Toe River Arts

Fall Studio Tour
2021-11-12 - 2021-11-14
Toe River Arts will host a Fall Studio Tour with both in-person and online elements the second weekend in November, on November 12, 13, and 14, 2021. A Studio Tour Preview Exhibition at the Toe River Arts Spruce Pine gallery will accompany the Tour, on display November 12 through December 31, 2021. These dates are subject to change depending on case counts in the area and guidelines for public gatherings at that time.
Open to Toe River Arts artist members living in Mitchell and Yancey counties, applications will open on the Toe River Arts website at toeriverarts.org/artists/artist-opportunities starting on May 1, 2021 and will be due July 16, 2021.
While the Toe River Arts Studio Tours are typically held the first weekends in June and December, this Studio Tour will allow locals and travelers to safely visit with our artists while also providing online opportunities for guests to engage and support the artists.
For more information, please call 828.765.0524 or email info@toeriverarts.org.

Giant Squid Designs | Elissa Peragine
2021-11-06 - 2021-12-18 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Burnsville, 102 W. Main St., Burnsville, NC, 28714, United States
Elissa Peragine will exhibit in the Community 2D Gallery in Burnsville November 6 – December 18, 2021.
“I am a photographer and graphic artist that specializes in surreal art.” – Elissa Peragine
The Burnsville gallery is open Thursday – Saturday, 10:30AM – 5PM.

Here and There, Contemporary Sculptural Ironwork
2021-09-25 - 2021-10-30 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Here and There, Contemporary Sculptural Ironwork
September 25 – October 30
Every year, Toe River Arts hosts a Blacksmith Exhibition in conjunction with the annual Fire on the Mountain Festival which takes place in April. Due to the pandemic the festival was canceled in 2020. Because of the cancellation, Toe River Arts recognized the need to adapt and hosted a virtual exhibition of blacksmith work. Elizabeth Brim was featured as the master blacksmith in both 2020 and 2021. Regrettably, the live festival event was cancelled again this year, so Toe River Arts made the decision to try something new. This year, the Blacksmith Exhibition will be hosted in the fall, September 25 – October 30 and curated by Elizabeth Brim. This is an exciting departure from Toe River Arts’ usual Blacksmith Exhibit which is normally open to all blacksmiths. Toe River Arts will return to the original format in 2022.
The exhibit is titled Here and There, Contemporary Sculptural Ironwork. The exhibit will include: Warren Holzman, Philadelphia, PA, Bill Price, Memphis, TN, Hoss Haley, Spruce Pine, NC, Zack Nobel, Asheville, NC, Andrew Meers, Bakersville, NC, Peter Braspeninx, Casnovia, MI, John Winer, Mountain City, TN, Bill Brown, Linville Falls, NC, Rachel David, Waynesville, NC, Maegan Crowley, Dolores, CO, Jim Cooper, Bakersville, NC, Maria Cristalli, CleElum, WA, Megan Martin, Bakersville, NC, Andy Dohner, Bakersville, NC.

Wonders and Realities | Allison Edge
2021-09-25 - 2021-10-23 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Burnsville, 102 W. Main St., Burnsville, NC, 28714, United States
Allison Edge will exhibit in the Community 2D Gallery in Burnsville September 25 – October 23, 2021.
Allison Edge creates dreamy, photograph-based paintings, lingering in nostalgia, often depicting memories of family travels, encounters with the natural world, and other documented occasions of 1970s and 80s Americana. She features animals, landscapes, and plants, as well as man-made structures that can simultaneously capture our wonder and apprehension. Her style is realism, as if through a soft-focus lens, sometimes in hard candy tints, and other times in dark shadows. The images offer an indulgence into memories and dreamscapes.
The Burnsville gallery is open Thursday – Saturday, 10:30AM – 5PM.
Photos courtesy of the artist.

The Enveloping Landscape with Susan Patrice
2021-09-18 10:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Through this immersive workshop, we guide photographers of all levels through a personal and transformative creative process. Participants experience the relational beauty of documentary photography, learn simple and powerful earth-based mindfulness practices, and make personal photographs that open the door to wonder and curiosity while deepening their contemplative practice of seeing, knowing, and caring for a place. Inspiration is sparked through photographic exercises, an awakening of the imagination, and meaningful and supportive reflection. No prior photography experience is needed, and iPhones are welcome. Ages 16+ welcome.
Artist Biography:
Susan Patrice is a documentary photographer, community artist, and founder of Makers Circle. She recently launched PhotoTerra, a community project that encourages photographers to deepen their intimacy with the natural world through visual stewardship. Susan’s own photography and public installations focus primarily on the Southern Landscape and its people and feature intimate images that touch deeply into the questions of place and belonging.
Register here.
When: September 18, 10 AM – 5 PM
Where: Toe River Arts Spruce Pine Owen Gallery
Workshop Fee: $100

Printed Surfaces on Clay with Susan Feagin
2021-09-11 10:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Double Island Studio, 2459 Double Island Rd, Green Mountain, NC, 28740, United States
Enjoy the day making your own slip transfer decals and printing patterns on clay. Bring your drawings and ideas and we’ll make some drawn slip transfers, some EZScreens, and experiment with drawing fluid on silkscreen and try screen printing directly on the clay. We’ll make some small clay monoprints, perfect for tiles or building pots. I’ll also demonstrate making simple drape molds, creating sgraffito imagery, and carving the clay to round out your printed surfaces. Beginner’s welcome, ages 14+.
Artist Biography:
Originally from Burbank, CA, Susan Feagin spent her formative years growing up around Atlanta, GA. She has a BFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an MFA from the University of Florida. She was also a Core Fellow at the Penland School of Craft and is currently the Clay Studio Coordinator at the school.
This workshop is currently full.
When: September 11, 10 AM – 5 PM
Where: Double Island Studio, Green Mountain NC
Workshop fee: $100 includes up to three EZScreens, one silkscreen, a squeegee, newsprint, transparencies, colored slips, underglazes, and all kinds of other fun stuff for printing on clay.

Introduction to Precious Metal Clay with Amy Brandenburg
2021-09-04 11:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Explore jewelry making using Precious Metal Clay. PMC is clay made of metal particles, which allows you to sculpt and create pieces that become solid, fine silver when fired. Each student will be able to create a pair of small earrings and a charm or a bead. You will learn how to texture the clay, fire, patina, and polish. All skill levels and ages 14+ are welcome.
Artist Biography:
Amy Brandenburg is a certified PMC instructor who has been teaching metal clay for the last 9 years. She received a BA in Jewelry Design from Columbia College in Chicago and an MA in Visual Culture; Costume Studies from NYU. An award-winning metal clay artist and member of the Southern Highlands Craft Guild for the last 5 years, she creates jewelry inspired by history, nature, and architecture that is enameled, carved, and three-dimensional. Sharing her passion for metal clay, she creates an environment where others can experiment, learn and grow.
Register here.
When: September 4, 11 AM – 5 PM
Where: Toe River Arts Owen Gallery, Spruce Pine NC
Workshop fee: $125

Homeplace Non-Profit Night for Toe River Arts
2021-08-18 17:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York)
August 18, 2021, 5 – 9PM
Enjoy beer and wood-fired pizza and support Toe River Arts.
Homeplace Beer Company is located at 321 W Main St, Burnsville, NC 28714.

Of Earth and Water | Simona Rosasco
2021-08-14 - 2021-09-11 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Burnsville, 102 W. Main St., Burnsville, NC, 28714, United States
Simona Rosasco will exhibit in the Community 2D Gallery in Burnsville August 14 – September 11, 2021.
“I gain my creativity from the beauty and diversity of the four season here in WNC, something I never really experienced while living in Florida.” – Simona Rosasco
The Burnsville gallery is open Thursday – Saturday, 10:30AM – 5PM.
Photos courtesy of the artist.

Orbits and Fields
2021-08-06 - 2021-09-11 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Orbits and Fields | Artists Connected to Appalachian State University and the Penland School of Craft
August 6 – September 11
There will be a virtual Artist talk with the participants of Orbits and Fields, Artists Connected to Appalachian State University and Penland School of Craft speaking about their work.
When: September 10, 7 PM
Where: Via Zoom.
Click here to register.
The artists in this show move in a wide variety of orbits around and through both Appalachian State University and the Penland School of Craft. Their paths cross one another as fellow students and teachers, as co-workers, co-residents, and fellow community members. They have not all met, but they know one another, in the way that they share common chapters and parallel experiences.
They can all say, for example, that they have watched Appalachian swell over time to become a large public university, where hundreds of teachers teach hundreds of topics. They can relate to finding comrades in their studio classes, tucked as they are within a small city of studies. And they understand that to make things is to push against the main stream, to create a direction of sail and a space within the wider culture.
They can also remember the first time they found themselves at Penland, tucked into a bend in the road in what felt like the middle of nowhere. They have watched it change and become more physically resilient over time, even as the workshops themselves remained places apart, with a pace and time all their own. They know the way work and making become entwined with talking, friending, eating and wandering. And they can remember the slightly desperate feeling of wanting to retain this type of time and community in their places outside.
This show presents 20-odd artists with connection to two vastly different institutions: a small intentional craft school and a big public university. Their fields trace the scope of work being fostered in both communities. Their work reveals both the richness that can come from time spent in these contexts, and the unique visions that they bring to both places.
Orbits: Student, Teacher Intern, Work Study, Core Student, Resident Artist, Staff Member, Community Member,…
Fields: metals, ceramics, photography, installation, furniture design, bookarts, graphic design, collaboration, fibers, time-based works, printmaking, painting, digital design and fabrication, tattooing, mixed media,…
Featured Image: Lynn Duryea. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Inked Up: Introduction to Block Printing with Roby Leigh Summerfield
2021-07-24 10:00 - 14:30 (America/New_York) | Double Island Studio, 2459 Double Island Rd, Green Mountain, NC, 28740, United States
This workshop offers the essential components to creating unique relief block prints. Participants will learn how to carve linoleum, ink blocks, and print their own personal imagery. Demonstrations include imagery transfer, building texture, and instruction of the required tools needed to create their own prints. There will be plenty of hands-on work time and each participant will leave with several prints and the required skills to continue their printmaking journey. Open to all levels ages 14(+)
Artist Biography:
Roby Summerfield resides in beautiful Bakersville, North Carolina. She’s passionate about printmaking and draws inspiration from her enormous botanical collection. When she is not in her studio, she is actively involved in community service, playing with and loving her animals, and going to high school at Mayland Early College. Her most recent accomplishments include creating Bakersville’s first Little Free Library and participating in Toe River Arts massive scale wood block print workshop, Big Ink. Roby will be teaching this class with Liz Summerfield as her onsite supervisior.
Register here.
When: July 24, 10AM – 2:30PM
Where: Double Island Studio, Green Mountain NC
Workshop fee: $65 all materials included

Fresh Produce
2021-07-10 10:30 - 2021-08-14 17:00 (America/New_York) | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Fresh Produce | Work by Penland School of Craft Studio Coordinators
Owen Gallery
July 10 – August 14
This exhibition will highlight current work made by the studio coordinator team from the Penland School of Craft. This group of ten 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 Fresh Produce | Work by Penland School of Craft Studio Coordinators, these artists are not full-time studio artists. Each balances their studio practices with active roles in craft communities locally and beyond Western North Carolina. Coordinators not only prepare the Penland studios to fit the needs of a variety of instructors but also for more locally-oriented events like the Community Open House and Fire on the Mountain. Coordinators are on boards of arts organizations, jury exhibitions, run a program at the local Avery Mitchell Correctional Facility, and help organize the Spruce Pine Potters Market. Through showcasing the studio work of these multifaceted artists, this exhibition would highlight the broadness of what it means to live, work, and make as an artist today. Participating artists are Daniel Beck, Tom Condon, Susan Feagin, Nick Fruin, Aspen Golann, Beth LaCour, Danielle Lasker, Adam Leestma, Sarah Rose Lejeune, Kylie Reece Little, Nadia Massoud, Amanda Simons, and Sarita Westrup.
Featured image: Sarita Westrup; detail from Third Space with Halo; reed, cement, plastic, wire, steel. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Expressing Inner Thoughts: Bust Out with Melisa Cadell
2021-07-09 09:00 - 2021-07-10 17:00 (America/New_York) | Double Island Studio, 2459 Double Island Rd, Green Mountain, NC, 28740, United States
Participants in this workshop will learn simple hand building techniques enabling them to build ceramic bust forms. They will explore their ability to develop content and build forms that represent the human embodiment of complex emotion. There will be ample discussion about surface considerations specific to the bust and various sculptural forms.
Besides working with clay, we will do exercises in free writing as a way to create new ideas for our work. This workshop will offer several ways to help you open up to thinking about the development of work through form, technique and idea. Melisa’s intention is that you will leave this workshop with a better understanding of what guides your work as well as the ability to communicate through your work. The workshop is open to all levels of experience although basic hand building skills are useful.
Artist Biography:
Melisa Cadell works in multiple mediums and explores the complicated thoughts that drive humans behavior. Her clay work is most notably characterized by its willingness to question beliefs and actions of the contemporary world. Join us during this class to work through your ideas and build your skills or just to hang out with other sculptors and make work. Melisa has taught sculpture and 4D at East Tennessee University and figurative ceramics at Appalachian State University. She has taught numerous workshops in the south and northeast.
Register here.
When: July 9 – 10, 9AM – 5PM
Where: Double Island Studio, Green Mountain NC
Workshop fee: $225

Stream of Consciousness | Kat Turczyn
2021-07-03 - 2021-08-07 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Burnsville, 102 W. Main St., Burnsville, NC, 28714, United States
Kat Turczyn will exhibit in the Community 2D Gallery in Burnsville July 3 – August 7, 2021.
“After almost 40 years of experience in the field of public health statistics, I began painting in oils and have taken numerous workshops from acclaimed painters around the U.S. to perfect my broad-ranged style, which continues to evolve. My art has won recognition through features in magazines, a blue ribbon, and public commissions and showings, and hangs in many private homes around the country and in several public venues. I accept limited commissions, and in my own work, am heading toward more intuitively-based personal expressions, but my intention remains–always–to imbue love, enthusiasm, and joy into each painting I create.” – Kat Turczyn
The Burnsville gallery is open Thursday – Saturday, 10:30AM – 5PM.
Photos courtesy of the artist.

Exploring Low Fire Surfaces with Liz Zlot Summerfield
2021-06-26 10:00 - 15:00 (America/New_York) | Double Island Studio, 2459 Double Island Rd, Green Mountain, NC, 28740, United States
Are you interested in working at low fire but feel intimidated with addressing the surface? This workshop intends to demystify low fire surfaces by introducing you to several techniques, many of which can be used at any temperature. The layering of these techniques has the ability to create a unique depth to the surfaces of your work. The workshop will cover slip trailing, underglazes, sgraffito, and making and applying terra sigillata. All of these techniques can be applied to sculptural and functional forms.
There will discussions on the myths and facts of earthenware, firing temperatures and cone charts, and suggestions on how to personalize your surfaces.
Participants will explore surface through test tiles that may be taken home and fired. Small batches of terra sigillata will be available for purchase.
The format of this workshop is demonstration and hands-on work time.
Artist Biography:
Liz Zlot Summerfield grew up in Northern California and was a child of both an entrepreneur and an admirer of the arts. Both parents instilled a determination and confidence in her that she could succeed at anything she worked towards. She attended the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to complete her Masters of Fine Arts in 2004. Since graduation, she has lived and worked as a studio artist in Bakersville, North Carolina with her husband and glass artist, Scott Summerfield. Their daughter, Roby is an emerging artist focused on printmaking. She has been an instructor and visiting artist at numerous clay facilities, colleges, and universities. She exhibits and sells her work nationally through exhibitions, galleries, and fine craft shows. Her work resides in various permanent collections. She has been featured and on the cover of Ceramics Monthly and Clay Times magazine. She has also written several articles and created an instructional DVD produced by Ceramics Arts Daily featuring her ceramic process and her work. In 2020, she and Scott created Double Island Studio, a communal space created for art making, teaching, and learning.
Register here.
When: Saturday, June 26, 10AM – 3PM
Where: Double Island Studio, Green Mountain NC
Workshop fee: $125 includes Slip, test tiles, terra sigillata, and underglaze.

Two Generations | Ken and Galen Sedberry
2021-06-19 10:30 - 2021-07-24 17:00 (America/New_York) | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Two Generations | Ken and Galen Sedberry
June 19 – July 24
Visitors will explore the creations of father and son, Ken and Galen Sedberry. Explore works produced from their shared studio, kiln, booth space, and aesthetic space where ideas are translated into pots. These shared spaces deliver work that is both parallel and divergent.
Featured images, left to right: Ken Sedberry, Galen Sedberry
Photos courtesy of the artist.

The Wonders of Water Exhibition
2021-06-19 - 2021-07-03 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
The exhibit will display submissions from Amy Regional Library’s Photo Contest. Entries are from young people ages 6-18 and will be juried with prizes awarded. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday 10:30 AM – 5 PM.

Soft Slab Construction with Custom Textures and Specialized Surfaces with Amy Sanders
2021-06-12 10:00 - 2021-06-13 17:00 (America/New_York) | Double Island Studio, 2459 Double Island Rd, Green Mountain, NC, 28740, United States
This demonstration and hands-on workshop will focus on soft slab construction while exploring a wide variety of surface enhancements using texture and pattern as an inspiration. Participants will construct personal mark-making and texturing tools to use in their own work; as well as create stamped bisque molds. During the workshop we will also create a variety of forms on which to employ our new surface techniques including an altered slab cup, a plate, and a serving dish. Emphasis in instruction will also be placed on successfully resolving feet, rims, and handles; and the use of bisque molds. This workshop is designed to accommodate all clay enthusiasts from beginner to advanced (although, some clay experience is helpful). Participants will leave with new tools to incorporate into their studio practice.
Artist Biography:
The physical and creative nature of working with clay satisfies my desire to play, construct, experiment, and to get dirty. Patterns in textiles, architecture, nature and quilting inspire me to create works that invite touch and evoke a sense of nostalgic comfort. Early in the construction process, clay is soft and pliable; I enjoy building pieces that reflect these properties even after the clay has become hard from firing. I often make pieces with the intention of showing them in a grouping, as though they are conversing with each other. Growing up in southern Ohio, I spent my early years watching my mother and grandmothers sew. Upon moving to Charlotte after graduating college, I did not have a clay studio in which to create, so I began to sew myself. Experiences with sewing breathed life into my clay work: patterns, textures and seams from fabrics and textiles inform design and formal decisions. The isolation of working alone in my studio has heightened my awareness of the importance of people and true community in my life. I experience this community through sharing food, celebrations, worship, teaching, athletic competition, group traveling, and music, as well as interactions with the city itself. My desire for a sense of place and history while living within an urban environment is reflected in my work.
www.amysanderspottery.
Register here.
When: June 12- 13, 10AM – 5PM
Where: Double Island Studio, Green Mountain NC
Workshop fee: $250 Earthenware clay is provided. Students are welcome to bring their own clay if they prefer. Firing not included.

The Basics and Beyond: Soft Slab Handbuilding with Liz Zlot Summerfield
2021-05-22 10:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Double Island Studio, 2459 Double Island Rd, Green Mountain, NC, 28740, United States
This workshop intends to demystify working with soft slabs and paper patterns and offers the essential components to creating unique slab built pots. Participants will learn slab building techniques such as rolling, beveling, and darting while they work on forms such as cups, creamers, and lidded objects. Demonstration and hands-on work time will include pattern making and the construction of a spout, lid, and flange. Included in the workshop is a discussion and demonstration on surface treatment using terra sigillata and underglazes. This workshop is designed to accommodate all clay enthusiasts from beginner to advanced. Participants will leave with new tools to incorporate into their studio practice. Format: Demonstration and hands-on work time. Participants will take home their pots made over the weekend. Firing not included.
Artist Biography:
Liz Zlot Summerfield grew up in Northern California and was a child of both an entrepreneur and an admirer of the arts. Both parents instilled a determination and confidence in her that she could succeed at anything she worked towards. She attended the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to complete her Masters of Fine Arts in 2004. Since graduation, she has lived and worked as a studio artist in Bakersville, North Carolina with her husband and glass artist, Scott Summerfield. Their daughter, Roby is an emerging artist focused on printmaking. She has been an instructor and visiting artist at numerous clay facilities, colleges, and universities. She exhibits and sells her work nationally through exhibitions, galleries, and fine craft shows. Her work resides in various permanent collections. She has been featured and on the cover of Ceramics Monthly and Clay Times magazine. She has also written several articles and created an instructional DVD produced by Ceramics Arts Daily featuring her ceramic process and her work. In 2020, she and Scott created Double Island Studio, a communal space created for art making, teaching, and learning.
Register here.
When: May 22 – 23, 10AM – 5PM
Where: Double Island Studio, Green Mountain NC
Workshop fee: $250 Earthenware clay is provided. Students are welcome to bring their own clay if they prefer.

Twined Basket with Sarita Westrup
2021-05-22 10:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Twined Basket with Sarita Westrup
When: Saturday, May 22, 2021, 10 AM – 4 PM
Where: Toe River Arts Spruce Pine Owen Gallery
Create a beautiful and functional twined basket in the round. Learn how to weave with round reed, begin with a six-pointed star base and weave a spiral to form the basket. Finish the lip of the basket and add a strap to hang on the wall. This is a wonderful beginning level basket weaving class; all levels are welcome.
Workshop fee: $100 includes all materials need and tool kit.
Register here.
Photo courtesy of the artist.

Ready, Set, Fold: Innovative Book Structures with Karen Hardy
2021-05-22 10:00 - 16:00 (America/Halifax) | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Ready, Set, Fold: Innovative Book Structures with Karen Hardy
Learn the secrets of unique and intricately folded book forms that do not rely on sewing or adhesive. This workshop will focus on bookbinding techniques that take the architecture and action of the book to new levels through masterful paper engineering.
Participants will begin with a suite of books folded from a single sheet of paper, building on this basic foundation with more advanced projects. These include such inventions by renowned artist and conservator Hedi Kyle as the fishbone fold and triangle fold. Partipants will analyze the merits and limitations of a variety of materials, tools, and papers, and discuss the ways that each structure is uniquely suited to creative expression.
Each student will produce a collection of books that can be used as motivation and reference for further projects. A great advantage of these folded books lies in their minimal use of specialized supplies; they can easily be made at home, or even when traveling, with just a few readily available small tools. No previous experience required.
When: Saturday, May 22, 2021, 10 AM – 4 PM
Where: Toe River Arts Spruce Pine Owen Gallery
Workshop fee: $115, includes pre-cut paper for all book models
Karen Hardy is a visual artist based in Asheville and Spruce Pine, North Carolina. Her practice is centered on an experimental approach to materials and process, with particular focus on using innovative hand papermaking techniques and a variety of non-traditional materials in artist books, prints, sculpture, and installation. Karen’s award-winning artist books are widely exhibited and held in collections across the country and abroad. Since 2008, Karen has designed and printed ephemera for both retail and commission as the proprietor of Hardy Letterpress.
Register here.
Photo courtesy of the artist.

Homeinstead | Kristan Five
2021-05-15 - 2021-06-19 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Burnsville, 102 W. Main St., Burnsville, NC, 28714, United States
Kristan Five will exhibit in the Community 2D Gallery in Burnsville May 15 – June 19, 2021.
“In theory, my work is inspired by our earth’s landscape. Globally, much of nature shares the intrinsic beauty of organic lines, textures and color with the human contribution of synthetic elements. This visual union creates complements of color, shape and texture that offer tremendous inspiration for my work. This work is an expression of my belief that landscape is a moment rather than a place. I use the inspiration of landscape to render the ever-changing mood of the planet which parallels our human range of emotions. While the subject of my work is influenced by the architectural landscape of the earth, my ultimate goal as a painter is essentially to capture an instance of human experience through color, shape and texture.” – Kristan Five
The Burnsville gallery is open Thursday – Saturday, 10:30AM – 5PM.
Photos courtesy of the artist.

What a Relief!
2021-05-08 - 2021-06-05 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
What a Relief! A Collection of Relief Woodblock Prints by Local Artists
May 8 – June 5, 2021
What a Relief! is an exhibition of the large-scale woodblock prints made by the 18 participants in our October 2020 workshop with BIG INK. After countless hours of carving, participants printed their blocks on BIG INK’s traveling press. The smallest of these large-scale prints is two by three feet, with the largest being four by eight feet.
BIG INK, founded in 2012 by Lyell Castonguay and Carand Burnet and based in Newmarket, New Hampshire, provides opportunities for large-scale woodblock printing workshops in host institutions. BIG INK’s mission is to inspire a greater public appreciation of large-scale woodblock printmaking and to extend its practice as an artistic discipline.
Information about BIG INK can be found at www.bigink.org.
See our exhibition of BIG INK prints held in 2020, Think BIG Prints.

Pressing Forward
2021-05-08 - 2021-06-05 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Pressing Forward
May 8 – June 5, 2021
Owen Gallery
Toe River Arts has invited Asheville Printmakers to exhibit in the Owen Gallery in Spruce Pine. Asheville Printmakers is an independent alliance of artists who express themselves through the medium of the print. Their membership encompasses both experienced and emerging artists, as well as those new to printmaking. Learn more about Asheville Printmakers at ashevilleprintmakers.org.
Featured image: A print by Georgia Deal. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Blizzard Folded Book Structure with Karen Hardy
2021-04-17 10:00 - 16:00 (America/Halifax) | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Blizzard Folded Book Structure with Karen Hardy
Stranded by a snow storm during travel, artist Hedi Kyle passed the time experimenting with paper, and invented a unique folded book structure that came to be known as the “blizzard book.” Since then, the basic pattern has been altered and expanded to create numerous additional designs, including the crown book, wheel of fortune, blizzard pockets, crown card, and blizzard boxes.
Developed by Hedi and her protégés, a key feature of all these structures is their ability to hold contents without the use of adhesive – there is flexibility built in. Each blizzard variation addresses a unique engineering goal, and thus each fills a niche in the book artist’s arsenal of structures to suit different purposes. Get “caught in a blizzard” and spend a day learning all of the structures you can create from the blizzard fold.
No previous experience required.
When: Saturday, April 17, 2021, 10 AM – 4 PM
Where: Toe River Arts Spruce Pine Owen Gallery
Workshop fee: $115, includes pre-cut paper for all book models
Karen Hardy is a visual artist based in Asheville and Spruce Pine, North Carolina. Her practice is centered on an experimental approach to materials and process, with particular focus on using innovative hand papermaking techniques and a variety of non-traditional materials in artist books, prints, sculpture, and installation. Karen’s award-winning artist books are widely exhibited and held in collections across the country and abroad. Since 2008, Karen has designed and printed ephemera for both retail and commission as the proprietor of Hardy Letterpress.
Register here.
Photo courtesy of the artist.

H2O and Other Interpretations | Jean McLaughlin
2021-04-03 - 2021-05-01 | Toe River Arts Gallery – Burnsville, 102 W. Main St., Burnsville, NC, 28714, United States
Jean McLaughlin will exhibit in the Community 2D Gallery in Burnsville April 3 – May 1, 2021.
“My reconnection with printmaking began in the Penland studios after a very long hiatus. The complexity and immediacy snagged me as it had in the past, and I began to explore monotypes, monoprints, woodcuts, and lithography anew. These works were printed from woodcuts carved during the month of January 2021 while I worked in the Penland studio.” – Jean McLaughlin
The Burnsville gallery is open Thursday – Saturday, 10:30AM – 5PM.
Photos courtesy of the artist.

Monotype Printmaking: (ages 3+)
2021-03-27 10:30 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Monotype Printmaking: (ages 3+)
with Melanie Finlayson
When & Where: March 27 from 10:30AM – 12:30PM & 1:30PM – 3:30PM at Toe River Arts, Spruce Pine.
Melanie Finlayson a printmaker and Toe River Arts Community Outreach Coordinator will be teaching a two-hour monotype printmaking workshop for kids. Kids will learn multiple printmaking techniques, including trace monotype, mirror image monotype and more in order to create custom designed prints and patterns. Fun for all ages. This workshop is free, but registration is required.

Make Decorative Paste Paper: (ages 3+)
2021-03-26 13:30 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | Toe River Arts Gallery – Spruce Pine, 269 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine, NC, 28777, United States
Make Decorative Paste Paper: (ages 3+)
with Melanie Finlayson
When & Where: Friday, March 26 from 10:30AM – 12:30PM & 1:30-3:30PM at Toe River Arts, Spruce Pine.
Melanie Finlayson a printmaker and Toe River Arts Community Outreach Coordinator will be teaching a two-hour Paste Paper workshop for kids. Paste paper is one of the earliest forms of decorative papers, is commonly used for bookbinding, as well as calligraphy, printmaking, collage, stamping, and origami. Paste Paper is created using acrylic paint mixed with paste. We will create all kinds of fun patterns by pulling various utensils across the paste. This fun activity is one that can be replicated at home with very simple materials. This workshop is free, but registration is required.

Printed Surfaces on Clay with Susan Feagin
2021-03-23 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Enjoy the day making your own slip transfer decals and printing patterns on clay. Bring your drawings and ideas and we’ll make some drawn slip transfers, some EZScreens and experiment with drawing fluid on a silk screen and try screen printing directly on the clay. We’ll make some small clay monoprints, perfect for tiles or building pots. I’ll also demonstrate making simple drape molds, creating sgraffito imagery, and carving the clay to round out your printed surfaces. Beginner’s welcome.
Artist Biography:
Originally from Burbank, CA, Susan Feagins spent her formative years growing up around Atlanta, GA. She has a BFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an MFA from the University of Florida. She was also a Core Fellow at the Penland School of Craft and is currently the Clay Studio Coordinator at the school.
Register here.
When: Saturday, September 11, 2021, 10 AM to 5 PM
Where: Double Island Studio, Green Mountain NC
Workshop fee: $100 includes up to three EZScreens, one silk screen, a squeegee, newsprint, transparencies, colored slips, underglazes, and all kinds of other fun stuff for printing on clay.

Clay Birdhouses for Kids (ages 5+)
2021-03-20 12:30 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | High Country Ceramic Arts, Burnsville., 552 E U.S. Hwy 19E Bypass, Burnsville, North Carolina, 28714
Clay Birdhouses for Kids (ages 5+)
with Linda Powell
When & Where: March 20 from 12:30-3:30PM at High Country Ceramic Arts.
Linda Powell from High Country Ceramic Arts will be hosting a three-hour clay hand building workshop for kids. Each student will design their birdhouses using hand building techniques that will include slabs, coiling and pinching. The bird houses will be made from multiple pieces, assembled. Underglazes Will then be applied on the bird house. After the workshop, the pieces will be bisque fired, clear glazed and glazed fired and delivered to Toe River Arts will be available for pick up a week after workshop. This workshop is free, but registration is required.
