sept 3 - Oct 16. A reception will be held at SouthWeat Artist Gallery on Sunday, Sept. 3, from 1 to 4 p.m. Everyone is invited.
The Mena Star, Mena, Arkansas, Thursday, August 31,2006.
SWA presents two art collections
SouthWest Artist will be presenting the work of two outstanding artists starting Sept. 1 and running through Oct 15. Regional artist Irene Mary reisig is presenting a special six-week invitational showing of her landscape oils and American Indian charcoal sketches, and Virginia Kay White of Big Fork will offer her award winning sculptures and etching prints. There will be a special reception held, Sunday, Sept. 3, from 1-4p.m. SouthWest Artists invites everyone to attend -- to view and enjoy the very special talent of the exceptional artists.
The Hinton Record, Hinton, Oklahoma, August 9, 2006, Spirit Whispers: The life and art of Virginia Kay White by Jim McCain.
Place clay, ceramic, wood, metal or just about any media in the hands of Virginia Kay White and they all become works of art. White is Hinton's newest temporary artist-in-residence. White, at age 54, is wife, mother, grandmother and most amazingly, a May 2006 graduate of Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark.
Jim and Amanda Hollis of Hinton recently introduced me to White and I heard her story and viewed some of her past works of art. For the past few weeks, she has been hidden in the canyons of Hollis' Phantom Canyon Ranch, working diligently on a long-horn skull carved into a red sandstone cliff behind Jim and Amanda's home. White says she recently visited Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument in South Dakota and recieved her inspiration for this work from that visit. Having been friends with the Hollises for years, she contacted them about her idea and they came up with the longhorn which is the trademark insignia for "Phantom Canyon Ranch."
Upon completetion of that project , she began a metal sculpture that will serve as a memorial to the 2000-year old skeleton which eroded out of a red dirt bank on their property in 2003. Jim and Amanda had long ago planned a sculpture to honor the spirit of the ancient people who dwelled in the canyon thousands of years ago. They commisioned White for this work and as you see in the picture, it is truly a magnificent and beautiful tribute to the "spirit" of these people. The sculpture of "Phantom Canyon Man" will eventually be placed at the burial site on the Hollis property.
White is described by Joe Phelps, staff writer of The Oracle, the Henderson State newspaper as a "non-traditional student" with a mixture of heritage in her blood: Cherokee, English, Black Dutch and Spanish. Graduating in 1969 makes her a youth of the hippie generation. Speaking about her talents, White says, "Art has been a positive force in my life since childhood. My times of greatest pleasure are working on art projects. Once an idea is concieved, I feel driven to complete the project. There is no thought of sleep and I love every minute of it! It is like the most vibrant part of my life, when I am truly alive! A communion with 'the Great Spirit'...when we become co-creators."
The moment that brought purpose into her life was a day when things weren't going too well and she was hiking near an old bridge, she found two feathers, one from an eagle and the other most likely from the eagle's breakfast. Finding those feathers at that time touched her soul. She stated, "All I could do was raise my hands and weep. It was knowing that the "Great Spirit" was with me! I didn't feel alone any longer and everything was going to be ok. It was a life changing experience for me, a symbol of freedom. Something that I can't explain. Something that is mine."
The experience that day drove her to sculpt a large red cedar feather named "In Flight" that won her 3D "Best of Show" award at the 2006 student art competition. The feather is seen as a theme in several of her works. Her artwork has been displayed in several art shows back at home and she has a home studio in Big Fork.
White says her life has been a journey of exploring different mediums of art and finding different ways to express the gift so graciously given to her. One of her goals in life is simply to help people. "Whatever they need. Whatever I've got. Whatever I can do! God brings whatever you are ready for, He'll bring it into your life."
She says of her life, "It is with a grateful heart that I welcome each new day. Another day to play, explore and listen...for spirit whispers."
the Oracle, Henderson State University, April 24, 2006, Meet Virginia - grandmother and grauating art student, by Joe Phelps, staff writer.
She pulls the shades open for a little sunshine as she welcomes me into her Pioneer Inn motel room. Her voice is just as mellow as her mood -- it seems as though nothing in the world could stress her. She laughs as I tell her to relax and take as much time as she needs for the questions I ask her.
Virginia Kay White is a non-traditional student with a mixture of heritage in her blood: Cherokee Indian, English, Black Dutch and Spanish. White graduated high school in 1969, which made her a youth of the hippie generation.
In 1983 White moved from Oklahoma to a little town east of Mena called Big Fork, Arkansas. Big Fork is a one-horse community with a graffiti-painted grocery store the locals jokingly call the Big Fork Mall. The drive to and from Big Fork would take three hours of White's school day had she not decided to get a motel room in Arkadelphia.
This year has been the first for her to drop the three-hour commute and stay three nights a week in Arkadelphia.
The senior studio art major had her first art lesson paid for by her father. There she learned the fundamentals of art: the color wheel, perspective ansd shading. She started college when she was younger but decided to be a stay at home mom.
White was introduced to clay sculpture when she took her first clay class at Rich Mountain Community College in Mena, Arkansas.
While in the midst of a move about fifteen years ago, she ran away from home on a hot summer day. After After checking up on things at home and having her car break down, she decided to take a hike. She found an eagle's feather on an old bride along with a smaller feather which was presumably the eagle's breakfast.
"All I could do was cry," says White. "It was a knowing that the Great Spirit was with me. I didn't feel alone and felt everything was going to be okay. It was a life changing experience. It was a symbol of freedom. Something I can't explain. Something that was mine."
The experience drove her to sculpt a huge red cecdar that she named "In Flight." The piece won her $150 for 3D Best of Show in the 2006 student art competition.
"My husband said I can pay for my chiropractor bill," White jokes. "But art money equals art supplies."
White started Henderson when she was 50. Like whiskey, some things get better with age. "I'll be 55 in October," White says. She has two children of her own and one step-son along with a total of six grandchildren.
"My brother told me I might actually graduate college before I draw social security," White jokes. "That's just a big brother for you."
Her sculpture professor Mac Hornecker has influnced her work.
"The first day of class he had all of these library books," White says. "He just exposed us to so much. I think he is way cool."
Although her empassis is in 3D art, she has recently taken up drawing and painting for fun.
White is set to graduate in May. She looks forward to being able to make her work without the every day worry of class and studying. She plans to market her work over the Intenet.
"I think I have some things some people might want," White says. "I've met some really cool people --- especially teachers. It's all about building a family and spreading out."
Her artwork has been displayed in the Women's History art show in the library with other artist. Her senior art show will be in the Huie Library from April 26 until May 4 with an opening reception on the first day.
Other things White is interested in is music. She plays tamborine, guitar and has recently taken to learning how to play a dulcimer her father-in-law built for her. On weekends she gets together with neighbors and friends and does a little "porch pickin'" as they call it.
White's goals in life have beena nd still are to help people: "What ever they need," White says. "Whatever I've got. Whatever I can do."
White's story proves that college isn't a place to go for four years so you can get a good job with good pay when you are older. Her experience at college has taught her to make something great even greater. She has taken the talent she has and sharpened it to a razor's edge.
"God brings whatever you are ready for," White says. "He'll bring it into your life."
Ardmorite.com, Ardmore, Oklahoma, Artist with Healdton ties featured in show
Someone's grandmother is a senior studio art major at Henderson State University.
After returning to pursue some college classes at the tender age of 50, Virginia Kay White, daughter of Howard Stewart and Louise and Roland Griffin of Healdton, is nearing graduation and ready to share her artistic explorations with the rest of the world. The show is a collection of her best works in several different media, but with an emphasis on sculpture.
The public is invited to a reception from 2 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday on the second floor of Henderson's Huie Library, 1100 Henderson St., Arkadelphia Ark. Her show will be up until May 5.
White's interest in sculpture began in clay class at Rich Mountain Community College, in Mena, Ark. Ceramics led to other explorations in sculpture with castings in aluminum and bronze.
Using different approaches, she cast molds of her face and other objects in metal and clay. She also explored the form of the feather in several mediums. A large feather carved from a cedar slab recently won "3-D Best of Show" in the Henderson Competative Student Art Exhibition, 2006.
White's plans after graduation start at her home studio in Big Fork. For those who don't know, Big Fork is 20 miles east of Mena on Highway 8 with one small store lovingly called the "Big Fork Mall." White and her husband, Michael, have called Big Fork home since 1985.
Mena Star, Mena, Arkansas, Grandma graduates with art Show.
Someone's grandmother is a senior Studio Art Major at Henderson State University. After returning to pursue some college classes at the tender age of 50, Virginia Kay White is nearing graduation and ready to share her artistic explorations with the rest of the world. The show is a collection of her best works in several different media, but with an emphasis on sculpture.
The public is invited to a reception Wednesday, April 26, 2-4 p.m. on the second floor of Henderson's Huie Library, 1100 Henderson Street, in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Her show will be up until May 5.
White's interest in sculpture began in clay class at Rich Mountain Community College, Ms. Sandra McMaster, instructor. Ceramics led to other explorations in sculpture with castings in aluminum and bronze. Using different approaches, she cast molds of her face and other objects in metal and clay. She also explored the form of the feather in several mediums. A large feather carved from a cedar slab recently won "3-D Best of Show" in the Henderson Competative Student Art Exhibition, 2006.
White's plans after graduation start at her home studio in Big Fork. White has called this place home since 1985, along with her husband Michael.