October 2013

The Arts Council of Henderson County in Hendersonville, NC, Offers 54th Annual Art on Main - Oct. 5 & 6, 2013

The Arts Council of Henderson County will present the 54th annual Art on Main Fine Art/Fine Craft festival along Hendersonville, NC’s historic Main Street, Oct. 5 & 6 2013. Festival hours will be 10am-5pm both days.

One of the region’s most popular outdoor arts festivals, Art on Main will feature fine arts and fine crafts from local and regional artists, as well as many artists from states beyond the southeast region. More than 70 artists will participate in this juried and judged festival.

Among the new artists for this year is Nate Barton, an artist who works in several different media including design and illustration, pottery and woodwork. This year he will present his finely detailed watercolors. Karin Connolly, a photographer from Orlando, FL, is a fine art nature photographer who has learned to take her time in order to record the ideal time when nature “comes together in perfect harmony.” Her work includes scenic, floral, and digital imagery. Kathy Oda, of Ladys Island, SC, has been working in kiln formed glass for over 15 years. She endeavors to reveal the illusion of texture and movement found in glass.

Other new artists will include Michelle Petelinz of Raleigh, NC. As a mixed media artist, she uses acrylic paint, pigment inks, handmade paper, oil pastels and polymer clay in her ongoing design process. Petelinz’s work includes shadow boxes, masks, clocks, and wall hangings. Walter Stanford, pastel artist from Kannapolis, NC, began his artistic career as a free lance artist providing editorial, humorous, and conceptual works for his clients. His pastel works still reflect that humor. Fiber artist Sandra Vasanto has been working with fiber since learning to knit as a teenager. She now uses Merino and Alpaca wool, as well as silk, in her hand felted hats and scarves.

“We are excited to have these talented individuals, along with so many other exceptional artists, as part of Art on Main this year,” says Kim Adams, co-chair of Art on Main.

The Art on Main committee has also gathered a diverse group of artists for live arts demonstrations which will be interspersed throughout historic Main Street this year. Demonstrations will include raku pottery, journal crafting, calligraphy, weaving and fiber arts, blacksmithing, basket making, pastels, scrafitto, duck carving, and pochoir painting. Artists will take time to explain their processes and motivation and many will have finished work for sale.

Three distinguished judges will be judging the artist’s work and booths to determine winners for more than $3,000 in prize money. In addition to the $1,000 Best of Show Award, first place ($500), and second place ($300) prizes will be awarded in both categories of fine art and fine craft. Four Honorable Mentions of $100 each will also be awarded.

Art on Main will be joining the national celebration of American Craft Week, when artists, galleries, craft organizations and schools across the nation will raise awareness of the many benefits of crafts to our lives and to our economy. Shirley Palmer-Hill of WICKWIRE fine art / folk art will sponsor an American Craft Week Award of $100. American Craft Week will be observed from Oct. 4 - 13, 2013.

The Art on Main committee is honored to have three distinguished judges for the 54th Art on Main. Robert Dunning is a professor of Art at the University of North Carolina Asheville. He holds an MFA in Printmaking from Indiana University Bloomington, and a BFA in Painting and Drawing from East Carolina University. His artwork uses printmaking, painting, drawing and mixed media processes to construct multi-layered illusionistic mixed media compositions. Dunning’s artwork has been exhibited internationally and nationally, particularly throughout the southeast, and is included in several permanent collections.

Michael Sherrill is primarily a self taught artist whose primary influences came from the North Carolina folk pottery tradition, and the community of artists surrounding Penland School of Crafts, and the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild. He is a frequent instructor at Penland and has taught at craft schools and workshops across the country. Sherrill has been a featured presenter and lecturer at the US Clay exhibition of the Smithsonian’s Renwick Museum of American Craft. Originally his work was completely functional, but it has evolved into work that is now wholly sculptural.

Robert Tynes received a BA degree from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, graduating with Honors and Distinction in Art. He earned an MFA in Painting from East Carolina University. Tynes has held over 25 solo exhibitions of his work across the US and has completed several large scale commissions. Currently he is Professor of Art in Painting and Drawing and Director of the S. Tucker Cooke Gallery at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. Tynes’ work combines abstract brush marks with trompe l’oeil illusionism.

Art on Main is presented by The Arts Council of Henderson County with major support provided by the Henderson County Visitors Information Center and Morris Broadband. Additional support is provided by the City of Hendersonville, JoAnn Fabric & Craft Stores, Wells Fargo, Mast General Store, Blue Ridge Travel Guide, and Bold Life Magazine.

The Arts Council of Henderson County is a community organization that promotes, advocates for and nurtures the arts in Henderson County and western North Carolina. The Arts Council is supported in part by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources; funds administered by the Community Foundation of Henderson County, Henderson County, and Henderson County Travel and Tourism.

For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Arts Council at 828/693-8504 or visit (www.acofhc.org).

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