FLOYD COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) — A metal sign built by a Roanoke artist is drawing attention from festival-goers at FloydFest this year.
Tay Whiteside, owner of LiftArc Studios, created the piece after FloydFest approached his studio about building a custom art installation using reclaimed metal already on site.
“They approached us about doing a custom art piece utilizing some reclaimed metal that they had sitting on site,” Whiteside said. “So they said, there’s this big 12-foot circle. Can you make a sign that goes inside it? And we mount it somewhere on the grounds. And we said, yes.”
Whiteside operates his studio in a warehouse off the Roanoke River. He said metal has become his material of choice over the years.
“With the right amount of force or heat or pressure, you can kind of get it to do whatever you want it to do,” Whiteside said. “I always kept coming back to metal because it’s just so rewarding when you build something that tough and raw out of such an unforgiving material.”
FloydFest COO Sam Calhoun said the festival provides a platform for regional artists to reach audiences they might not otherwise access.
“Sometimes art’s hard to get out and expose to new audiences,” Calhoun said. “We have people from 47 states and three foreign countries visit here. They get to experience local art from Southwest Virginia. People are able to get their art into new communities outside of Floyd, outside of Roanoke. And that’s what it’s really all about.”
Whiteside said the FloydFest installation is now an annual tradition. Each year, LiftArc Studios will build a new sign inspired by that year’s festival theme, and previous signs will remain on the grounds permanently.
Whiteside said the work is what drives him.
“It is quite literally what keeps me getting out of bed every morning,” he said, “chasing that feeling.”
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