Instructor Joyce Huizinga, of Dempolis, helps Chair Caning participant with her project.  These participants are each caning special family heirloom chairs - Jean (far left) is working on her grandmother's kitchen chair and Sherre (far right) is working on her husband's childhood ladder back chair.  Treasured pieces are being given new life while these participants learn a "new" art!

Melissa works on a footstool while watching other participants at work on their projects.

"I had so much fun getting messy with the clay at the class. I really learned a lot about pottery making. I really love my bowl that I made to put my favorite jewelry in." -Laura Grace Creswell

A Perfect Life

Birmingham attorney Mike Stewart is the author of three acclaimed mystery novels - Sins of the brother, Dog Island, and A Clean Kill. A native of Vrendenburgh, a small Black Belt sawmill town, he grew up exploring the woods, rivers, creeks, and seahores of the Deep South that now play a central role in his fiction.

A Perfect Life is an intriguing mystery set in Boston, MA and Birmingham, AL. Central character Scott Thomas doesn't know it, but he has been chosen. Not because he's handsome, smart, or on the verge of becoming a brilliant clinical psychologist trained at Harvard. No, Scott has been chosen because he has the perfect life - for someone who needs a life to destroy...

Scott has a choice to make: to take back his life from those who are trying to destroy him - or die trying!

Nature loving Rosie Floyd, from Greenville, Alabama, creates her pottery in her barn workshop.  Her face vases, pictured here, are designed to be unique reflections of her personality.  One of her favorite techniques is her "leather collection" pieces that are textured to mimic leather both in look and feel.

Frankie Dailey was a self-taught artist from Camden, Alabama, who had no special training. One would never know that when they saw her beautifully delicate clay art.

Her beautiful angels and majestic crosses were created from two types of white clay: Alabama and Kentucky. These creations took time to complete, depending upon the size and details of each peice. Some of her angels and crosses were fired in a kiln, giving them a shiny, glazed look. Others were unfired, which is known as bisque pottery, and have a more natural, matte finish. These bisque pieces were extremely delicate and fragile. "Seeing that others appreciate the work that I do, " Frankie said, was the most rewarding aspect of creating art.

Miss Frankie passed away recently but her artistic legacy lives on with her family.  Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren continue to craft Miss Frankie's angels and crosses. Great-granddaughter Lauren Dailey, who works part-time in our Black Belt Treasures Gallery, recalls Miss Frankie saying, "Oh, gosh!" - and we can imagine that would be her response to being a featured artist on our web site!

Black Belt Treasures is one of Alabama’s beauty spots and it is surely one of my favorites. Thanks to you and the group who helped to bring this about.

Please accept my warmest thank you for your awesome hospitality to the several groups I have asked you to host.  They have all enjoyed the local history and wonderful background information on the artists. It was quite an honor for my guests to purchase an Alabama treasure there at Black Belt Treasures.

Again, my sincere gratitude to you and your staff. - Alma M. Lett, Evergreen, Alabama