Art Takes Flight

Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: December 2024

If you’re a Western North Carolinian you probably know many of the creatives of The Laurel. But do you know our printer? South Carolina’s Martin Printing Company, digitally/magically turns all our words, photos, and graphics into hard copies for each of you to have your monthly Laurel experience.

December’s Laurel is introducing you to a member of that printing family, cover artist Craig Ragsdale.

Were Craig Ragsdale not printing and painting, he’d be flying. He’s not a pilot, though he might be someday. But he’s been fascinated with birds and flight since childhood.

He says, “If I had a superpower, it would be flying.”

That fascination explains the glorious owl he painted to herald this holiday issue. And that owl willingly posed in his back yard for his stunning close-up.

Craig is a mixed-media painter with both classic and graphic background. He’s currently working with metal leaf, oil pastels, and oils. His training began as a child. He was one of the lucky ones who had an exceptional art teacher in elementary school. She pushed him in all the right directions. She’d say, “Don’t look at your drawing. Look at your subject, and make sure you stick with it.”

As a result, he was prepped for other excellent teachers along the way, teachers who pushed him in new directions. He says, “I got in the zone. Hours seemed like minutes, days like hours.”

But unfortunately, his high school art teacher was allergic to oil paint/turpentine. She was willing to teach oils as long as he avoided the allergens. He wound up painting detailed works with disposable brushes – Q-tips. He’d dab on and work the paint, then toss the Q-tip in the trash. There was no physical contact with chemicals.

But he adds, “Painting that way was a handicap. Later, when I was able to use real brushes on my own, it was like coming out from under a rock.”

Melissa and Craig Ragsdale

His early training nourished his creative soul and prepared him for an art career.

He studied at Southern Methodist University. Post-graduation, he took workshops, staying in his zone, and developed his own formulas.

He says, “The four ingredients I use to create a piece begin with a combination of concentrated drawing practices: 1. drawing from life; 2. from memory; 3. from imagination; 4. from photos.”

Today Craig is married and has four teens, an accomplishment in itself.

Recently he’s making another dream come true (no, flying will have to wait). He and his wife, Melissa, interior designer, are combining efforts, opening Curate Art & Interiors, located at 5051 Calhoun Memorial Highway in Easley, South Carolina. It specializes in creating spaces that are comfortable, memorable, and inspiring.

He says, “We have original art (including pieces from several artists from the Plateau), accompanied by furniture and décor. We’re open Tuesday-Friday 10:00 A.M-5:30 P.M., Saturday, 10:00 A.M-4:00 P.M.

And that’s not the only event taking flight. Martin Printing is installing a huge German press, so heavy (the largest in S.C.), they had to build a new concrete pad to support it. Wow! The Laurel pages are going to be flying before Craig does.

For more info, visit craigragsdale.com (on Instagram, @craig_ragsdale).