Meet two of the nominees for 2024 Arts & Humanities Commission awards

Mar. 23—EDITOR'S NOTE — This is the third in a series of articles highlighting the 2024 individuals who will be honored in April by the Fairmont Arts and Humanities Commission.

Media artist and educator Jared Tadlock is one of the 10 area residents who will be honored next month by the Fairmont Arts & Humanities Commission his contribution to the arts in Fairmont. The nominees will be honored April 14 at 3 p.m. in a celebration at Central Christian Church, 1640 Big Tree Dr., Fairmont.

In 2016, Tadlock received a bachelor of fine arts in photography from Fort Hays State University and two years later, completed a master of fine arts in intermedia study from Fort Hays. After graduation, Tadlock and his wife Megan moved to Fairmont where from 2018-22 he was the lead photographer and videographer at Fairmont State University. Then, he transitioned into the academic side of the Locust Avenue campus and now serves as assistant professor of graphic design in the Department of Architecture, Art & Design.

With a background in commercial and landscape photography, Tadlock's client list includes Fortune 500 companies such as Veuve Clicquot and Infiniti Automotive. Paying homage to his street art roots, he strives to blend texture and color in fresh and inventive ways through traditional photography and mixed media pieces. Gathering inspiration from the road, he can often be found exploring the country alongside his wife and two dogs in their camper van.

Recently he has opened Two/Two/Eight, an art gallery and event venue located in downtown Fairmont. In the few short months that Two/Two/Eight has operated, it has hosted a variety of events including art markets, juried exhibitions, live music, poetry readings and more. He hopes the gallery can continue to help bolster the growing creative scene in North Central West Virginia.

Framing artist Donetta Gillespie will also be honored April 14.

Born and raised in Bellview, Donetta graduated from Fairmont Senior High, attended West Virginia Career College and Fairmont State College where she majored in accounting. After a few years of working for a couple of businesses followed by a time-out to raise her daughters, Gillespie returned to work, until one wintry day in 1967 when she slipped on ice and broke an arm. It was an unhappy event except, once her arm was healed, it led her to a new career as a picture framer with S & M Glass.

She quickly realized the job would require her daughters to re-teach her fractions and how to read a tape measure. But beyond that, she got only a week's training by a former framer, then she was on her own to learn the profession from magazines, videos and other artwork. And soon, framing became her passion! And so, during the COVID year of 2020 when Bob Martin decided to close S & M Glass, Gillespie asked him if she could purchase the framing equipment and supplies, which enabled her, at the age of 62 to create her still thriving business, Framed Memories by Donetta. It's housed on Race Street in East Side.

Her body of work includes framing a tapestry for then-President Trump, a turkey print for a West Virginia governor, auto parts for a senator's brother, local matriarch Thelma Shaw's wedding dress as well as stoic formal frames at the courthouse of past and present judges.

Even more memorable are the frames Gillespie has created for a small section of the Fairmont State basketball court floor given to Joe Retton when he retired, a tapestry on display at the VA hospital, a 10-foot snakeskin. a tiny mouse skull, a bony shark mouth and a turkey tail, not to mention flattened beachballs, unflattened baseballs and gloves, sports jerseys, baby clothes and toys, 200-year-old needlepoint pieces, Civil War and golf course flags and many certificates and thousands of family photos and diplomas.

Most of these items are irreplaceable to the owners, and all have a story. She has also framed the photos mounted on the Arts & Humanities Commission's Memorial Wall on the top floor of the J. Harper Meredith Building.

Her clients trust her intuition and allow her the freedom to create the unusual.

So, though she never used to think of framing as an art or that she was herself an artist, many have told her that that's exactly what she is. Not surprisingly, she takes that as a wonderful compliment in the 27 years in which she has created 20,000-plus frames and counting.

After the awards are presented, many of the awardees will perform and the visual artists will display some of their works, followed by a reception and refreshments. Admission is free and all are welcome to the 40th anniversary of the AHC Awards.