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Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05
July 31, 2008 issue
Downtown Boone Art Crawl Friday
Compiled by Anna Oakes
Appalachian State University’s month-long arts festival, An Appalachian Summer, ended last week, but in the High Country, the arts continue year round.
Celebrate the best in local and regional art at the monthly Downtown Boone Art Crawl on Friday, August 1.
Receptions at several downtown art galleries begin around 5:00 p.m. and continue throughout the evening. The Downtown Boone Development Association sponsors the Art Crawl. For more information, call 828-262-4532.
ArtWalk
611 West King Street
828-264-9998
During the August Art Crawl, ArtWalk celebrates its third birthday and features jewelry artist and Boone local Mary Roddy.
Since joining ArtWalk in February, Roddy has been a great artistic and social asset to the young gallery. As an active citizen, Roddy keeps abreast of the downtown goings-on and like the ArtWalk staff, Roddy is interested in the upkeep and advancement of the downtown area. Join ArtWalk starting at 5:30 p.m. for hors d’oeuvres, wine, cupcakes and a trunk show of Roddy’s fascinating beads.
Roddy will present an eclectic selection of one-of-a-kind, unique beaded jewelry, including intricately beaded cabochons with semi-precious stones, crafted wooden symbols, Roman and fused glass, and handcrafted metal forms. Roddy incorporates more than a half-century of training and experience using wood, glass and metal fabrication techniques.
To celebrate the store’s anniversary, ArtWalk artists will offer discounts from Friday to Sunday, August 1 to 3.
Hands Gallery
543 West King Street
828-262-1970
The Hands Gallery will feature two of its member-artists during the Art Crawl—woodworker Denise Grohs and wood turner Phil Hull. A reception with refreshments will take place from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Grohs has been a furniture maker for 30 years and a member of the Hands Gallery for about 20 years. Her business, Miters Touch, located on N.C. 105 south of Boone, creates custom furniture, specification furniture and cabinets and serves as a dealer for Plain and Fancy and Breathe Easy brand cabinets.
“All the furniture is made here by us,” Grohs said. Grohs works primarily with domestic hardwoods such as cherry, maple, ash and oak and appropriately sourced mahogany. Her show at the Hands Gallery continues through Thursday, August 7, and features tables constructed of various woods, glass, granite tile, solid surface material and copper.
Hull uses the process of wood turning to create bowls, sinks, vases and other products. Most of Hull’s creations are “green-turned objects” created from trees that have fallen in a storm or in land clearing. Each bowl features unique characteristics, such as wavy or distorted rims or “live edges”—bowls with bark left on the rim. Hull uses “about anything I can get my hands on,” including walnut, cherry, poplar, birch, applewood and black gum.
Hull’s works on display include a wooden sink that received an honorable mention at the American Woodworking & Furnishings Suppliers Fair in Las Vegas. Hull sells his work through the Hands Gallery, where he has been a member for about a year, and by commission. He also teaches wood-turning classes in ASU’s Craft Enrichment program.
Nthº Gallery and Studios
683 West King Street
On Friday, August 1, the Nth? Gallery & Studios presents “Finding Balance,” featuring the work of Dana Starensier and Colin Javel. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and light refreshments will be served.
Starensier is a graduate of ASU with a BFA in graphic design. Her work will include paintings, a mix of watercolor and ink. Starensier started painting after college because she was seeking something to serve as a creative release at the end of the workday and found herself drawn in by exploring the balance between colors.
Javel graduated from ASU with a BFA in graphic arts and imaging technology. Javel’s work will include drawings and digital media, and is, as he describes it, work that “provokes the imagination, as well as reaching out to people like me that read Where the Wild Things Are a hundred times as a kid.” He includes in his list of influences Brian Froud, Maurice Sendak, Susan Seddon Boulet and Alex Grey.
“Finding Balance” came together because Javel and Stavensier recognized how opposite their individual styles were, yet simultaneously complementing. This is the first headlining gallery event for both artists.
The Nth? Gallery & Studios is an independent art venue located in downtown Boone. The Nth’s mission is to provide a space for emerging and established artists in the High Country region, and the gallery hosts shows on the first Friday of each month in conjunction with downtown Boone’s monthly Art Crawl. Stop by and check out the art and feel free to peek inside the resident members’ studios. For more info, contact Jamie Goodman at 828-719-9493.
Jones House Community Center
634 West King Street
828-264-1789
The Watauga Arts Council’s August gallery exhibits in the Jones House Community Center include a group watermedia show and a solo exhibit. The gallery reception to welcome these exhibits is from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Free food and beverage will be served and the public is invited and encouraged to attend.
The High Country Watermedia Annual Juried Exhibit in the Mazie Jones Gallery features 20-some artists’ works in a variety of water media including watercolor, acrylic, gouache, casein, pencil, paste, pen and ink and the newest transition media such as water-soluble oil paints.
The High Country Watermedia Society was founded in 1997 in the western mountains of North Carolina with a primary focus on creating, promoting, discussing and learning about artwork made from water-soluble materials, such as watercolors.
In the Open Door Gallery, Kent Paulette is a self-taught artist painting under the name Derfla. He paints in oil on canvas, and since he began painting 7 years ago, has completed more than 375 paintings.
Since Derfla’s January 2005 Jones House exhibit of portraits and abstract paintings, he has expanded the subjects of his paintings to include animals, flowers, cityscapes and landscapes.
“From the start of this journey I’ve opted out of symbolism, instead searching for a more direct way to express one core idea. This has led me to give control over to a process that allows the painting to come to life organically,” he said. “The painting is able to occur as an uninterrupted event subject to the whims of chance.” His expansive website, www.derfla.tv, provides access to all 375 of his paintings.
Also at this month’s reception, Judy Geary will sign copies of her novel, Getorix: The Eagle and The Bull, the story of a Celtic captive’s search for honor in ancient Rome. The book has been praised by reviewers as historical fiction for both adults and young people.
Turchin Center for the Visual Arts
423 West King Street
828-262-3017
The Turchin Center will feature current exhibitions that opened on April 4 and July 11 during the Art Crawl.
Exhibitions include Capturing a Transient World: A Contemporary Look at Louisiana and IN Black & White: Louisiana’s Retreating Coast and Communities, two exhibitions that opened on April 4, as well as Dancing with the Dragon: Contemporary Art From Beijing, Humanimals: The Sculptures of Gayle Weitz and the Brian Ayers Memorial Art Exhibition, three exhibitions opening on Friday, July 11.
Capturing a Transient World: A Contemporary Look at Louisiana, is an interpretive, multimedia exhibition focusing on the ever-changing coastal lands of Louisiana, and IN Black & White features photographs that investigate Louisiana’s coastline.
Dancing with the Dragon explores the contemporary work being created in China with 76 works ranging from paintings and drawings to mixed media and sculpture. Gayle Weitz, a professor in ASU’s Department of Art, brings viewers into a dialogue about animal hierarchy with Humanimals, a series of carved and painted wooden cabinets that address the relationship between humans and other animals, particularly the issue of speciesism—the “right” humans have to dominate, oppress and/or exploit other animals.
The Brian Ayers Memorial Exhibition is an annual showing open to international students with learning disabilities, ages 10 to 19.