A brief look at Finnegan's Liberty Town

We passed through Fredericksburg, Va., a couple of weeks ago, on the way to North Carolina's rains and potteries. Stopped in to have breakfast and coffee with Dan Finnegan, our fine potter friend, fellow blogger and art entrepreneur, whose LibertyTown Arts Workshop is the art center of the Fredericksburg community.

The workshop is in an old plumbing warehouse, now renovated and sectioned off into galleries and individual studios and workshops, housing somewhere over 50 artists working in all media. Printmakers, potter, fiber artists, painters, sculptors, jewelers ... it's a long list. There is also a pottery school in the building, which only adds to the number of creative people working there.

I should know when this whole thing started ... but I can't remember. It must have been 10 years ago that Dan first had the idea of creating a community arts center. Maybe it was longer than that. In any case, the place is a success. It's lively at all hours of the day and the once-a-month First Friday events are crowded and noisy with Fredericksburgers (Fredericksburgites? Fredericksburgians? ... lots of people from the town, anyway) eating and drinking and catching up with friends after the workweek.

These photos are just a look at the lobby gallery. There are many, many studios lining the winding corridors on two floors. Worth a stop if you find yourself in or passing through the town about an hour south of Washington, D.C.

Top photo: Dee and Dan at Hyperion, the nation's second-greatest community coffee shop; next, the lobby gallery with the pottery classroom in the background; then, some of Finnegan's pots, with Anne Timpano's print, "Venus as Cover Girl" above; then, more Finnegan pots and more wall art.