JUNE 17, 2010 ISSUE
Greater Avery Tour de Art Kicks Off June 26
Back for a second year is the Greater Avery Tour de Art, a monthly arts event featuring 11 galleries and studios in the Foscoe, Banner Elk, Linville and greater Avery County areas.
The tours will take place every fourth Saturday through October from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The first monthly tour is on Saturday, June 26. The gallery tour includes paintings, pottery, sculpture, fine art reproductions, framing, lighting and more by established and emerging artists. Galleries may also feature refreshments, special sales and other activities.
Tour de Art began in 2009 as an event planned by the Coalition of Galleries (COG).
“Initiated last year on little more than a brainstorm, a gathering and ample consumption of wine, gallery owners and studio artists…formed an alliance of friendship and business cooperation that survives and thrives today,” according to a press release from the Avery County Arts Council. “Plans are underway to repeat the program with an expanded network of contributors and events.”
Included in this year’s Tour de Art will be two plein air paint-outs sponsored by the Avery Arts Council. One will be held in conjunction with the Crossnore Fine Arts Gallery June 24 to 26, and the other will take place in conjunction with The Art Cellar August 28.
A map of the entire tour is available at each location, and directional signs help guide gallery tourists along the 105, 184, 194 and 221 highways. For more information about the Tour de Art, call 828-963-7246.
1. Kevin Beck Studio
1590 Shulls Mill Road, Boone
828-963-1181
The Kevin Beck Studio will feature new works of High Country scenes, San Miguel de Allende MX and the marshes of the East Coast. The studio will also serve herbal teas from its organic herb garden.
2. ArtPurveyors.com & Wildflowers Publishing
112 Aldridge Park (105 South), Foscoe
828-963-7246
Artpurveyors has released 12 proofs of “Good Boy,” a Wildflowers Fine Art Editions giclee print on canvas by North Carolina Outer Banks artist John “Possum” SilverArtpurveyors announced the release of 12 proofs of “Good Boy,” a Wildflowers Fine Art Editions giclee print on canvas by North Carolina Outer Banks artist John “Possum” Silver. Encouraged by his family and inspired by his Old Nags Head cottage, some of Silver’s first paintings were beach scenes of the relic beach homes and his children playing at the water’s edge.
Silver paints at the beach, beside the ocean, in the shadow of the old cottages and near the open marsh. Five years into the process, he switched from watercolors to oils.
Artpurveyors will also have a trunk show of new picture frame moulding collections. Orders placed during the Tour de Art will be discounted 20 percent. M Graham & Company artists’ colors will be 40 percent off retail with a buy-three-get-one-free deal. Wildflowers Publishing also has specials on digital photo canvas prints.
3. Carlton Gallery
10360 Highway 105 South, Banner Elk
828-963-4288
Mustang by Gina Strumpf. The Carlton Gallery will highlight horses and wildlife during the June Tour de Art.Carlton Gallery celebrates its 28th season with an emphasis on animal paintings—horses and wildlife. The spirit of the horse is captured in oils on canvas and mixed media by talented and horse-loving artists Vae Hamilton, Bill Farnsworth, Gina Strumpf, Holly Glasscock, Toni Carlton, Brenda Barber and Jim Crompton.
Artist Brian Carney will demonstrate his wildlife painting techniques at Carlton Gallery during the Tour de Art. Carney paints American wildlife such as whitetail deer, cougars and birds. Carney paints in an “interpretive color” style, which translates the actual colors into conceptual tones to evoke a mood. In addition, the Carlton Gallery’s Spring Exhibition continues through July 15.
4. Linville Gallery
3990 Highway 105 South, Suite 8, Banner Elk
828-898-8405
The Linville Gallery will feature the works of artists Veronica Clark and Libby Smart at the upcoming Tour de Art.The Linville Gallery will feature the works of artists Veronica Clark and Libby Smart at the upcoming Tour de Art. Come by and meet them on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the gallery’s new location in the Grandfather Center next door to the Hearthstone Tavern and Grille. The gallery will provide light refreshments.
5. The Art Cellar Gallery & Framemakers
920 Shawneehaw Avenue (Highway 184), Banner Elk
828-898-5175
Jim Chapman’s landscapes and still lifes are featured during the Tour de Art at The Art Cellar Gallery in Banner Elk on June 26. Meet the artist from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.The Art Cellar Gallery & Framemakers will feature the paintings of Charlotte artist Jim Chapman with a show of fantasy farmlands and vibrant harvests, works that depict his personal style of approaching the landscape and still life. Meet Chapman in the gallery from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. for an art social during the Tour de Art.
6. The Cheese House Gallery (Avery Arts Council)
630 Shawneehaw Avenue (Highway 184), Banner Elk
828-898-4292
The Avery Arts Council’s Cheese House Gallery in Banner Elk features Funky Bugs, Butterflies and Birdhouses: Art for the Outside, an exhibition by Heidi Fisher, through Wednesday, June 30. Fisher is well known throughout the county for her quilt squares.
“I appreciate the traditional patterns, but it is fun to do your own,” Fisher said. “I couldn’t do algebra, but I loved geometry!”
Fisher’s repertoire also includes painted furniture and other items. All of the pieces in the exhibition are weather resistant and use outdoor paint coated in polyurethane so they can be used outdoors or inside.
7. Sally Nooney Art Gallery
7137 Highway 194 South, Banner Elk
828-963-7347
Sally Nooney Gallery always has new paintings, and the gallery has now added unique stained glass, fused glass and handmade jewelry. In addition, Studio Rustics returns with turned wood bowls in apple, cherry and walnut. Join the gallery for refreshments and meet local artists during the Tour de Art.
8. Alta Vista Gallery
2839 Broadstone Road, Valle Crucis
828-963-5247
New oils by Joan Sporn are featured at Alta Vista Gallery in Valle Crucis.Linville artist Joan Sporn has been painting for 50 years and is the bestselling artist of more than 100 artists in Alta Vista Gallery in Valle Crucis. One of her paintings caused a bidding war at the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum auction, fetching three times its asking price. Now this successful artist is creating a new style.
Most of Sporn’s new works are painted entirely with a palette knife, no brushes—a departure from her usual broad, soft brushstrokes. Alta Vista Gallery will host an opening reception from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during the Tour de Art to feature new paintings by Sporn.
“I fell in love with it!” Sporn said about palette knife painting. “They are more difficult to create, harder to manipulate, but it’s still very enjoyable. One thing I like is that this style keeps your strokes very loose.”
In addition to oil paintings, Alta Vista offers watercolors, limited edition prints and giclees on canvas, as well as kaleidoscopes, stained glass, fused glass, handmade jewelry and Mangum Pottery.
9. 87 Ruffin St. Gallery
87 Ruffin Street, Linville
828-737-0420
87 Ruffin St. Gallery features a large collection of Southern folk art, woodcarvings and hundreds of artful pieces, from pottery to handcrafted furniture. The gallery is located at the Old Hampton Store in Linville.
10. Crossnore Gallery
205 Johnson Lane, Crossnore
828-733-3144
The Tour de Art will take place on the final day of the Parkway Plein Air Competition, an event hosted by the Avery Arts Council and Crossnore Fine Arts Gallery to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The public is encouraged to drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway and stop and observe the artists as they work capturing mountain landscapes and the flora and fauna of our own national treasure. Artists 17 and under will paint on the beautiful campus of the Crossnore School. Maps of the designated locations for artists will be available to art fans at all Tour de Art galleries.
A reception with all participating artists and their completed work takes place at the Crossnore Fine Arts Gallery from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
11. Linville River Pottery
2180 Goose Hollow Road, Pineola
828-387-1944
This porcelain teapot by Linville River Pottery was made on a kickwheel, faceted, carved and fitted with a handmade reed handle.Linville River Pottery is a working clay studio owned by Patti Connor-Greene and Dan Greene featuring stoneware and porcelain teapots, bowls, vases and mugs handmade on a kickwheel. The studio also has original wall hangings by Virginia McKinney Greene, unique handmade aprons and pillowcases by Jennifer Franz and colorful fabric market bags by Barbara Aycock.
The studio will serve cookies and mango ginger tea during the Tour de Art.
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