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Lynn Andersen drove along a narrow, twisty, tree shrouded gravel road that wound its way along the mountains of Del Rio Tennessee searching for anything that seemed familiar. He was lost.
Lynn had purchased a parcel of land here some years ago, planning to build a vacation home. But the landmarks he had known had changed. In desperation Lynn pulled into a driveway, walked up to the house and knocked door.
Ovaleen Hatch answered his knock and Lynn pleaded, "I own property somewhere around here, but I've lost my way. Can you help me?"
And she did help him. Together they found his property; just over the ridge from hers and they became friends.
When He began taking time off from his job at Lockheed Martin in Florida to come and work at developing his land and building a home Lynn dropped by to visit. Ovaleen, whose husband had been killed on his job as a merchant seaman 2 years earlier, had extra bedrooms in her home and invited Lynn to stay at her home instead of commuting from a Newport motel each day, and they became good friends.
Ovaleen's Father, who lived in Florida became ill so she she sold her home and went to care for him. It turns out that this was quite close to where Lynn worked and they began dating. In June of 2000 they were married.
Ovaleen's Father passed away in February of 2003 and she and Lynn, now retired, moved into the newly built home on what they now called "Honeymoon Acres". The long gravel drive that leads to the house was named "Lost My Way" in honor of their first meeting.
With both of them retired, and accustomed to Florida's milder winters, they needed something to occupy their time indoors during the chillier
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Tennessee winter.
Ovaleen saw a river rock painted like a raccoon at a craft show and was fascinated. Determined to learn to do this, and without any painting experience or classes, Ovaleen set about teaching herself to paint life-like critters and landscapes on river rocks.
It took a lot of persistence (and paint). "I just kept starting over until I got it right." Says Ovaleen, "When I got those to look the way I wanted, I graduated to more intricate scenes on canvass, and now I'm dabbling with pen and ink drawings."
Blessed with a natural talent for the work, her paintings are now gracing the walls - and floors - of homes all over the nation.
Lynn's talents ran along another vein. He decided to combine his engineer's penchant for accuracy, an eye for form and a life long love for the feel and look of wood. He started by turning bowls. When he got the hang of that, he began making bandsawn boxes as well. One of his more popular items is a jewelry box shaped like a butterfly, made from a solid block of hardwood. It features four drawers lined with flocking to protect their contents. It is unique, and elegant, yet Appalachian all at once.
Most folks are amazed that both Lynn and Ovaleen are self taught, and that they've been practicing their crafts for less than 5 years. Normally it takes many years to get to their level of skill.
Together they are "Honey-Do Crafts" and their products are available through the Treasures Of Appalachia gallery in Cosby, the Treasures web site, and Rapid Descent River Company in Hartford or you may contact them directly at (423) 487-5046.
Treasures of Appalachia, at 3892 Hwy 321 in Cosby, is a quality Art & Craft Gallery that offers the works of
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The hand turned cedar bowl
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The Andersen's: Lynn & Ovaleen
The butterfly is a knick-nack box
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46 Cocke County artisans. Everything in the store is locally made, and hand crafted. They also host monthly Art & Craft Gatherings that are open to all artists, crafters, performers and food vendors. You may reach the gallery at (423) 487
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-3111 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day except Wednesday and Sunday. Or you may contact Len and Varena Landrum at (423) 487-5448 or Doug & Marie Bittinger at (423) 623-9692 or log onto www.TreasuresOfAppalachia.com.
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Photos added in place of an advertisement
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Click the thumbnails for a closer look
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