It all started with a single face jug! The owners of Around Back at Rocky’s Place, Tracey Burnette and Robin Blan became collectors nearly 30 years ago. What started out as a face jug obsession quickly lead to an obsession with other pottery forms, and then spread to paintings, woodcarvings, metal pieces, and so forth. With such a wide collection, Robin and Tracey were asked to be pickers for a couple of galleries in the Atlanta area. Then, collecting reached a new high when they discovered the work of John “Cornbread” Anderson. The folk art train doesn’t end there, but speeds up at a breakneck pace when the two established Around Back at Rocky’s Place in 2002. The gallery was born out of a dream and found its way to the backyard lawn mower shed. Repurposed as a gallery, this shed housed the work of 24 artists at its inception, with Cornbread being the mainstay. The growing list of artists necessitated the need for a much larger gallery space, adjacent to the original space. One can easily see the works of 300+ artists to date.
The gallery prides itself on its quality of work. Some of what you will find on a visit to the physical gallery or the online website include pottery from the leading folk pottery families in the Southeast, most notably, the Meaders. You will find work by the grandfathers of folk art, R.A. Miller, Howard Finster, Mose Tolliver, and Jimmy Lee Sudduth. A large majority of artists, from all mediums have works in the Smithsonian and other major museums and collections around the world. Not only will you see work from these masters, but also from new, emerging artists, and everyone in between.
The gallery is not just a place to visit and view and buy cool artwork, but also a source for education. Over the years, Rocky’s Place has hosted art classes with her actual folk artists as teachers and guides for both children and adults. The gallery has also exhibited and/or shown in art centers around the area, Bowen Center for the Arts, Quinlan Art Center, Atlanta History Center, Roy C. Moore Art Gallery at the University of North Georgia, Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art at Piedmont College, to name a few. Aside from showing at the once annual Folk Fest in Atlanta, the gallery has also shown at other festivals, and at home. In the past, Rocky’s Place has produced the “Saints and Haints” show, “Get Green Art” show, and the “Folk Art Family Reunion.”
That is but a brief history in Around Back at Rocky’s Place’s 16-year run. As they begin their 17th year in October, it is anybody’s wonder what will be in store. We know lots of awesome artwork is in the future. Many folks from all over the United States make Rocky’s Place a destination. Don’t miss your opportunity to come by and see what it’s all about, the Ultimate Folk Art Gallery. Not only will you see the largest collection of Cornbread paintings in the universe, but also stellar pieces by many more folk artists.