The Wayne C. Henderson School of Appalachian Arts is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from our historic venue; a fellow relic of Smyth County's rich history perched atop a hill in our backyard. When curious tourists and local passers-by pop into our gift shop inquiring about the arts scene in the quaint town of Marion, Virginia, they are immediately pointed to The Henderson, a 1908 schoolhouse that now serves as a hub for the arts in our community.
The Henderson hosts some of the region's most prolific creatives for workshops and expositions. Teachers are celebrated and seasoned in their crafts, and possess an overarching passion for sharing their love of the arts with their community. The school welcomes artists of all levels of skill and interest with the intent of preserving, sharing, and expanding the full wealth of Appalachian creative traditions.
Among these programs are guitar-building workshops hosted by Wayne C. Henderson, quilting workshops, watercolor and pottery classes, jam sessions, poetry workshops, and letterpress printing at The Burke Print Shop. Executive director of The Henderson and multi-talented creative Catherine Schrenker regularly displays her work at Lola's at The Lincoln, including bright floral watercolors, quirky cards, and bold letterpress prints.
What is a cranky?
A cranky is a storytelling machine– a gadget designed to guide the viewer through a cycle of images on a scroll, often accompanied by song or oration. The Appalachian cranky can be traced back to the days of isolated life in the holler both before and in the dawn of television. See the video below to learn more about the Cranky and Catherine Shrenker's Cranky Project.
The Devil's Nine Questions
The Devil's Nine Questions is a series of letterpress prints inspired by a ballad of the same name written and performed by Texas Gladden in the 1950s. Gladden was a beloved native of Saltville, Virginia whose contributions to the tapestry of Appalachian folk music cannot be understated. The song was cemented into history as a quintessential piece of Appalachian music and folklore by ethnomusicologist, Alan Lomax, who published this song among others by Texas Gladden in Ballad Legacy, a compilation of lullabies, stories, and folk songs. Lomax declared Texas Gladden “one of the best American ballad singers ever recorded.”
The origin of the set of riddles that inspired the ballad is difficult to track down, but remnants of The Devil's Nine Questions are believed to have traveled from across the Atlantic in England to the middle Appalachians.
The ballad is a question-and-answer song featuring nine riddles. The devil challenges a young woman ("the weaver's bonny") who has done something that means her soul belongs to him; if she can answer all nine of his questions, then her soul will belong to God once again, and she will be saved. If she can't answer, then she'll be damned.
You can find a wide array of prints from the Appalachian Cranky Project for sale at Lola's at The Lincoln.
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