Intermediate Wheel Throwing
2024-07-27 14:00 - 2024-07-28 18:00 (America/New_York) | High Country Ceramic Arts, Burnsville., 552 E U.S. Hwy 19E Bypass, Burnsville, North Carolina, 28714
In this two-day class with Melanie Risch, learn how to take your throwing to the next level. We’ll cover lidded jars, closed forms, throwing off the hump, throwing taller/bigger pieces, throwing oval forms, how to make a good mug, and anything else the class is interested in learning about or improving on. This class is intended for people who know how to center clay and pull up walls, but who want to level up on their throwing skills in a guided group atmosphere. For ages 14+. Class size maximum 6.
Register here.
When: July 27 – 28, 2024, 2 pm – 6 pm
Where: High Country Ceramic Arts
Cost: $200 per person

Reception for Robin Martindale Exhibition
2024-08-01 17:00 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: August 1, 2024, 5 PM – 7 PM
Where: Owen Gallery

Robin Martindale: On and Off the Wall
2024-08-03 - 2024-09-07 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
As I see it, art-making is a meditative process. When I work, I learn who I am. Visual art is a way of communicating that is as visceral as music but much more subtle, particularly when it is non-representational or abstracted. We absorb things visually and take joy in that vision without taking the time to name it.
The original idea for the exhibition was to propose a show at the old Toe River Arts Council space in Burnsville, NC. The work would include small clay sculptural pieces that would hang on the wall in a group and abstract acrylic paintings.
When the show was moved to the old library space in Burnsville, I began to build larger sculptural pieces that use recycled materials, such as plastic containers, shells, and scrap steel. Since the space is much larger than the original space I intended to use some of my larger sculptural pieces to fill in the space.
I offer these images to you and hope that they reveal a story to you that is unique to you and that their ambiguity reveals our common humanity and that we can feel the comfort of our similarities in them.
When: August 3 – September 7
Where: Owen Gallery

Bringle: A Tale of Two Makers Community Showing - Burnsville
2024-08-04 16:00 - 19:00 | Burnsville Town Center, 6 South Main St, Burnsville, NC, 28714, United States
We invite you to join Toe River Arts in a private screening of BRINGLE: A Tale of Two Makers. Two private screenings are scheduled, July 17th in Spruce Pine and August 4th in Burnsville. A meet and greet with Cynthia Bringle and Edwina Bringle will follow each viewing. To accommodate the number of anticipated guests, we will require that you RSVP as soon as possible. Our Spruce Pine location has limited space.
Register here.
When: August 4, 2024, 4 pm
Where: The Burnsville Town Center
Cost: Free

Stanley Mace Anderson: 1978-2024
2024-08-10 - 2024-09-14 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Stanley Mace Andersen has been a studio potter since 1978. He works with earthenware clay and is concerned primarily with making utilitarian ware for the table and kitchen. He uses the majolica technique in decorating his pottery which is fired in an electric kiln to cone03. He wants his pottery to contribute to the enjoyment of preparing and presenting food. He paints quickly and directly on the raw glazed surface, creating liquid flowing lines, splashes of color, and overlaps of brushstrokes. This creates a feeling of exuberance and casual spontaneity. Rhythm and grace in the brushstrokes are important to both his pleasure in the process and the final result. His continued use of this technique has evolved over time. The final product is important, but “it is the process where I am most likely to find inspiration”. The exhibition will show the evolution of his work with pieces from past to present.
When: August 10 – September 14, 2024
Where: Kokol Gallery

Second Tuesday Life Drawing - August
2024-08-13 17:30 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Bring your favorite drawing implements and surfaces or use the provided materials, and let’s spend an evening each month drawing together. We’ll alternate months between clothed live models and still life set-ups, engage in thoughtful discussion about technique, have some guest artists share their tips and tricks, and improve our observational drawing skills together. Come once or twice or every month!
Ages 16+ (guardian consent needed for those under 18)
Register here.
When: Second Tuesdays from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Where: Toe River Arts Owen Gallery
Cost: $10 per class (members), $12 per class (non-members)

Reception for Stanley Mace Anderson Exhibition
2024-08-16 17:00 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: August 16, 2024, 5 PM – 7 PM
Where: Kokol Gallery

Introduction to Print Making with Claudia Dunaway Richards
2024-08-17 10:00 - 15:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Are you interested in learning the basics of relief printing? Join Toe River Artist and printmaker, Claudia Dunaway Richards for an introductory workshop. In this workshop participants will learn about the necessary tools & techniques for planning, carving and printing while creating their own block and prints.
Register here.
When: August 17, 2024, 10 am – 3 pm
Where: Toe River Arts Owen Gallery
Cost: $55 per person, includes instruction, block for carving, carving tools, paper & ink for printing

Second Tuesday Life Drawing - September
2024-09-10 17:30 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States

Walt Baker: Moods of the Blue Ridge
2024-09-14 - 2024-12-31 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a special place that presents an infinitude of inspiring moments: Muted dusks, the crystalline stillness of winter, breezy high-country afternoons, star-flecked heavens at midnight…the list is unending. There is a quality the Blue Ridge bestows on all who visit or live here that seldom fades. I am currently exploring these themes mainly using color, texture, and value. I use abstraction, gesture, and atmosphere to more closely identify with my experiences in these mountains.
When: September 14 – December 31, 2024
Where: Owen Gallery

2024 Music in the Mountains Folk Festival
2024-09-14 | Homeplace Beer Company, 321 W Main St, Burnsville, NC, 28714, United States
Since 1985, the Music in the Mountains Folk Festival has showcased local and regional traditional music. With your support in the way of donations and the purchase of limited-edition t-shirts, we can continue to honor performers and promoters like Sheila K. Adams and past honorees Don Pedi, Wayne Ledford, Rhonda Gouge, Bob Lominac, Bobby McMillon, Bruce Greene, Bob “Happy Feet” Aldridge, and Bill and Judy Carson.
Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 14th, at Homeplace Beer Company & Hog Hollow Pizza for an afternoon of workshops, traditional craft vendors and an evening filled with Appalachian music. Music starts at 5 pm, with performances by:

Suzannah Park – MC
Old Timey musician Travis Stuart and friends
Festival Honoree Terry McKinney and friends
Bluegrass band White Rock Revival
Dancers from Appalachian Performing Arts

The festivities begin at 2 pm with workshop opportunities. Workshops allow festival attendees to engage with performers in an intimate setting while learning and are great for those who are looking to participate in addition to watching the performances. Each workshop costs $35 per participant and will run from 2-3:30. Suggested donation for attending is $15.

Harmony Singing with Suzannah Park
Banjo with Travis Stuart
Fiddle with William Ritter

For more information, to purchase a t-shirt and register for workshops, visit the event website.

Mary Lynn Bowman and Jim Bowman, Paintings and Sculpture
2024-09-21 - 2024-12-31 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
This exhibit is a retrospective of the past 30 years of work by Mary Lynn and Jim Bowman. Mary Lynn’s work includes paintings in oil/mixed media and wall-hung fused glass works. Jim’s work includes glass and mixed-media sculpture.
About Mary Lynn Bowman
My artwork is a personal journal of my writings, paintings, and sketches. I refer to these things and my poetry when I work.
I am never bored with experimenting with glass, which always gives me fresh ideas in my artwork. I am challenged to use the materials and colors I have to express what I feel as a woman in her 70s trying to figure out my life in the present and what I have felt as a small girl child growing up in the 40s and 50s. My adolescence is still a mystery to be figured into my work at a later time. My work is narrative and reflects myself and my surroundings, my fears, and my joys. My imagery comes from my dreams, from what I observe in humanity, and from my search for the truth.
About Jim Bowman
I was born in Cameron, Texas and currently live and work in Burnsville, North Carolina. I have a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Glass, and I have a passion for the creativity and ingenuity that glass art requires. My work ranges from small table-top pieces to large-scale sculptural and architectural installations. It includes blown glass vessels, wall-mounted and free-standing sculptures, and leaded glass architectural panels.
My autonomous work is sculptural in nature. It is an ongoing experimentation with glass forming processes. In much of my work, I combine glass with other materials, such and steel, wood, concrete, and found objects.
When: September 21 – December 31, 2024
Where: Kokol Gallery

Marbling on Cloth with Alena Applerose
2024-09-28 10:00 - 15:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Join Alena Garashi Applerose for a half day of marbling on cloth. We’ll try our hand at swirling colors, creating designs, and making our very own wearables using the technique of marbling.
Register here.
When: September 28, 2024, 10 am – 3 pm
Where: Toe River Arts Owen Gallery
Cost: $55

Reception for Walt Baker Exhibition
2024-09-28 17:00 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: September 28, 2024, 5 PM – 7 PM
Where: Owen Gallery

Reception for Bowman Exhibition
2024-09-28 17:00 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: September 28, 2024, 5 PM – 7 PM
Where: Kokol Gallery

Reed Trivets with Bridget VanRemortel
2024-10-05 10:00 - 13:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Join Toe River Artist and basket maker extraordinaire Bridget VanRemortel for a half-day workshop weaving your very own versatile and useful reed trivet.
Register here.
When: October 5, 2024, 10 am – 1 pm
Where: Toe River Arts Owen Gallery
Cost: $55 per person includes all supplies, materials and instruction.

Second Tuesday Life Drawing - November
2024-11-12 17:30 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States

“Charmed, I’m Sure”: Wine Glass Charm Sets with Alena Applerose
2024-11-23 15:00 - 17:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: November 23, 2024, 3 pm – 5 pm
Where: Toe River Arts Owen Gallery
Cost: $35

Paper Star Garlands with Alena Applerose
2024-12-07 10:00 - 13:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: December 7, 2024, 10 am – 1 pm
Where: Toe River Arts Owen Gallery
Cost: $15

Second Tuesday Life Drawing - December
2024-12-10 17:30 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States

Mitchell County Student Showcase
2025-02-15 - 2025-03-15 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: February 15 – March 15, 2025
Where: Kokol Gallery
Reception:
March 8, 2025
11 AM – 1 PM
Kokol Gallery
Every year Toe River Arts hosts the Arts In Education Showcase for Yancey and Mitchell Counties in partnership with Penland School of Craft and The Arts Matter. These are exhibitions where we feature the artwork of our local school-aged kids.
Please reach out to Alena Applerose, Community Outreach Coordinator, with any questions, comments, or concerns by email alena@toeriverarts.org or phone at 828-765-0520.

Yancey County Student Showcase
2025-02-22 - 2025-03-22 | Yancey County Public Library, 321 School Circle, Burnsville, 28714, United States
When: February 22 – March 22, 2025
Where: Herring-Kivette Gallery, Yancey County Library
Reception:
March 15, 2025
11 AM – 1 PM
Herring-Kivette Gallery, Yancey County Library
Every year Toe River Arts hosts the Arts In Education Showcase for Yancey and Mitchell Counties in partnership with Penland School of Craft and The Arts Matter. These are exhibitions where we feature the artwork of our local school-aged kids.
Please reach out to Alena Applerose, Community Outreach Coordinator, with any questions, comments, or concerns by email alena@toeriverarts.org or phone at 828-765-0520.

Mitchell County Student Showcase Reception
2025-03-08 11:00 - 13:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: March 8, 2025, 11 AM – 1 PM
Where: Kokol Gallery
Every year Toe River Arts hosts the Arts In Education Showcase for Yancey and Mitchell Counties in partnership with Penland School of Craft and The Arts Matter. These are exhibitions where we feature the artwork of our local school-aged kids.
All Mitchell and Yancey County school-aged children (K-12) are invited to contribute 2d & 3d artwork for the exhibitions whether they are in public school, private school, homeschooled or unschooled as long as they live in Mitchell & Yancey Counties. We’d also love to help provide space for performances during the receptions while we celebrate the arts in our community.
The Mitchell County Showcase will be in the Toe River Arts Kokol Gallery in Spruce Pine from 2/15 – 3/15.
Please reach out to Alena Applerose, Community Outreach Coordinator, with any questions, comments, or concerns by email alena@toeriverarts.org or phone at 828-765-0520.

2025 Second Tuesday Life Drawing - March
2025-03-11 17:30 - 19:30 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Bring your favorite drawing implements and surfaces or use the provided materials, and let’s spend an evening each month drawing together. We’ll alternate between clothed live models and still-life set-ups each month, engage in thoughtful discussion about technique, and improve our observational drawing skills together. Come once, twice, or every month!
This year, we are excited to bring local Toe River Artist Ivaylo Gueorgiev to our Life Drawing sessions to lead us through some fundamentals, tips, and techniques for illustration. He will join us for Figure Drawing on March 11 and for the Still Life set-up on April 8. Appropriate for all experience levels!
Ages 16+ (guardian consent needed for those under 18)
Register here.
When: Second Tuesdays from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Where: Toe River Arts Owen Gallery
Cost: $10 per class for Toe River Arts members, $12 per class for the general public

Yancey County Student Showcase Reception
2025-03-15 11:00 - 13:00 | Yancey County Public Library, 321 School Circle, Burnsville, 28714, United States
When: March 15, 2025, 11 AM – 1 PM
Where: Herring-Kivette Gallery, Yancey County Library
Every year Toe River Arts hosts the Arts In Education Showcase for Yancey and Mitchell Counties in partnership with Penland School of Craft and The Arts Matter. These are exhibitions where we feature the artwork of our local school-aged kids.
All Mitchell and Yancey County school-aged children (K-12) are invited to contribute 2d & 3d artwork for the exhibitions whether they are in public school, private school, homeschooled or unschooled as long as they live in Mitchell & Yancey Counties. We’d also love to help provide space for performances during the receptions while we celebrate the arts in our community.
The Yancey County Showcase will be 2/22 – 3/22, in the Herring-Kivette Gallery, on the second floor of the Yancey County Library.
Please reach out to Alena Applerose, Community Outreach Coordinator, with any questions, comments, or concerns by email alena@toeriverarts.org or phone at 828-765-0520.

18th Annual Blacksmith Exhibition
2025-03-29 - 2025-04-26 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: March 29 – April 26, 2025
Where: Kokol Gallery
Toe River Arts hosts the Annual Blacksmith Exhibition. The exhibition is in conjunction with the Fire on the Mountain Blacksmithing Festival which takes place on Saturday, April 26th on Lower Street in Spruce Pine between 10 AM–4 PM. The festival is coordinated by Spruce Pine Main Street, Penland School of Craft, Toe River Arts, Arthur Morgan School and local smiths.
The exhibition runs the month prior to the festival and gives the public an opportunity to view the work of blacksmiths from the southeast and beyond. It promotes the festival and is one of the premier blacksmith exhibitions in our region. The exhibition offers craftspeople the opportunity to show their work in a gallery setting in a region known for its blacksmithing history. The exhibition will display this year’s Featured Blacksmith Anton Yakushev and the festival demonstrators; Abe Pardee, Erica Moody and Liam Hoffman.
There will be a public reception on Friday, April 25th from 5:30 PM–7 PM. This is an opportunity for folks to meet the blacksmiths and to celebrate this year’s exhibition and festival. Anton Yakushev will speak in the upstairs Owen Gallery after the reception. There will be $1000 in awards which will be announced during the reception. This year visitors will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite piece for the People’s Choice Award.

2025 Second Tuesday Life Drawing - April
2025-04-08 17:30 - 19:30 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States

Dreaming Animals: Stephanie Berry
2025-04-19 - 2025-05-24 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: April 19 – May 24, 2025
Where: Owen Gallery
The first story was a dream. Long before complex language, or tools, our deepest ancestors were dreaming. I would even argue that dreamwork––communal dreamwork in particular––is one of the foundations for the development of art, ritual, and culture.
In our technological age, dreaming has been reduced to nighttime brain activity. But as a lifelong student of dreamwork, I understand dreaming as an essential practice that connects us with a deeper experience of life and puts us in conversation with spiritual forces.
Many of my most potent dreams have been dreams of animals. When we dream of animals, we have entered a deep place in the dreamworld, for we have left our human-centric world and entered a forest filled with other ways of knowing and being. These are the dreams that wildly inspire us, or shake us loose of our moorings, and deliver us to the mystery of life.
My exhibition, Dreaming Animals, will explore dreamwork specifically through the lens of these potent animal dreams. Mining my many journals, of both dreams and mystical experiences in nature, I will explore not only my own dreams but also imagine what our animal kin may be dreaming. This exhibition seeks to assert not only the importance of dreaming as a human practice but also bear witness to the profound evolutionary significance of dreaming as a biological necessity that strengthens the web of consciousness in which we are enmeshed.

Square Spring Baskets with Bridget VanRemortel
2025-04-19 10:00 - 17:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Join Bridget for a day making a one-of-a-kind, cute spring basket to hold your rolls for Easter dinner or something to hold all your candy from an egg hunt. All the tools and materials will be provided in the class. Here’s your chance to learn a functional craft or maybe find a new hobby.
When: Saturday, April 19, from 10 am – 5 pm
Where: Toe River Arts Owen Gallery
Cost: $65 per person
Register here.

18th Annual Blacksmith Exhibition Reception
2025-04-25 17:00 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: April 25, 2025, 5 PM – 7 PM
Where: Kokol Gallery
