Square Spring Baskets with Bridget VanRemortel
2025-04-19 10:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | 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

Dreaming Animals Reception
2025-05-02 17:00 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: May 2, 2025, 5 PM – 7 PM
Where: Owen Gallery

2025 Spring Studio Tour Preview Exhibition
2025-05-10 - 2025-06-08 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: May 10 – June 8, 2024
Where: Kokol Gallery
The Studio Tour Preview Exhibition is an exhibition of work from artists in Mitchell and Yancey Counties who are participating in the June Studio Tour. The exhibit is in conjunction with the Annual June Studio Tour which takes place annually on the first weekend of June. This year’s studio tour weekend is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 6–8. The exhibition opens on May 10 in the Spruce Pine Kokol Gallery and will run through June 8. It is an opportunity for visitors to get a preview of the artists that are on the tour and what they will be showing in their studios. We encourage visitors to come by the gallery and view this exhibition before they travel to the artists’ studios. There will be a reception on Friday, June 6, 5:30 PM–7:30 PM, and is open to the public.

2025 Second Tuesday Life Drawing – May
2025-05-13 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

Parallel Realities: Kathryn Arango
2025-06-06 - 2025-07-12 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: June 6 – July 12, 2025
Where: Owen Gallery

I have been creating textile art for over forty years and have won awards in national and international exhibitions. My art is in collections around the world. Also, I have contributed non-fiction articles to trade, travel, and literary magazines in English and Spanish. In 2010, Jungle, Solitude, and Dreams, my memoir about living in the outback of Colombia was published.
The exhibition is a collection of 22 illustrations of the goings-on in and around a little fishing village on the Colombian Caribbean coast where, in the 1990s, I lived a very different life. I became part of a community that included friends who had come to live in the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta with, and as, their indigenous Kogi neighbors. The lack of resources in the area creates a variety of lifestyles, with alternative economic systems. The images are painted on fabric then each bordered with a fabric frame. Each piece has a narrative of what the image represents. The images and explanations are woven together in a 50-page book I published to go along with the exhibition. The books will be available and a book signing during the reception. You can view all the images here: https://arangokathryn.weebly.com/parallel-realities.html

2025 Spring Studio Tour Preview Exhibition Reception
2025-06-06 17:30 - 19:30 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: June 6, 2025, 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Where: Kokol Gallery

Thrown Together: Established Makers in Clay
2025-06-21 - 2025-07-19 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: June 21 – July 19, 2025
Where: Kokol Gallery

Thrown Together Potters is a collaborative art group whose purpose is to provide creative and professional support for each of its members. Members include Jennifer Mecca, Michael Hamlin, Phil Haralam, Ron Philbeck, Amy Sanders, Charlie Tefft and Julie Wiggins. The seven members hold spring and fall sales events each year, cross-promote on our social media platforms, and collaborate on other projects. Each Thrown Together artist will present a series of work that represent their current studio practice. The exhibition will also be an opportunity for collaboration and exploration of new ideas. In addition to our typical work, we are proposing to create a series of collaborations specifically for this show. Successful art collaborations are challenging but rewarding endeavors. They require the participating parties to contribute their specific perspectives while staying receptive to their collaborator’s input. When it works well, both artists can gain a new perspective on their work and sow seeds for future projects and ideas. With a variety of sizes and price points, we will show approximately 70 pieces to be displayed on pedestals and the wall.

Outdoor Summer Art Camps for Kids with Anna Early - Print and Paint!
2025-06-23 - 2025-06-27 | Celo Community Center, 36 Sweet Cider Ln, Burnsville, NC, 28714, United States
When: Week of June 23
Where: Celo Community Center
Cost: $300 per person
Looking for fun-filled, local summer activities for your kids? Sign them up for outdoor art camp with art educator Anna Early. With three different camp options to choose from, your little artist will have the opportunity to explore their creative side. All camps are held Monday through Friday at the Celo Community Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and are appropriate for ages 5-9. The fee is $300 per participant, and some scholarships may be available.
Week of June 23: Print and Paint!
Explore printmaking with monotypes and stamping and learn new ways to paint with watercolors and acrylics.
Register here.

Parallel Realities: Kathryn Arango Reception
2025-07-11 17:00 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: July 11, 2025, 5 PM – 7 PM
Where: Owen Gallery

Thrown Together: Established Makers in Clay Reception
2025-07-19 17:00 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: July 19, 2025, 5 PM – 7 PM
Where: Kokol Gallery

Outdoor Summer Art Camps for Kids with Anna Early - Amazing Animals!
2025-07-21 - 2025-07-25 | Celo Community Center, 36 Sweet Cider Ln, Burnsville, NC, 28714, United States
When: Week of June 23
Where: Celo Community Center
Cost: $300 per person
Looking for fun-filled, local summer activities for your kids? Sign them up for outdoor art camp with art educator Anna Early. With three different camp options to choose from, your little artist will have the opportunity to explore their creative side. All camps are held Monday through Friday at the Celo Community Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and are appropriate for ages 5-9. The fee is $300 per participant, and some scholarships may be available.
Week of July 21: Amazing Animals!
Make clay animals, paper masks, and animal tracks. Express yourself through the eyes of your favorite creatures.
Register here.

Five to Nine: New Work by Penland School of Craft Staff
2025-07-26 - 2025-08-23 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: July 26 – August 23, 2025
Where: Owen Gallery
Five to Nine: New Work by Penland School of Craft Staff will highlight current work done by staff members of the Penland School of Craft. This group of twenty individual artists approaches the field of contemporary craft from the broad perspectives of functional objects, sculptures, and two-dimensional works, representing a material range of paper, photography, printmaking, metal, textile, ceramic, wood and glass. Unique to Five to Nine, these artists are not full-time studio artists. Each balances their studio practices with work obligations and active roles in craft communities locally and beyond Western North Carolina. The staff at Penland not only prepare the teaching studios, write grants, maintain the school facilities, prepare food or greet customers at Penland Gallery but also fill roles in many more locally oriented events and creative groups like Treats Studio, Penland’s Community Open House, Fire on the Mountain and the Spruce Pine Potters Market. Penland staff members are also on boards of arts organizations, jury exhibitions, and teach at craft schools. Through showcasing the studio work of these multifaceted artists, this exhibition highlights the broadness of what it means to live, work, and make as an artist today.

Outdoor Summer Art Camps for Kids with Anna Early – Fun with Fibers!
2025-07-28 - 2025-08-01 | Celo Community Center, 36 Sweet Cider Ln, Burnsville, NC, 28714, United States
When: Week of June 23
Where: Celo Community Center
Cost: $300 per person
Looking for fun-filled, local summer activities for your kids? Sign them up for outdoor art camp with art educator Anna Early. With three different camp options to choose from, your little artist will have the opportunity to explore their creative side. All camps are held Monday through Friday at the Celo Community Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and are appropriate for ages 5-9. The fee is $300 per participant, and some scholarships may be available.
Week of July 28: Fun with Fibers!
Dye wool, learn to felt, stamp fabric and sew by hand. Embellish the ordinary and make wearable art!
Register here.

Fit to Print, Print to Fit: Asheville Printmakers
2025-08-02 - 2025-09-06 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: August 2 – September 6, 2025
Where: Kokol Gallery
ASHEVILLE PRINTMAKERS is an independent alliance of artists who work in print media including both experienced and emerging printmakers, as well as those new to printmaking. Members work in a wide range of styles from classic to contemporary, employing traditional and experimental processes. These may include relief printing, lithography, etching, intaglio and photogravure methods. The group’s work attests to the diversity of artistic and visual talents that flourish in Asheville’s printmaking community.
Founded in 2014, APG meets in person on a regular basis. Meetings allow the artists time to discuss recent work, share equipment and process tips. A primary focus of the group is exhibiting regionally. AP has held shows throughout WNC and beyond. Recent shows include galleries at UNCA, Mars Hill, Marshall, Bascom Center for the Arts in Highlands, NC and in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Martinsville, VA. Members hail from across the region and often exhibit their work in solo shows as well.
For more information about Asheville Printmakers please visit their website at ashevilleprintmakers.org.

Fit to Print, Print to Fit: Asheville Printmakers Reception
2025-08-15 17:00 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: August 15, 2025, 5 PM – 7 PM
Where: Kokol Gallery

Five to Nine: New Work by Penland School of Craft Staff Reception
2025-08-15 17:00 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: August 15, 2025, 5 PM – 7 PM
Where: Owen Gallery

Drift Away: George Pfeffer and Linda Goodwin
2025-09-06 - 2025-10-11 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: September 6 – October 11, 2025
Where: Owen Gallery
Close observation, curiosity, experimentation and simply playing are at the heart of our art. We are intrigued to use materials in surprising ways from the bounty of nature or the excess of human-made detritus. We delight in developing entirely new techniques and in collaborating with our nonhuman friends, including wasps, “weeds”, fungi, forests and rivers and even the rain itself.
In our experimentation, we noticed that with enough time, mushroom spores will drift with the subtle air currents in a room and give soft colors akin to pastels or charcoal. The spores become the medium in these unpredictable abstractions.

Shoes, Storytellers of Our Lives: Dori Settles
2025-09-20 - 2025-10-18 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: September 20 – October 18, 2025
Where: Kokol Gallery
Our nation was once known as a melting pot, accepting people from all walks of life. It has now become one of hardened hearts and closed minds. How can we return to open dialogue without name calling and judgement? We learn to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. Shoes: Storytellers of Our Lives is a traveling exhibit of shoes accompanied with stories written by the shoe owners. These stories, translated into glass represent our common humanity. The result of using the pâte de verre technique lends to an added feeling of fragility, another reminder of the importance of honoring and holding space for others.

Shoes, Storytellers of Our Lives: Dori Settles Reception
2025-09-26 17:00 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: September 26, 2025, 5 PM – 7 PM
Where: Kokol Gallery

Drift Away: George Pfeffer and Linda Goodwin Reception
2025-09-26 17:00 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: September 26, 2025, 5 PM – 7 PM
Where: Owen Gallery

Wistfulness & Whimsy: Melissa Flattery
2025-10-25 - 2025-12-13 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: October 25 – December 13, 2025
Where: Owen Gallery
My Wistfulness & Whimsy art exhibition incorporates exuberant color and a broad variety of media. It features approximately 45 pieces of art, including paintings, carved eggs, embellished boxes, quilling pieces, glass bowls, and bespoke jewelry. Although I experienced adventures and success during my US Air Force career, I also endured significant stress, long hours, and overwhelming obstacles. My creativity was stifled but now that I’ve closed that chapter of my life, I’m brimming with ideas, inspiration, and an intense desire to create. These incongruous facets of my life are the impetus for this exhibition’s title. My paintings are characterized by bold colors and whimsical subjects. These abstract pieces utilize acrylic, alcohol ink, resin, and metal leaf and evoke a sense of joy and wonder. My eggs (ostrich, emu, rhea, and goose) are intricately carved making them each a unique and delicate work of art. My “Flattery Boxes” are adorned with beautiful papers and a wide variety of embellishments. The quilling pieces are made by rolling thin strips of paper into elaborate designs utilizing a variety of colors and patterns. My mosaic glass bowls are made from both sea and tumbled glass. The distinct jewelry pieces—primarily pins and pendants—are made from the beautiful and intriguing workings of antique pocket watches. The exhibit is full of life, energy, and wonder, and is sure to transport those who experience it to their happy place.

2025 Fall Studio Tour Preview Exhibition
2025-11-01 - 2025-12-31 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: November 1 – December 31, 2025
Where: Kokol Gallery
The Studio Tour Preview Exhibition is an exhibition of work from artists in Mitchell and Yancey Counties who are participating in the November Studio Tour. The exhibit is in conjunction with the Annual November Studio Tour, which takes place annually on the second weekend of November. This year’s studio tour weekend is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, November 14–16. The exhibition opens on November 1st in the Spruce Pine Kokol Gallery and will run through the end of the year. It is an opportunity for visitors to get a preview of the artists who are on the tour and what they will be showing in their studios. We encourage visitors to come by the gallery and view this exhibition before they travel to the artists’ studios. There will be a reception on Friday, November 14, 5:30 PM–7:30 PM, and is open to the public.

2025 Fall Studio Tour
2025-11-14 - 2025-11-16 | NC
The Toe River Arts Studio Tour — scheduled for November 14-16, 2025 — will open the studios and galleries of more than 80 artists across rural Mitchell County and Yancey County in the mountains of western North Carolina. Visitors will be able to drive a self-guided route through the scenic countryside, meet the artists in their working spaces, and explore diverse media and gallery sites scattered throughout the two counties. The event is an enriching mix of art, craft, and Appalachian charm — perfect for a weekend of discovery, inspiration, and regional culture.
2025 November Studio Tour Guide
2025 November Studio Tour Online Map

Wistfulness & Whimsy: Melissa Flattery Reception
2025-11-14 17:00 - 19:00 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: November 14, 2025, 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Where: Owen Gallery

2025 Fall Studio Tour Preview Reception
2025-11-14 17:30 - 19:30 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
When: November 14, 2025, 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Where: Kokol Gallery
