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November Issue 2004
Toe River Studio Tour in Spruce Pine, NC, is Scheduled for Dec. 4 & 5, 2004.
J.J.
Brown
About an hour north of Asheville, NC, in the lush green mountains of western North Carolina is one of the finest collections of artists and craftsmen in the world. Attracted by the beautiful scenery, the area's centuries-old craft tradition, and the nearby Penland School of Crafts, world-renowned artists have built their studios and careers in the hollows and valleys of the Toe River watershed. A unique blend of contemporary and traditional cultures is creating a collectors' paradise, and twice a year bargains can be found.
Kathy
Sky
More than 100 fine artists and crafts people in every medium open their studios in Spruce Pine, NC, for the Toe River Studio Tour, a free, self-guided cultural adventure held the second weekend of June and the first weekend of December. The Toe River Arts Council, a non profit organization that serves Mitchell and Yancey counties of North Carolina, presents the tour.
Yaffa
& Jeff Todd
Collectors will quickly recognize the names of established artists such as Kenny Pieper, Rob Levin, Yaffa and Jeff Todd, masters in blown glass. Billie Ruth Sudduth's hand woven baskets have earned her the title of "North Carolina Cultural Treasure," and several are in the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian. Yvonne Hegney's clay and mixed media vessels and Suze Lindsay and Kent McLaughlin's Fork Mountain functional pottery are in private collections around the world.
Chuck Young &
Deana Blanchard
Linda MacMichael & Tim Clark
Artists continue to move to the area enriching the diverse mix. Fiber artists Linda MacMichael and Tim Clark, who make one of a kind evening bags and beaded necklaces, bought antique log cabins in Yancey County after 20 years in Phoenix, AZ. Ila Seltzer, a sculptor, moved from Miami three years ago to focus full-time on her art. Glass and metal artists Chuck Young and Deana Blanchard sold their studio in downtown Boulder, CO, 10 years ago to move to the peace and beauty of the older and gentler Appalachians.
The attitude of the established and emerging artists alike is a desire to enlighten, educate, and entertain visitors to their studios. Some provide demonstrations and tours of their studio and gardens, and most provide snacks as creative as their art. Clark offers samples of bread and pizza from his wood-burning oven.
Jan
V. Welch
"I know of no other Studio Tour that offers so many choices of high quality crafts in every medium," says Denise Cook, director of the arts council. "Over the past 26 years, the tour has grown into a premier event, both in size and quality. Although our artists are some of the most successful in the world, the atmosphere is still small town and just a little funky. No one's pretentious here. With a name like Toe River, how could we be?" she adds with a laugh.
Examples of tour participants' work will
be on display at the Toe River Arts Council's gallery at 269 Oak
Avenue in Spruce Pine, NC, about five weeks in advance of each
tour. An artists' reception takes place Friday night before the
Tour from 5-8 p.m. at the gallery. The reception and self-guided
tour are free. The Dec. 2004 Toe River Studio Tour is scheduled
for Dec. 4 & 5, 2004. The Spring 2005 Tour will be held June
11 & 12, 2005. Complete information, including a map to the
studios, is available six weeks before the Tours at or year round
by calling 828/765-0520.
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.