Southern Highland Craft Guild Offers Clay Day at the Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC – June 1, 2013

Celebrate Clay Day at the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC, on June 1, 2013, from 10am to 4pm. This free event features craft demonstrations and hands-on activities for children and adults.

Clay Day has been a favorite happening at the Folk Art Center for over 20 years. Members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and invited guests demonstrate throwing on the potter’s wheel, hand building, and surface design on clay, among other techniques.

Expert potters will demonstrate a variety of ceramic techniques including wheel throwing.

A highlight of the day is the “Make-and-Take” Raku Firing.  Buy a $10 pot, glaze it, and watch as expert potters, Lynn Jenkins, Gary Clontz, and Steven Forbes-deSoule, raku fire it for you.  Raku is a ceramic firing process which uses fire and smoke to create unique patterns and designs.  Lynn will also demonstrate horse hair raku techniques, using horse hair to create designs on pots.  SHCG members Jan Morris and Sandra Rowland will host a children’s table where kids will be invited to play with clay and make something to take home. Clay for demonstrations has been generously donated by Highwater Clays of Asheville, NC.

Participants to Clay Day include the artists of The Village Potters located in the River District of Asheville,  sharing a myriad of ceramic techniques.  Volunteers from Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Department will be demonstrating and assisting visitors with a try at the potter’s wheel.  Southern Highland Craft Guild member Cindy Billingsley will lead a collaborative sculpture project.

During Clay Day visitors have the opportunity to purchase a $10 pot, decorate with glazes, and wait while it is raku fired. In this picture a visitor at last year’s Clay Day decorates a pot.  Raku is a ceramic firing process which uses fire and smoke to create unique patterns and designs.

While at the Folk Art Center, visitors will have the opportunity to visit Allanstand Craft Shop, the Eastern National bookstore and Blue Ridge Parkway information desk, as well as three exhibition galleries.  Outside the Folk Art Center, there are hiking trails, picnic tables, grassy areas for a picnic and free parking.

A visitor to last year’s Clay Day uses horse hair to decorate a pot which will be raku fired.  Raku is a ceramic firing process which uses fire and smoke to create unique patterns and designs.

The Southern Highland Craft Guild is a non-profit, educational organization established in 1930 to bring together the crafts and craftspeople of the Southern Highlands for the benefit of shared resources, education, marketing and conservation.  The Southern Highland Craft Guild is an authorized concessioner of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.  The Folk Art Center is located at Milepost 382 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, just north of the Hwy 70 entrance in east Asheville, NC.

For more information, including a list of participating craftspeople, call 828/298-7928 or visit (www.craftguild.org).

Hickory Museum of Art in Hickory, NC, Seeks Artists for Juried “Road Trip” Exhibition Deadline June 30, 2013

The Hickory Museum of Art in Hickory, NC, is hosting an indoor juried exhibition called “Road Trip” in conjunction with an upcoming outdoor event called “The AutoLawn,” showcasing European automobiles of all makes, models, and ages. Artists are invited to submit work for “Road Trip” that expresses a theme relating to cars, journeys, and the open road. The exhibition will be held in HMA’s second floor Coe Gallery from Aug. 31 – Jan. 5, 2014.

The Hickory Museum of Art wants you to explore the theme of the personal automobile as it relates to your generation or your life’s journey or perhaps how it defined a certain personal Road Trip or a particular phase. How have you seen life from behind the steering wheel?

Joyce Kay Gordon, “Blue Motorcycle”, pastel on paper

The Museum is using (www.CallForEntry.org) (CaFÉ) to manage this call for artists. All entries must be submitted through CaFÉ by June 30, 2013. To view the prospectus, visit the CaFÉ website or (www.HickoryArt.org).

CaFÉ provides artists with an easy-to-use system to create a profile with contact information, upload digital images of their artwork, and apply to a number of open calls for entry at one time. There is no cost to register for this service.

Artists may submit up to three (3) images for a non-refundable $35 fee. (A $15 off coupon code is available for members of the Hickory Museum of Art. Please call Blair Phillips, Development Manager at 828/327-8576 for code.) Entry fees are non-refundable. Artists may enter their work ONLINE ONLY through CaFÉ (www.CallForEntry.org). CaFÉ accepts Mastercard/Visa.

The Museum is offering two cash prizes. Best in Show, selected by the jury panel, will receive $350 and a solo exhibition at the Museum. The People’s Choice Award will be selected by the public during The AutoLawn on Sept. 14; the winner receives $250. Voting will take place the day of event between 10am-3pm (only one ballot per person).

For further info call 828/327-8576 or visit (www.hickoryart.org).

The Bascom in Highlands, NC, Hosts Mountains in Bloom Garden Festival July 11 – 14, 2013 – Deadline for Entries – July 3, 2013

“Truly, Mountains in Bloom is a gift from The Bascom to the community,” says Paula Walsh, Chair for the event. The middle of July will burst into bloom for this popular annual summer festival, a fundraiser for The Bascom visual arts center in Highlands, NC. There are opportunities to participate for all, and certainly, all can benefit from gardening tips from the experts, horticulture education and the visual treat of art in varied displays and featured gardens.

The events on Thursday, July 11, 2013, include a luncheon and lecture by Kathryn Crisp Greeley, author of “The Collected Tabletop”, at 11:30am and a Volunteer Preview Event with special guests Margot Shaw, founder/editor in chief of “Flower Magazine”, and Robert Balentine, CEO of Balentine LLC and lead sponsor, from 4 to 6pm. The Balentine Award for the most outstanding display of a native, indigenous plant in the Horticulture Division will be given during the show. On Friday and Saturday, July 12 and 13, fabulous private gardens will be on tour from 9am to 4pm, along with luncheon and the diverse Flower Show exhibits at The Bascom—flower arrangements, horticulture and garden photography. Mountains in Bloom will culminate with a festive Benefactor Party at The Farm at Old Edwards Inn on Sunday, July 14 at 6pm. Chef Johannes will prepare a sumptuous dinner, Jim Gibson will provide the music, and the coveted Balentine Award will be presented.

All-encompassing in its scope, this garden festival will feature a special non-judged Professional Class of floral designers’ arrangements, on display in the Atrium Gallery. Other classes of exhibits are Interpretation, in which the arranger interprets a painting (“Collecting Moss” by Krista Harris, one of four artists featured in The Bascom’s current exhibition, Southern Lights); Mass Class: “What ‘Wood’ You Create,” showing a mass arrangement in a wooden container, displayed alongside an exhibit of custom-designed wood furniture; and Tabletop collections coordinated with flowers in tune with another gallery exhibit. Reflecting the “Come Rain or Come Shine” theme is “You Might Need a Hat” exhibit and a children’s class inviting kids to arrange flowers in a shoe or boot for a display called “Look at My Feet.” Many class categories are limited, so entrants should submit forms before July 3. Entry forms may be printed from the website at (www.TheBascom.org/mountainsinbloom) or obtained at The Bascom.

“Entries are displayed throughout The Bascom’s early 1800’s hand-hewn post-and-beam Dave Drake Studio Barn, interspersed with the current exhibits,” says Ruth Claiborne, co-chair of the Flower Arrangement Division. “The show is open to entrants without any special qualifications, although it is a juried show, so the arrangement must be approved by the co-chairs and Passing Committee before it is placed on display. It gives an arranger a great sense of excitement to have his or her floral creation displayed in the midst of curated art in the galleries.”

The Horticulture Division showcases a variety of plants in categories such as Native and Non-Native Cut Specimens, Plants in Containers, Succulents (including a special exhibit of succulents grown by John Bills), Troughs, and “Old Friends,” plants owned more than five years. Another facet of the show is a professional and amateur Photography Division, based on themes of the show—“Simply Flowers” and “Come Rain or Come Shine” for entrants ages 18 and older. Submissions are being accepted now.

For more information on Mountains in Bloom and for tickets, go to (www.mountainsinbloom.com) or contact Claire Cameron, Events Manager, by calling 828/787-2882 or e-mail to (ccameron@thebascom.org).

The Next Tryon Gallery Trot in Tryon, NC, Takes Place on May 11, 2013

Join Downtown Tryon, NC, on May 11, 2013, from 5-8pm for the second monthly Tryon Gallery Trot of 2013. Galleries and business will open their doors on the second Saturday of every month through October for extended hours welcoming “Trotters” with a variety of items to peruse and purchase. Find the perfect gift for Mom while in one of the many galleries and businesses in the downtown area.

Some highlights will be:

Live music:  The Polk County High School Band will be playing in the center of town; paid for with funds from Polk County Community Foundation.

Sculpture 2013: a juried sculpture show at Tryon Fine Arts Center featuring work of sculptors throughout the Southeast. Pieces will be on display in Gallery I and the lobby as well as outdoors in the newly remodeled campus.

New View Realty: at 285 North Trade Street in Tryon will have a sampling of home brewed beers made especially for the Gallery Trots. Sip and enjoy new art work from Jim Shackelford and Linda Hudgins.

Bill the Blacksmith will be offering hands-on experience at the Saluda Forge on Ola Mae Drive above Trade Street. Bill says, “I always try to offer the opportunity to have someone experience the joy of striking hot metal for themselves.” Besides the demonstrations at the forge, the Gallery next door will have work of local artists and refreshments.

Vines and Stuff Gift Shop in Shops of Tryon on Trade Street will feature work from Little Mountain Pottery and hand-turned wood bowls by Jim Mellberg. Also enjoy samplings of gourmet treats while browsing for those last minute Mother’s Day gifts.

The Depot Room at Millard & Company at the railroad crossing in the center of town is displaying 20 years of poster design in honor of the 20th Anniversary of the Blue Ridge Barbeque Festival just in time for the Gallery Trot on May 11th. The festival is one of our nationally known local traditions so whet your appetite by stopping by to view these posters.

Thompson Art and Garden Gallery on Palmer Street will present “The Art of Outdoor Living”. The Thompsons represent 38 local artists in the Gallery and carry Kingsley-Bate Outdoor Furniture, Pawley’s Island Hammocks and more.

Work by Richard Christian Nelson

Skyuka Fine Art on Trade Street will have a drawing to win a Charcoal Portrait by Richard Christian Nelson. Nelson, owner of Skyuka Fine Art, is an internationally recognized and award-winning portrait artist. Most recently, Nelson won 5th place in the “Portrait Society of America’s 2013 International Competition” where thousands of entries from around the world were narrowed down to 20, and then 10. Nelson has also won 1st place in the “Member’s Only Competition-Commissioned Portraits”, a “Certificate of Excellence”, and an “Honorary Mention” from the Portrait Society of America; where he has also served on their faculty. Tickets are on sale now or can be purchased the night of the Gallery Trot. There will be a second ticket drawn for a certificate of 50% off of a commissioned portrait as well. Contact Kim Nelson to buy your tickets via e-mail at (info@skyukafineart.com) or phone 828/817-3783.

Maps of all the locations on the Trot will be available in each of the Tryon area locations.

Other businesses participating in the Trot will be Terra on Trade, the Book Shelf, Ferullo Studio, Green River Gallery, 1906 Pine Crest Inn, Tryon Arts and Crafts, Tryon Painters and Sculptors, and Upstairs Artspace.

For more information e-mail to (info@skyukafineart.com).

Artists Sought for the Inaugural Sam’s Smoke Off BBQ Festival in Newton, NC – Deadline May 24, 2013

Sam’s Club is seeking artists interested in participating at Sam’s Smoke Off on June 8, 2013 from 10am-6pm. The Smoke Off will be held at the Hickory American Legion Fairgrounds located at 1127 US Highway 70 in Newton, NC. Application fees are $50.00 for craft vendors. The cut off date for applications is May 24, 2013. Please contact (samssmokeoff@gmail.com) for information and applications.

In addition to the BBQ cook off, there will be live music, a silent auction, arts and craft and other vendors, children’s games and hot air balloon rides. Tickets are $5.00 to enter the festival and all proceeds benefit the Children’s Miracle Network.

The Smoke Off is also looking for food, commercial and non profit vendors.

More information may be found by calling 828/221-8686 or e-mailing (samssmokeoff@gmail.com).

2013 Windgate Fellows Announced by UNC Asheville’s Center for Craft, Creativity & Design in Hendersonville, NC

UNC Asheville’s Center for Craft, Creativity & Design in Hendersonville, NC, announces the winners of the 2013 Windgate Fellowships, awarded to 10 graduating college seniors with exemplary skill in craft. Each Windgate Fellow receives $15,000 – one of the largest awards offered nationally to art students.

“The Windgate Fellowship program gives us a glimpse of the best emerging talent in the field of craft,” says Stephanie Moore, executive director of the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design. “The funds generously provided by the Windgate Charitable Foundation are critical and impact these artists in profound ways.”

Four judges reviewed a national pool of 115 applicants on the basis of artistic merit and the potential of each applicant to make significant contributions to the field of craft. The 2013 panel included: Dustin Farnsworth, 2010 Windgate Fellow and Penland resident artist; Jayson Lawfer, creator and director of The Nevica Project; Julie Muñiz, associate curator of design and decorative arts at the Oakland Museum of California; and Mark Leach, executive director of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem.

Winners of the 2013 Windgate Fellowships are:

Sasha Alexandra, Kansas City Art Institute, Ceramics
Emily Chase, University of Arkansas, Mixed Media/Paper
Andrea Clark, University of Kentucky, Ceramics
Gabriel Cruz-Ramirez, Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Furniture
Michael Esteban, California College of the Arts, Metal
Christopher Fong, Otis College of Art & Design, Mixed Media/Product Design
Anna Greer, University of Oregon, Jewelry
Alexandra Perez-Demma, San Diego State University, Jewelry
Madeleine Provost, Parsons the New School for Design, Textiles
Hilary Sanders, California College of the Arts, Jewelry

Since 2006, the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design has awarded the Windgate Fellowships to 80 graduating seniors working in craft representing more than 68 colleges and universities.

The Center’s mission is to advance the understanding of craft by encouraging and supporting research, scholarship and professional development.

For more information, visit (www.craftcreativitydesign.org) or call 828/890-2050.

Asheville Gallery of Art in Asheville, NC, Invites Area Artists to Submit Work

The Asheville Gallery of Art, located at16 College Street in Asheville, NC, invites area artists to apply for membership. The work of applicants must be submitted on Tuesday, May 28, 2013, for jurying on Wednesday, May 29.

The Asheville Gallery of Art (AGA) is an artists’ cooperative that exhibits original two-dimensional works by twenty-eight member artists.

Interested artists should obtain a copy of prospective member guidelines and a membership application, both of which are available at the gallery or may be downloaded from the AGA website (www.ashevillegallery-of-art.com).

Jury entrants must deliver five finished original pieces ready for hanging, six copies of a current resume, and six copies of the completed membership application to the gallery between noon and 5:30pm on Tuesday, May 28. All work must be picked up between 2-5:30pm on Wednesday, May 29. AGA will endeavor to preserve and protect submitted work, but cannot assume responsibility for loss or damage.

The Asheville Gallery of Art is located across from Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville. Founded in 1988, AGA, Asheville’s longest-established art gallery, is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2013. The gallery offers works ranging from representational to abstract in a wide choice of subject matter, styles and media. Photographs, computer art, and sculpture are not accepted at this time.

For more information, call 828/251-5796 or e-mail questions to (ashevillegalleryofart@gmail.com).

Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in Boone, NC, Hosts 10th Anniversary Party – May 3, 2013

It has been 10 years since the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts in Boone, NC, opened the doors to the six gallery space contemporary art museum bridging the gap between the campus of Appalachian State University and downtown Boone, NC. To celebrate, the Turchin Center will host a “birthday party” for the center on Friday, May 3, 2013, as a part of Downtown Boone’s First Friday Art Crawl.  The event is free and open to the public from 7-9pm and will pay a special tribute to patrons Robert and Lillian Turchin.

During the event will be live music performances by Todd Wright and Andy Page. Appalachian State University Theatre & Dance professor, Sherone Price and the African Dance Ensemble will also perform during the event.

Limited edition prints by artist Tim Turner will be on sale and all proceeds go to the Turchin Center. Only 50 have been printed in honor of the 10th anniversary. The cost of the print is $225 and framing options are available. For more information on this print, visit (http://tcva.org/news/2013/04/1026).

The current exhibitions that will be on display during this event are “International Focus Series I-V: V. Polish Artists Group Exhibition”, “10th Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition”, “Negotiation of the Secret Society Cloth: An Exploration of Ukara”, “Victor Ekpuk: Drawing Memories” and “BFA Senior Studio Exhibition Spring 2013″.  For more information about these exhibitions, visit (http://tcva.org/exhibitions).

Over the last 10 years, the Turchin Center has featured over 205 exhibitions to date. This includes a combination of local, regional, national and international exhibitions. Over 65% of the exhibitions that have been featured at the center have been by local or regional artists.

The Turchin Center’s Permanent Collection houses over 1,600 works of art with the largest amount of works by a single artist being by Andy Warhol. The center is also home to the largest collection of Inuit art in the United States thanks to a continuing donation by Dr. H.G. Jones.

Since opening in May of 2003, annual visitation to the Turchin Center has increased by 42%. An average of 1,000 visitors attend the center’s Exhibition Celebrations during First Friday Art Crawls throughout the year. These celebrations feature live music, a cash bar and a chance to view the artwork the day the exhibition opens.

The Outreach Program at the Turchin Center spans throughout many platforms around the campus and community. The vast community outreach programs the center is involved with include the Hospitality House, Mountain Cares Assisted Living Facility and area public schools. In addition, the Turchin Center hosts workshops for kids, older teens and adults year-round. Programs for Appalachian students have also grown over the last few years, expanding to student-only events hosted by the Turchin Center as well as free Tai Chi lessons and Open Studio time every Tuesday.

The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts presents exhibition, education and collection programs that support Appalachian State University’s role as a key regional educational, cultural and economic resource.

The Turchin Center is located at 423 West King St., in Boone. Hours are 10am-6pm, Tues.-Thurs. and Saturday, and noon-8pm, Friday. The Center is closed Sunday and Monday, and observes all university holidays. There is no admission charge, although donations are gratefully accepted.

For additional details about the Turchin Center, becoming a donor, the upcoming exhibitions, to be added to the mailing list or to schedule a tour, please call 828/262-3017 or visit (www.tcva.org).

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville in Asheville, NC, Offers OLLI Art Bazaar – Apr. 26, 2013

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNC Asheville in Asheville, NC, will host the first annual OLLI Art Bazaar from 11am-5pm, on Friday, Apr. 26, 2013, in the Reuter Center. This event is free and open to the public.

Work by Anne Bonnyman

The Art Bazaar features a broad range of work created by OLLI members on exhibit and for sale. More than 40 participating artists will showcase their works that include painting, photography, sculpture, textiles, jewelry, fiber and paper art, purses, quilts, scarves, stained glass, handmade soap and more. Proceeds will benefit the OLLI scholarship fund.

Works by Donna Schramek

For more information, visit (www.olliasheville.com) or call 828/251-6140.

Penland School of Crafts in Penland, NC, Offers Installation Events Beginning Apr. 19 and 20, 2013

Penland School of Crafts in Penland, NC, will have two events marking the opening of a group of four art installations on the Penland campus. The installations are the work of Dan Bailey, Alison Collins, Kyoung Ae Cho, and Anne Lemanski, and they are part of a project called “0 to 60: The Experience of Time through Contemporary Art,” which is a collaboration between Penland School and the North Carolina Museum of Art. The opening events will include a evening slide lecture on Apr. 19 and an afternoon walking tour on Apr. 20, 2013.

On Friday, Apr. 19, the four artists will each make a short slide presentation about their work. They will be joined by Linda Dougherty, the museum’s chief curator and curator of contemporary art, who will give an overview of the project. This event will take place in the Northlight building at Penland at 8pm. On Saturday, Apr. 20 there will be a walking tour of the four installations beginning at 1:30pm. Penland’s director, Jean McLaughlin, will make some introductory remarks at the Pines Portico and then each of the four artists will speak when the group visits their installation. The installations will remain on view through Aug. 31, 2013.

Filmmaker, animator, and photographer Dan Bailey has created a two-part work using time-lapse and low-altitude aerial balloon photography. “Looking Up” is a slow-moving time-lapse video of the sky over Penland. The vantage point is reversed in “Looking Down”, a large printed wall piece that is a collage of photographs of the campus made over many months using a camera attached to a helium balloon.

Alison Collins’s “Temps Perdu” will fill the Dye Shed, a historic log structure at Penland, with hundreds of yards of muslin and hundreds of muslin leaves. On the yardage is text from Marcel Proust’s novel “In Search of Lost Time”. On the leaves are words that refer the things the artist herself has lost. The text is written using a dye Alison made from the rust that collected under some of her steel sculptures.

Anne Lemanski’s “Extirpated” is about animal species that once inhabited this region but have disappeared with no hope of return. The format of Lemanski’s piece is a series of clotheslines suspended between steel supports based on the contour of Kentucky long rifles. Hanging from the lines will be silhouette images of species that have disappeared from Mitchell County.

Kyoung Ae Cho’s “Shining Ground,” memorializes her discovery of mica the first time she visited Penland in 2000. The piece incorporates mica collected from the banks of the Toe River into vertical panels made of cloth, pins, and wood, which will be installed on the outside of the Northlight building. The piece is her attempt to recapture, many years later, the moment of quiet surprise when she first saw the ground covered with the sheen of mica sand.

The other component of the “0 to 60″ project is a major exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC. The exhibition, which is open now and runs through Aug. 11, 2013, includes work by the four installation artists along with twenty-eight other artists, many of whom have connections to Penland. This exhibition engages the viewer in an experiential and conceptual journey through time, looking at how time can be used as form, content, and material, and how art is used to represent, evoke, manipulate, or transform time.

For information about the Penland installations and the events on April 19 and 20, call 828/765-2359 or visit (www.penland.org/0to60). For information about the exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art, visit (www.ncartmuseum.org/exhibitions). Penland School of Crafts is located just off Penland Road, near Spruce Pine in Mitchell County, North Carolina

Penland School of Crafts is an international center for craft education dedicated to helping people live creative lives. Located in Western North Carolina, Penland offers workshops in books and paper, clay, drawing and painting, glass, iron, metals, printmaking and letterpress, photography, textiles, and wood. The school also sponsors artists’ residencies, an outreach program, and a gallery and visitors center. Penland is a nonprofit, tax-exempt institution which receives support from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of North Carolina and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

For further information call Robin Dreyer at 828/765-0433 or visit (www.penland.org).