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June Issue 2005
Toe River Arts Council Offer Summer Studio Tour in WNC
Claudia Dunaway
Deanna Blanchard & Chuck Young
Just northeast of Asheville, NC, in the lush green Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, more fine craftspeople per capita live and work than anywhere else in the US. Twice a year, they open their studios for the Toe River Studio Tour, a weekend long event of browsing and buying. This summer's tour will take place on June 11-12, 2005, from 10am-5pm.
Kathy Sky
Doug Sudduth
More than 100 artists and craftspeople in every medium take part in the free, self-guided cultural adventure presented by the Toe River Arts Council, a non-profit organization that serves Mitchell and Yancey counties of NC.
Yvonne Hegney
Miles Henry
You don't have to be a collector to enjoy the tour. An informative map and signs guide visitors up, down and around the scenic rural byways leading to the fascinating studios and homes of the artists. Along the way, rhododendrons in bloom, glimpses of wildlife and majestic mountain views add to the Toe River Studio Tour experience.
"Our goal is to help both new and established collectors get to know the artists in our area and see the world class craft that is made here," says Denise Cook, director of the arts council. "We also hope to share with them the beauty of our mountains and the friendliness of our people."
J.J. Brown
Rob Levine
The variety and quality of the art and craft seen on the tour is superb. Home of the modern art glass movement, the area has world-renowned glass blowers. More than 25 glass artists such as Robert Levin, William and Katherine Bernstein, Yaffa and Jeff Todd, Joe Nielander, Kenny Pieper often take part in the tour. With a long tradition of pottery making, the area houses clay artists who work in many forms including sculpture, functional and decorative pottery, carved tiles, sinks, tables and more. More than 35 clay artists such as Cynthia Bringle, Jane Peiser, Suze Lindsay, Michael Rutkowsky and Kathy Sky take part in the tour.
Artists in almost every medium open their studios for the tour. In addition to glass and clay craftsmen, there are woodworkers, jewelers, blacksmiths, painters, photographers, basket makers, sculptors, fiber artists, and mixed media artists.
The tour map takes visitors down interesting roads and garden paths, besides creeks and ponds, up hillsides, down twisting roads, through llama and sheep farms, and to the top of high vistas. Studios come in all sorts from stucco cottages, centuries old log cabins, converted barns and garages, several renovated general stores and contemporary hillside homes. A few studios are at the site of a former landfill, their kilns powered by gas from the landfill.
Examples of tour participants' work will be
on display at the Toe River Arts Council's gallery in Spruce Pine,
NC, during June through the tour.
For more info check our NC Institutional Gallery listings,
call the art council at 828/765-0520 or at (www.toeriverarts.org).
Maps and info are available at the website.
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.