From 5 - 7 pm on Friday, October 15th an Opening Reception will be held at the Floyd Center for the Arts’ Satellite Gallery at the Hotel Floyd, for a new exhibition featuring four artists. The exhibit will feature paintings by Alexandra Leonetti, pottery by Zenah Orndorff and Emily McKenna-Smith, and jewelry, scarves, journals, and more by Linda Osborne. Everyone is invited for this special evening of the arts, which will be free to all who attend.
Learn More About the Artists
Alexandra Leonetti
Alexandra Leonetti is a painter currently based in Virginia. She is mainly focused on classical realism portraiture, of both man and man's best friend, and still lifes.
Alexandra graduated with a degree in Visual Arts Education from SUNY New Paltz in 2011. She then taught elementary art in Florida for several years until she decided to put her artwork first and foremost. That choice led her to spend two years studying and eventually teaching classical painting at Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy.
She is now working towards an MFA at Radford University.
Zenah Orndorff
Zenah Orndorff started throwing pots in 1992 through the YMCA at Va Tech. A few years later she founded Sinking Creek Pottery, named for the studio’s original creekside location in Giles Co. Now located in Blacksburg, Orndorff uses a variety of clays, glazes, and decorative techniques, to create a diverse collection of stoneware that’s both artistic and functional. Orndorff’s wax-resist patterns, surface textures, and carvings add a little extra flair for pots intended to be enjoyed in everyday life. A staple at Blacksburg’s Steppin’ Out Festival for over 20 years, and found in select stores, Sinking Creek Pottery’s small-batch production has developed a loyal following among residents of the New River Valley and beyond.
Linda Osborne
Linda is a multi media artist whose pieces at The Hotel Floyd represent her work in leather, bookmaking, lamp work beads , jewelry, and silk. In the early 70’s she had a gallery in Florida and made sandals and other leather items. Today she continues with making leather medicine bags, handbags and the occasional vest. Twenty years ago she discovered lamp work beads and melting glass, a fascination that continues today. In 2006 she moved to Floyd and had a gallery in the Jacksonville Center for the Arts displaying her beads and jewelry. Recently eco dying and painting on silk is another of her favorite media to explore, with art-to-wear scarves. The last year has brought a new and interesting art form in the way of book and journal making that allows another journey to begin.
Emily Smith-McKenna
Emily Smith-McKenna first got her hands in clay in 2000, and has been creating useful and artful stoneware in the Blacksburg & Christiansburg, VA areas ever since. Much of her pottery serves as a canvas for natural landscapes, and especially trees and mountain designs inspired by the Blue Ridge mountains. Emily has an affinity for creating handles with sinuous and fluid curves resembling plant and tree branches, similar to sculpted forms seen in metal and wood work. This style is apparent in her vases and casserole dishes. In her spare time she continues her hobby with pottery, living in Christiansburg with her luthier husband.
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