Inspirational Weekend: Asheville, NC
After our tour of the Penland School of Crafts, we went to Asheville. This western NC city is known for its art galleries, art shows and thriving artist community. We'd last been there 7 years ago, and were eager to see some favorite sites again and to discover new ones. Here are some of the places and artists' work we saw:
Ariel Craft Gallery: a cooperative gallery, owned and run by the artists who show work there. We were pleased to see the work of Ed Byers, with whom we did the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in 2008. New to me was the work of ceramicist Steven Forbes-deSoule. His sculptural raku pieces are exquisite; I love the surface textures and color palettes in his large vessels. The gallery's tagline is: 'for the well crafted life'...we agreed!
Woolworth Walk: this gallery is housed in the former store, and showcases the work of local artists. We had visited 7 years ago, and looked forward to seeing it again. Some highlights:
Glass artist Charles Donaldson's bold colors and swooping curves and slashes,
Una Barrett's "relics of a new age" jewelry, and Cynthia Decker's digital art were standouts.
New Morning Gallery: this place has to be seen to be believed. There are two floors, with multiple nooks and crannies filled with the most beautiful things! It's a definite 'must see' when you're in Biltmore Village. The gallery bills itself as having home furnishings by American artisans, and it also carries jewelry and garden art.
I've long admired Myra Burg's "Quiet Oboes," from advertisements in art magazines, but I'd never seen one in person. New Morning Gallery had a collection of them. I was surprised to see the large sizes, and the color combinations are ones which speak to me.
Because it was Sunday, we didn't get to see Blue Spiral Gallery or Bellagio, but since we'd been to each before, we weren't too disappointed.
Our trip ended with a quick drive to Hendersonville, but that's yet another post....stay tuned!
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| "One With Nature," terra-cotta, 36" tall by Ed Byers |
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| "Golden Ovoid" by Steven Forbes-deSoule |
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| Charles Donaldson |
Woolworth Walk: this gallery is housed in the former store, and showcases the work of local artists. We had visited 7 years ago, and looked forward to seeing it again. Some highlights:
Glass artist Charles Donaldson's bold colors and swooping curves and slashes,
Una Barrett's "relics of a new age" jewelry, and Cynthia Decker's digital art were standouts.
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| "Narcissism" by Cynthia Decker |
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| Una Barrett |
I've long admired Myra Burg's "Quiet Oboes," from advertisements in art magazines, but I'd never seen one in person. New Morning Gallery had a collection of them. I was surprised to see the large sizes, and the color combinations are ones which speak to me.
Because it was Sunday, we didn't get to see Blue Spiral Gallery or Bellagio, but since we'd been to each before, we weren't too disappointed.
Our trip ended with a quick drive to Hendersonville, but that's yet another post....stay tuned!
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| Winter Colors Quiet Oboes by Myra Burg
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