Out to Art at the Mill and 3 Fox Winery
The biannual Art at the Mill art show and sale are about to begin. The show will start on Saturday, September 20 and run until Sunday, October 5,2025. The art delivery day for Sandra McClelland Lewin and I was Saturday, August 30, 12 noon, so off to 15 Tannery Lane, Milwood, Virginia (also called Boyce, VA) we went with art in the back of the SUV.
Art Delivery to the Mill
The day was gorgeous and when art delivery day is so bright, sunny and just cool enough that a sweater or light jacket is needed, well, that certainly makes delivering art all that much sweeter. Barely a cloud in the sky, here are some photos I took Saturday from the Burwell Morgan Mill, which is a live, working mill by the way. They have a grinding schedule up and sell their flours and grains - which is another great reason to visit the mill.
After checking in your art at the far right table and getting your art labels, you unwrap your art at the second table. The volunteers get your labels attached to the artwork and other helpers then take the art off to either be placed upon the walls or off to the top floor.
Art at the Mill juries in about 1000 pieces of artwork and sculpture from about 300 artists. As you can see from the photos, even with stacking the artwork like a puzzle, that is a LOT of art - in all kinds of sizes. So not everything will be up on the walls on the first few days of the show. But online, on about Friday, September 19 - but definitely by Saturday, September 20, ALL of the artwork will be available for sale online. The artwork sold MUST be picked up, they do not ship.
The Online Web Gallery of all the artworks juried in is where you can watch, in nearly real time, what is sold. You can filter the view to find your own works too.
Have a look at what we saw that had already been delivered on Friday and Saturday before we arrived. We saw plenty of "OH WOWs!" And we watched for a few moments as a few of our own pieces were hung. By the way, if you want to see the artwork that the Prince William Art Society members Sandra Lewin, Bettie Sperty, and Mark Clifton, see this blog post on the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog called Art at the Mill Fall Art Show with PWAS
You can see the flight of stairs up to the 4th floor where a lot of art is stored. Once artwork sells, it is immediately taken down and quickly replaced with artwork from upstairs. In the case of art being sold online, the artwork is taken down and stored wrapped up on the main floor, ready for pickup. You can click on any of these photos for a larger image - I do encourage you to do that! Crazy fantastic art to see - and so many creative, sometimes quirky, but awesomely crafted works to see.
Very gradually, I am starting to recognize some of the area artist's work from around the area. Of course, once the show is finalized and the labels are next to each piece, that will help too. Even the arrangement of the art up on the walls now will change over the next couple of weeks.
As the artists deliver their art, they wander the mill to see what else is up. I spotted one of my 'just-delivered' pieces - "Ben's Chili Bowl" (in Washington DC) 16x20 in acrylic, waiting to go up on the walls.
And just below that photo, I watched as the fellow was hanging my painting called "Art Delivery to the Mill" in acrylic 14x14 next to Sandra's "Owl in Oak Tree" 18x24 in acrylic and metallic Gold Ink.
Here's my painting of "Art Delivery to the Mill" because its what today was! For the Spring Art at the Mill, when we delivered art, I was walking around and sitting outside watching all the artists going into the main floor delivering their art and thought what a nice painting that would make. I take a lot of pictures each time I come to the mill show, but I had to take my reference photo. In the Spring, the trees were just starting to fill in.
All the artists delivering their art come there with such hope of a great show, hoping their works will be seen and enjoyed, and perhaps purchased.
The aim is to NOT have to do the art pickup day!
Sandra and I walked down the side of the mill and wondered at the sound of the water rushing down the creek - and how pleasant a sound that would be. What a beautiful view.
The artist reception is on Sunday, September 28 from 2-5pm and we very typically go to that. Its a great time to meet so many other artists from all over Virginia. When we go, the first order of business is to play 'find your art' if it hasn't sold (YET).
We've heard the volunteers say that by the time of the art reception, all the artwork stored upstairs is down and up on the walls by then. The other thing the artists hope for is more beautiful weather during the show, as that brings out the gallery visitors.
We did see Mark Clifton and a friend come in for his art delivery day. This was his first time showing at Art at the Mill.
In theatre, they say "Break a Leg" to wish the actors good luck before a show. Is there an art show saying to wish your fellow artists good fortune for art sales? There should be something...like "May your art fall off the wall" or "Break a canvas". Anyone know of one?
Three Fox Vineyard
The day also included a nice stop at the Three Fox Vineyard & Brewery at 10100 Three Fox Lane, Delaplane, VA - well because, its on the way, AND our fellow artist friend Bettie Sperty has art on display there, AND it was lunch time (great pizza!), AND well, its a WINERY!
We watched at little kids rolled down the hill, as it steadily got busier and busier with folks and their dogs came to enjoy the day.
A good day! There are actually several wineries on the way to Art at the Mill so its a very nice day trip to go out, see some art, stop and have some wine and munchies, so grab a friend and plan a trip out to Milwood!
Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for Donna's Cave Paintings and the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, VA. Donna specializes in acrylic paintings of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art.
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