Mary Virginia and Dannie Pettway

Montgomery County

Fabric and Metal Arts

The art created at Anvil Forge and Gee's Bend Raised is a collaborative, twenty-year effort of the husband and wife team that use many different materials such as wrought iron, wood, fabric and many others that would enhance the pieces they work on together. Included in the materials sometimes called “junk” according to Mary Virginia is purchased metal, reclaimed wood and fabric.

“As a team, we started by creating different items for our home. Years back we purchased an antique iron bed and couldn’t find two connective rails to fit, so I came up with the idea to split the foot end of the bed and had Dannie weld the two pieces to the headboard to make a settee “ said Mary Virginia, “and we haven’t stopped creating since”.

Mary Virginia was brought up in Gees Bend (Wilcox County) so almost naturally her skills came from her Mother. She loves to quilt and sew clothing and accessories. Dannie is a certified welder/fabricator. Their pieces take from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks to complete. The most rewarding aspect of their work is “being able to see something in your mind before it is created and bringing that vision into being - making that piece an extension of yourself” according to Mary Virginia.

Their work is available online atAnvilForge@etsy.com; and purchase handcrafted sewn items at Gees BendRaised@etsy.com.