Second Tuesday Life Drawing - September
2024-09-10 17:30 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | 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)

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

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

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
