MEET THE BOARD

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Jen Otey is the Chair of the Board of Directors for Forge Appalachia and the owner of Rose Cottage School of Art and MOONbow ARTworks. Jen is also the Outdoor Recreation Development Manager for Friends of Southwest Virginia, a nonprofit that centers its focus on creative economy. She is Inspired by the environment of the place where she lives. What she sees, feels, & experiences with the land & the indigenous flora & fauna found there, are reflected in what she makes. The subjects in her paintings and pottery are often the physical and sometimes spiritual reflections recalled from her time spent in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. Her work is connected to her rural Appalachian heritage. Growing up here, she learned from her parents and grandparents the importance of stewarding the land, by hunting, gathering, and growing their food. This deep connection to basic resources is something that is ingrained in the mountain culture and way of life. Her strong ties to the earth and its creatures, as well as how important it is to protect, conserve, and nurture these wild places and creatures and our heritage for future generations are evident in her artwork and the work she is doing in the realm of outdoor recreation development.

Meet our 2nd Vice Chair, Amanda Lee, SWVA native, and artist behind A Lady's Slipper Studio. Years ago, Amanda began creating as a resin artist, and has had her work featured in Virginia Living, as well as published in Jewelry Affaire and GreenCraft magazines.  For the past few years, Amanda has concentrated in silver and stone as a self-taught metalsmith. This year, she became a juried artisan with 'Round The Mountain with her silverwork jewelry.   She draws her inspiration from the mountains she lives in, and her biggest passion is roaming the hills and hollers of our region in search of native wildflowers to photograph. She also uses her collection of botanical photography to create fanciful cyanotype prints.  Amanda's latest creative endeavor has been learning about and creating Appalachian ribbed baskets. She loves the people, history, folklore, and traditions of our region so deeply, and truly believes there's no better place on earth than Appalachia.

Erin Simons of Laurel Ridge Studios is a Contemporary Appalachian Craftswoman and Educator from SWVA. Inspired by her surroundings, she takes simple subjects and elevates them into functional pieces of art. Her brooms include everything from the wood in her backyard and deer sheds found by her son, to the addition of dyed broom corn. She puts her own artistic spin on traditional crafts.

When someone encounters my work, I hope that they will be filled with joy and wonder, as well as a sense of the ingenuity and creativity of the Appalachian culture that I am so deeply committed to. When they look at a broom, they will no longer see a mundane household object, but a functional and beautiful piece of art.

Aurora Lucas is a self-taught artist, and jill-of-all-trades. While primarily focusing on her pottery, she also loves upcycling, fiber arts, and making traditional Appalachian herbal remedies.  

As board member of Forge Appalachia, Aurora brings unique insight into the connection between mental-well being and the ability to express emotion through creativity. She is one of the nearly 50,000 female Veterans who live with the daily effects of PTSD; and after struggling for years in silence, she finally reached out for help in 2021. In August of that year, she received her Service Dog, Chewie, from K9s for Warriors. Since then, she has been able to refocus her creative energies and work to educate others about the powerful healing properties of art and creativity.  

Pottery became her main artistic passion when she took her very first art class back in 2016. The physicality of pottery allowed her to focus both her mind and body on creating art. Slamming down pounds of clay and delicately coaxing it into beautiful shapes somehow mirrored the conflicting emotions that were difficult for her to express in words. She has since made countless pieces of pottery, taught many classes, and began selling her work on her personal website, www.catchthe22.org. She honors the lives of the 22 veterans lost daily by donating $22 from each sale back to the organization that paired her with Chewie, her life-changing Service Dog.

When she isn’t in her home studio making pottery, she can be found in the garden of her family farm where she grows herbs and flowers for use in traditional herbal ointments and teas. She taps into the healing properties of these plants using recipes taught to her by her Great Grandmother. Aurora finds joy and connection in sharing these Appalachian remedies that have been passed down through generations of strong mountain women. 

In the colder months, you’ll find Aurora snuggled down in her warm and cozy 1915 farmhouse; where nearly everything has a story. Her cold and rainy days are filled with crocheting, sewing, baking, and making old things new and useful again. These slower days are her favorite; when she can take in every moment, and just sit in the love of her amazingly patient husband and their four, growing-up-too-fast children. 

Meet one of our newest board members!