Art notes

From staff reports
Published: July 16, 2008

Lynchburg’s First Baptist Church will host another in its summer Concert Series on July 27.
This is the ninth year that the church has opened its sanctuary for performances by some of the area’s outstanding young musicians, according to Kitty Brubaker, wife of First Baptist’s pastor, the Rev. Robert Brubaker.
Although the setting is a sanctuary — one said to have excellent acoustics, not to mention that the church is on the National Register of Historic Places — these are not religious concerts.
The upcoming concert, scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., features Megan Garber on piano; Noah Grabeel, baritone; Claire Mason, harp; Emily Mason, harp; Rich Maxham, violin; Elizabeth McDowell, piano; Andrew Wassam, saxophone; Taylor Faulkinberry, soprano; and Sarah Will, soprano.
The next concert is slated for Aug. 24.
The concert is free, but donations will be accepted for the Timothy Program Summer Camp, sponsored by Churches for Urban Ministry. The church is located at Court and Eleventh streets. For more information, call (434) 846-1345. 

Quilter’s work on display at SBC
“Rose Window” and 13 other quilts by Lynchburg’s Frances Calhoun will be exhibited in the lobby of the Florence Elston Inn & Conference Center at Sweet Briar College.
The exhibit may be viewed 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Admission is free.
Her work has featured at the annual Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, American Quilter’s Society show, Virginia State Fair, Woodlawn Plantation in Alexandria and other places.
An opening reception will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on July 25. Admission is free, and the public is invited. For more information, contact Pat Hutto, Elston’s manager, at or (434) 381-6266.
If you didn’t know better, you’d think Frances Calhoun’s “Rose Window” was the real thing, somehow lifted from the north transept of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
Instead of stained glass, Calhoun’s work of art was fashioned with black fabric and brilliant Indonesian batik, appliquéd and quilted by hand. Instead of gracing the gables of a famous church, it hangs at the lobby of the Florence Elston Inn & Conference Center at Sweet Briar College.
“Rose Window” and 13 other Calhoun quilts will be exhibited there for the next year. The exhibit may be viewed 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Admission is free.
During the past 35 years, Calhoun has made dozens — possibly hundreds — of quilts of various sizes. Her large, bed-sized quilts take about a year to finish.
She rarely uses a commercial pattern. Her designs often include flowers and birds, some of which are made from eight to 10 pieces of fabric. Just the the tail of one rooster is constructed of 17 pieces.
Her work has featured at the annual Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival, American Quilter’s Society show, Virginia State Fair, Woodlawn Plantation in Alexandria and other places.
Calhoun said she’s never sold one of her quilts.
“I’m not in it as a business,” she said. “I make them because it’s a creative outlet.”
An opening reception will be held 4 to 6 p.m. on July 25. Admission is free, and the public is invited. For more information, contact Pat Hutto, Elston’s manager, at or (434) 381-6266.