Page 24 - Alliance for Dade 2026

At the ‘ART of
DADE
D ADE Not only was visual art a mainstay, but music was also at the heart
of the community. While many people may not recognize Norman
Blake’s name immediately, most certainly know the music from the
movie O Brother, Where Art Thou! on which Blake performed. Blake
is a traditional American stringed instrument artist and songwriter. As
If you were lucky enough to be born here, you probably can’t go
far without finding a friend or relative who was part of the Arts a studio musician for ten years, he toured and recorded with country
Movement first brought to life in the show formed by artist Fannie singer Johnny Cash and continued to play with Cash intermittently
Mennen, called the Plum Nelly Clothesline Art Show that started in over the next 30 years. He played on the Bob Dylan album Nashville
the late 1940s. Fannie studied music and art at Peabody College Skyline, then became a member of the house band on Johnny Cash’s
in Nashville and became active as an artist later in life. Artists and TV show. Kris Kristofferson hired Blake to tour with him after one
crafters for the show were primarily from Georgia, Tennessee, and of Cash’s shows and Blake recorded with folk singer Joan Baez,
Alabama, but once the show was established, artists also came from appearing on her hit song “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”
as far as New York, New Jersey, and the West Coast. Blake also played dobro on the 1972 album, Will the Circle Be
Unbroken by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
Along with Fannie Mennen, well-known local artist Virginia Dudley
of the Rising Fawn Enamels studio was also part of the movement. He met Nancy Short, a cellist, in the ’70s. In 1972, Blake recorded his
Virginia was an enamel and ceramic jewelry artist in addition to first solo album, Home in Sulphur Springs. Soon after his debut, he and
painting, printing, and photography. She exhibited works all over Nancy recorded their first album, The Fields of November, with Nancy
the country. Frank Baisden, then Chair of the Art Department at the on hillbilly cello. They married in 1975 and performed together for the
University of Chattanooga, was another artist who had a studio in next 20 years. In 2017, Blake received the Distinguished Achievement
New Salem. He was honored with a Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association, and
retrospective in 1978 for 50 years of in 2022, he was inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame
activity in the arts community. Charles in Owensboro, Kentucky.
Counts, still another artist, operated
a pottery and quilting studio in Rising Another well-known, and award-winning group is
Fawn for 25 years. He received the The Forester Sisters, an American country music
Georgia Governor’s Award in 1973 and vocal group consisting of sisters Kathy, June, Kim,
served as an advisor to the Georgia and Christy Forester. Having performed together
Council for the Arts. Counts worked to locally in their native Lookout Mountain, Georgia
preserve the art forms of his native Appalachia. He promoted the hometown since the 1970s, the four sisters began
economic benefits of producing crafts to supplement household singing full-time in the 1980s and signed to Warner
income in depressed areas, while safeguarding the dignity of the Records Nashville in 1984. Their greatest commercial
craftspeople involved. There were many other familiar names from success came between then and 1991, when they
the area who participated. charted 15 top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot
Country Songs chart, five of which went to
number one: “I Fell in Love Again Last Night”,
As more and more artists moved to studios in the Rising Fawn area,
they welcomed other talented artists to visit and exhibit. One of “Just in Case”, “Mama’s Never Seen Those
the most famous visitors was Esther Rolick, one of the few female Eyes”, “You Again”, and “Too Much Is Not
avant-garde painters who still has works in major galleries and Enough”, with The Bellamy Brothers. They
papers that are in the Smithsonian. won the Academy of Country Music
Group of the Year award in 1986 and
were nominated three times for a
Thousands of visitors came each year to see the works of artists
and crafters. The Plum Nelly Clothesline Art Show flourished for Grammy Award.
26 years, at which time it morphed into the New Salem Mountain
Festival, which is still enjoyed today. Even though Trenton-Dade is a small
mountain town, the arts are alive and well
here through the celebrations of its rich and
unique heritage.

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