November Issue 2001
Wickwire Gallery in Hendersonville, NC, Offers Several Exhibitions this Fall
Hendersonville Magazine and Wickwire fine art/folk art Gallery are proud to present the Second Annual City of Four Seasons in Two Dimensions juried competition and exhibition of two-dimensional art. The exhibition and sale of originals in various media will continue through Nov. 25. The Second Annual Handcrafted Furniture Show and an exhibit of original paintings by Patricia Cole-Ferullo and Jane Todd Butcher, will start on Nov. 30 and continuing through Dec. 31.
The City of Four Seasons in Two Dimensions competition was judged by members of the Art Faculty of Warren Wilson College, Dr. Dusty Benedict and Dr. Raul Acero, who recently exhibited at Brevard College. Participating artists depicted views and visions of life in Henderson County, past, present and future. From the natural beauty and majesty of Western North Carolina surroundings to the richness of character that is embraced in the area's history, people, architecture and events, artists will portray their interpretations of the area.
Hendersonville Magazine Editor/Publisher Joanie Fischer and Wickwire owner, Shirley Palmer-Hill collaborated to encourage and recognize part of the abundant artistic talent in the area and to create an opportunity for the community to reflect on and relish all that has made this quaint yet cosmopolitan location such a unique place to live in and visit. "Hendersonville Magazine" now in its 20th year is an annual publication that serves as a celebration of the quality of life enjoyed in Henderson County. Since 1998, Wickwire fine art/folk art Gallery has showcased museum-quality work. Two floors of gallery space create an environment of continuing inspiration.
Wickwire will also celebrate the spirit of
community with a Second Annual Handcrafted Furniture Show
and an exhibit of original paintings by Patricia Cole-Ferullo
and Jane Todd Butcher, starting on Nov. 30 and continuing through
Dec. 31.
The many participating artists of the Handcrafted Furniture
Show have lovingly designed and crafted a beautiful and varied
furniture collection for viewers. Each piece of furniture you
will see and admire at Wickwire is made in America. The artists
have a desire to please others with functionality and utility
as well as the artistic that garners attention wherever the furniture
pieces are placed in a home or office.
Participating artists in the Handcrafted
Furniture Show include: Phil and Stephanie Brittain, Bev Neely
Bruce, Robert Garrett, Tom McCartney, Randall Ray, Cliff Slater,
Anne Tansey, and Arthur Willey.
The process of creating a piece of furniture requires astute abilities
in design as well as execution. Most furniture today has not been
devotedly designed and definitely is not handcrafted. Shirley
Palmer-Hill says, "Wickwire Gallery offers the opportunity
to experience 'the environment of inspired creativity' priced
affordably so that no one ever needs to settle for the manufactured
piece of furniture."
Original paintings by Patricia Cole-Ferullo and Jane Todd Butcher complement the exhibit with the spirit of nature more than the representation of nature in trees and landscapes. The artists' styles are diverse, their techniques unique to their particular talents. They thoroughly enjoy what they do and their art creations reflect their passion. All artists welcome special commissions through the Gallery.
Phil and Stephanie Brittain collaborate crafting their furniture encompassing the Arts and Crafts influence, bordering on a certain whimsy style of their own. They understand wood and its various "moods" so that "when it yawns or stretches," their pieces are prepared to weather the settling-in process. Phil has been making furniture since 1979 having learned from folk art instructors, and Stephanie has studied at Arrowmont.
Bev Neely Bruce sees in wood the different tree forms that work well together, blending their differences no matter their tree of origin. Bruce uses good design that celebrates nature. She harvests and recycles only previously cut trees in NC. In Dec. 2000 the Mecklenburg County (Charlotte) Commissioners gave her an award for Most Creative Recycling for turning cut limbs and trees into furniture works. Her rustic furniture works are poetry of material and form. Bruce has a BS in Art Education with a studio major in Wood Design. Although she paints architectural watercolors, her love - her "roots" - are wood.
Robert Garrett, Southern Highlands Craft Guild Member, feels that with each piece he creates, there is a marriage of the wood with simple elegance of design allowing the furniture to blend comfortably with more highly adorned pieces. "Wood," says Garrett, "is a nearly limitless medium and I have always been fascinated by its inherent strength, beauty, variety, and utility."
Tom McCartney has great admiration of old carpentry work. The wood that he uses to make his furniture is from demolition contractors. By using salvaged wood from old buildings to build his furniture, he feels he is showing a reflection of their old style and grace. "That is a reflection of an older, slower time when style and patterns were abundant in our work and in our lives," says McCartney.
Randall Ray studied under Bruce Johnson who is a leading authority on the Arts and Craft movement. Ray's furniture speaks a rhythm of its own. His work in making furniture "is not only an occupation but a passion and an art." He believes he is crafting furniture "for your heirs." It is not unusual for fine furniture fashioned with the joinery technique Ray employs to last 100 years. Ray is a member and participant of the River District Artist group located along the French Broad River.
Cliff Slater is a frill time engineer in the aerospace industry. In his free time he designs and creates custom furniture. His workmanship ranges from wooden pens, bowls, and vases to roll top desks, curios, dining room tables and bedroom suites. Slater's passion for quality craftsmanship has earned him commissions to create custom pieces for residential and commercial.
Anne Tansey's childhood interest in the WNC woods of mountain laurel and locust lend her to a career as a botanist for the U.S. Forest Service, where her appreciation for the qualities of different woods was formed. She artfully brings that beautiful and peaceful grace from the woods into our homes, patios, and gardens with tables, garden arches, and trellises, and gates.
Arthur Willey until two years ago made furniture as a hobby. He began his studies in woodworking in 1982 when he studied under Master Builder, Don Lippincott in Rockford, IL. His goal as a builder of fine furniture is to master the skills used by furniture makers from the 1700 era and to develop a sensibility and awareness of scale which speaks to a person viewing his work. Willey explains, "The grain, figure and variation in a piece of beautiful hardwood must speak in a clear and elegant voice."
Patricia Cole-Ferullo, a professional artist for 30 years, paints and draws with multimedia as a way of exploring her consciousness; her art is a "sharing of the discoveries" made there. She feels a powerful resonance with nature in trees and their relationship to humans and frequently uses symbolism suggested by people's rhythm and pace. "If my work can cause a viewer to say yes! in recognition of some deep feeling," explains Cole-Ferullo, "then the painting has been successful. Art cannot be separated from life." She shares her enthusiasm through teaching water media workshops and doing demonstrations.
Jane Todd Butcher says she was "born to be an artist." A crayon, a pencil, a brush, whatever tool she could get her hands on as a child she used to experiment and draw. Ultimately she took dual training in painting and graphic design and got a degree in art from Illinois State University. Today her work expresses her preference to suggest a place, convey an impression of it, and create a mood. She is a water media artist working mostly in landscape themes and seeing trees in everything. An integral part of the art community, Butcher is co-founder and first president 10 years ago of UVA Upstate Visual Arts that grew out of the Greenville Artist Guild. Recently she was accepted into the Georgia Watercolor 2001 National Exhibition and this FaIl 2001 she will solo exhibit 30 to 40 pieces of her work invited by the Blue Ridge Artists Association in Seneca.
For more information check our NC Commercial
Gallery listings, call the gallery at 828/692-6222, or email to
(wickwire@bellsouth.net).
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer
427, Bonneau, SC 29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
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