Buy your "Support the Arts" license plate!
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Marion County Arts Trail
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Have you ever heard the old saying, “Great things come in small packages”?
Come spend the day on the Marion County Arts Trail and enjoy meeting new friends
and neighbors and seeing wonderful, unique artistic sights in the relaxing, down-home
atmosphere of the small towns of this rural northwest Alabama county.
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Click map for a larger view.
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Marion County Arts Trail Stop #1:
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Jerry Brown Pottery
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Come visit ninth-generation potter Jerry Brown, and of course, his sidekick, Blue the Mule!
Watch Jerry throw his world-famous face jugs, watch Blue mix the clay! See the only known
operational mule-powered pug mill in the United States and his famous groundhog kiln!
Brown, whose pottery pieces are currently exhibited in the National Museum of History in
Washington, D.C., was selected in 1992 as a recipient of the National Heritage Fellowship, and
in 2003 he was honored by the Alabama State Council on the Arts with the Alabama Heritage Award.
And if you plan your trip in the early spring, you might catch a glimpse of Jerry, and his wife,
Sandra’s purple martins! They usually have over 200 martins “living” at the pottery shop during
early spring.
Jerry Brown Pottery
166 Boyett Drive
Hamilton, AL 35570
(205) 921-9483
Web site:
www.jerrybrownpottery.com
E-mail address:
pottery79@yahoo.com
Studio hours: Monday through Saturday,
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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Courtesy: Alabama Department of Tourism
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Marion County Arts Trail Stop #2:
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Organic Vessels Studio & Gallery
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Opening in December, 2009, gourd artist extraordinaire Missy Miles’ Organic Vessels
Studio & Gallery will leave you asking, “How did she do that?” “Is that really a gourd?”
Miles began her work with gourds in February of 2005. She carves, sculpts, and paints all
shapes and sizes of gourds to make them unique and unlike anything you can buy in a “regular”
store. She designs everything from hippy gourds to tribute pieces and lots of things in between.
Although relatively new to the gourd art world, Miles has been honored with multiple awards at
juried shows through the state. She is the 2008 “Gourd Queen” for the Alabama Gourd Society.
She also received the honor of “Artist’s Choice” from her peers at the 2008 and 2009 Jerry Brown
Arts Festival and the 2008 Fayette Arts Festival.
Also, Miles is a wonderful mural artist. But, that is the next stop on your Marion County Arts Trail.
Organic Vessels Studio & Gallery
1445 Jimmy Brown Road
Hamilton, AL 35570
(205) 921-1193 – shop
Web site:
www.organicvessels.com
E-mail address:missy@organicvessels.com
Studio hours: By appointment only
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Marion County Arts Trail Stop #3:
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Guin – Mural City
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Downtown Guin, Alabama has been known for years as the small Northwest Alabama town
which suffered great devastation in the “Super Tornado Outbreak” of April 3 and 4, 1974.
However, where there was once death and destruction now stands beauty and grace.
With the goal of being known as “Mural City,” the City of Guin, its businesses, and its citizens
have commissioned artist Missy Miles to complete seven murals in its downtown area. Three of the
seven are now complete. The fourth mural depicting the history of Guin is set to begin soon.
City of Guin
P. O. Box 249
7400 U.S. Highway 43
Guin, AL 35563
(205) 468-2242
Web site:
www.guinal.org
E-mail address:cityhall@guinal.org
Studio hours: Viewable 24 hours a day
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"The Arches"
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"Marion County Banking Company - 1903"
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"Freedom Eagle"
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Marion County Arts Trail Stop #4:
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The Quilt Cottage
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Opened in September 2009, The Quilt Cottage, owned and operated by the Car Nut Club, Inc., this cottage displays
quilts made by the museum’s quilt guild members and antique quilts dating back to the early 1900s. In this informal
setting quilt guild members will let you pull up your chair and stitch a stitch or two on their current work of art!
One of the goals of the guild is to share this dying art form with new generations in hopes of rejuvenating interest
in this age-old form of art.
The Quilt Cottage is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Membership in the quilt guild is $15 per family.
The Quilt Cottage
1969 County Highway 52
Guin, AL 35563
(205) 495-8604
E-mail address:
carnutclub@gmail.com
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Marion County Arts Trail Stop #5:
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The Pastime Theatre
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Step back to the grandeur of theatres of the 1930s, ‘40s, and ‘50s in the recently-renovated
Pastime Theatre in downtown Winfield. This beautiful facility’s renovations were very carefully
conducted in order to maintain the original art deco.
Today the Pastime Theatre is owned by the City of Winfield and operated by a seven-member board appointed by the City Council
The theatre provides a wonderful venue for educational, cultural, and artistic performances and events.
Pastime Theatre
1052 U.S. Highway 43
Winfield, AL 35594
(205) 487-3002
Web site:
www.pastimetheater.com
E-mail address:
cityclerk@dlis.net
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Theatre tours offered by appointment.
For a schedule of events, please check the website listed above.
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Marion County Arts Trail Stop #6:
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Lou Weeks Carter Studio
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In 1957, Lou Weeks Carter began her self-education into the world of art by copying pictures and
learning colors. Some fifty-plus years later, her beautiful works hang in homes and businesses
throughout the United States. This lady made up her mind early on – no watercolors or crayons
for her – oil was what she wanted on the end of her paintbrush to make her thoughts and images
come to life.
Mrs. Carter does not have one subject which she calls her favorite; she enjoys all types of
subjects such as flowers, fruits, and landscapes. She is also well known for her wonderful
children's portraits. As part of her 52 years of painting, Mrs. Carter has competed in juried
arts festivals throughout the country and going as far west as Colorado and Arizona, and winning
numerous awards, ribbons, and certificates. She has won Best in Show at the West Alabama Arts
Association Art Show, where she remains a member of that organization.
With her skills greatly honed, Mrs. Carter is now a dedicated art instructor in her hometown of
Winfield, Alabama where she uses her studio/gallery as inspiration to her students. There she
teaches persons of all ages who want to learn the art of painting. She has taught hundreds of
students throughout the years, and continues at the age of 82 to do what she enjoys so much – painting
and teaching.
Lou Weeks Carter Studio
234 Ashwood Drive
Winfield, AL 35594
(205) 487-2193
Studio hours: Please call for appointment.
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