Woodturner Engstrom speaks with club
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ELKINS – Woodturner and artisan Dan Engstrom, president of Artists at Work, spoke with the Rotary Club of Elkins recently.
Artists at Work was founded in 1993 and currently represents 24 local artists.
"This is our 33rd year and for art cooperatives that is gigantic longevity. Many art cooperatives last between five and ten years," said Engstrom. Five artists established Artists at Work and by the end of its first year, the group had grown to twenty. Every item found at Artists at Work is handmade.
"There is nothing that we buy that we resale unless it's a book. All items are handmade or written by somebody who lives within about 35 miles of here," added Engstrom.
The cooperative features a wide variety of arts and crafts.
"We have three potters, we have two photographers, one woodturner [Engstrom], seven people who do painting, some in watercolor, some in acrylic, and some in oil. We have one person who does leatherwork and we have one person who does pysanky eggs. Those are the Ukrainian eggs that are dyed. She just started about three months ago and there is a sign other by her booth that describes how she makes the eggs. She had a couple now that are ostrich eggs," said Engstrom.
Engstrom is currently crafting pens and bottle openers for Davis & Elkins College from the salvaged McDonnell Center gym floor wood.
Additionally, there is a person who makes instruments, one person who does felt work and six jewelers. The jewelers do silverwork, copperwork and one person who does beaded jewelry. There are three people doing different types of fabrics and textiles, and one person who creates bath and beauty works like soaps and things that are made out of tallow.
"Tallow is beef fat that she boils down and makes all these products and they are absolutely amazing," added Engstrom.
The cooperative includes six authors. They started carrying books when the local bookstore went out of business, wanting to continue to recognize local authors.
"They write things that are sci-fi, horror, history of log cabins, nature and beauty, romance books and history of West Virginia," said Engstrom.
Artisans who wish to join Artists at Work must submit to a juried process. They must complete an application, followed by a review of their work and a conversation with Engstrom.
"We do not accept work that has been reproduced. We do not accept work that is not original design," said Engstrom. The prospective member then goes through a preliminary juried process with artists in their expertise. If that process is successful, the prospective member then advances to a full juried process with the entire membership.
Artists can join Artists at Work as a full member, holding an equal share of ownership in the cooperative with the other members or, if they are aspiring or beginning artists, there is a mechanism that allows them to join the cooperative as an "emerging artist."
"Those individuals are given a reduced cost on their booth, we assign them a mentor, we help them design their booth because maybe they've never done that before, we help them design business cards. Then we have a three-month trial period," said Engstrom.
After the three-month trial period, the emerging artist can decide if they want to stay. If they want to stay, the whole membership of the cooperative must vote to accept them.
The current Artists at Work location has space for two more artists.
"I would love to get 10 more artists, but we only have two more spaces left. So, we are looking for a weaver. We would love to have somebody who does weaving. We don't have anybody who does blacksmithing or any kind of metal work, besides jewelry. We would love to get some more people doing woodwork. We also don't have anybody who does stained glass work or makes any kind of baskets," said Engstrom.
Anyone who creates these types of arts, or who knows of someone who works in those mediums, is encouraged to reach out to Engstrom at info@artistsatworkwv.com.
With his background in education, Engstrom is interested in defining the trends associated with Artists at Work's clientele.
The cooperative is hoping to offer simple workshops for community members and to present Q&A sessions with the members at the gallery for the public. They are also planning an event to celebrate the cumulative number of years of experience of all the members of Artists at Work.
More information about Artists at Work, located at 329 Davis Avenue (beside Old Brick Playhouse), including artisan biographies, available items and operating hours can be found at https://www.artistsatworkwv.com/. Additional information can be found on Facebook (Artists at Work) or by calling 304-637-6309.
Rotary is a global network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders and problem-solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change - across the globe, in their communities, and in themselves. Visit www.Rotary.org to learn more about Rotary International, visit the club's Facebook page - Rotary Club of Elkins – or contact 2026-2027 club president Karen Wilmoth at wilmothk@gmail.com for more information about the Rotary Club of Elkins.