MARA Meetings (Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous)

The North Carolina Arboretum is going wild for art and nature in 2021 with Wild Art! On view April 1 through September 26, this outdoor sculpture exhibition features works by 17 local and national artists drawing inspiration from the natural environment. Situated throughout the Arboretum’s spacious, open-air gardens, the show offers guests a doorway into the wild world from the comfort and safety of cultivated landscapes transformed by art.

The 18 sculptures on display represent a variety of approaches to the theme of “wild art,” from the literal to the abstract, and are crafted from a diverse array of materials that will delight and inspire. Let your imagination take you on a wild journey into the world of plants and animals near and far with Wild Art at The North Carolina Arboretum.

The exhibit is available to all guests during normal Arboretum hours, and there is no admission cost to view the sculptures beyond our usual parking fee of $16 per personal vehicle.

Included with admission

A unique-to-Biltmore, large-scale outdoor sculpture will be crafted and installed in Antler Hill Village this spring by Patrick Dougherty. Over the last three decades, this internationally-acclaimed artist has combined his carpentry skills and love of nature to build over 300 of these wondrous works, captivating the hearts and imaginations of viewers worldwide.

Image: Close Ties (2006) Scottish Basketmakers Circle, Dingwall, Scotland. Photo: Fin Macrae
NOTE: This is an example of Patrick Dougherty’s work; the artist will create Biltmore’s unique structure in Antler Hill Village this spring.

Bender Gallery is honored to present One Day I Will Disappear, a solo exhibition of current paintings by Czech American artist Tom Pazderka. His captivating work is deeply personal and is an elegant metaphor for life’s darker side: of landscape, of nature, of memory. The exhibition runs from July 3 through August 31 during regular business hours. There will be an opening reception for Pazderka on Saturday July 3, from 6 to 9 PM by RSVP only.

Pazderka is a painter, an installation artist, an intellectual, and a writer who spent his undergraduate years in the Asheville area. He was born near Prague in 1981 during the waning of the Communist era in Czechoslovakia. He lived in a panelák, a Soviet-style concrete apartment block, until emigrating to the US in 1994 at the age of twelve. Contrary to what we may envision in America, Pazderka has fond memories of his time there. Although life was basic and creativity was not encouraged, his family was never in need and they enjoyed regular visits to their family cottage in the country. However, most of Pazderka’s life has been lived in the US and he also considers himself American. His work and life are deeply influenced by what he describes as the “incompleteness of the immigrant experience”. Pazderka explores humanity’s quest for a universal truth. The work reflects his reverence for history and the failed Soviet promise of utopia of his native land. It is thus a balancing act between this history and his assimilation into the capitalist consumer culture of the United States.

The works shown in One Day I Will Disappear consist of oil, ash, and charcoal paintings on burned panel and paper. They feature clouds, mountains, portraits, ephemera, and remnants of nature. They are conceptually dark, yet haunting and beautiful at the same time. Pazderka uses humble materials such as found plywood panels that he burns with a torch before beginning the painting process. He transforms the painting surface with the destructive, yet creative power of fire. He states, “Materials and process are components of the work that are as important as the image and what the work is about”.

Pazderka chooses to work in a colorless palette reminiscent of aged black and white photographs. He explains, “Photographs interest me because it is a tangible memory, but photographs are really residue of the photographic process.”  They are themselves a memory of a memory. Much of Pazderka’s work is based on old family photographs and photos taken from nature and architecture relaying the past, the present, and the hope of a better future. The work appears otherworldly and fleeting, like ghosts of his memories. In Pazderka’s words, “The present is all there is in the end.”

Pazderka holds a BFA from Western Carolina University and an MFA from U.C. Santa Barbara. He has received many awards and fellowships and has held residencies in the US, France, and the Czech Republic. He lives and works in Ojai, CA.

The North Carolina Arboretum is going wild for art and nature in 2021 with Wild Art! On view April 1 through September 26, this outdoor sculpture exhibition features works by 17 local and national artists drawing inspiration from the natural environment. Situated throughout the Arboretum’s spacious, open-air gardens, the show offers guests a doorway into the wild world from the comfort and safety of cultivated landscapes transformed by art.

The 18 sculptures on display represent a variety of approaches to the theme of “wild art,” from the literal to the abstract, and are crafted from a diverse array of materials that will delight and inspire. Let your imagination take you on a wild journey into the world of plants and animals near and far with Wild Art at The North Carolina Arboretum.

The exhibit is available to all guests during normal Arboretum hours, and there is no admission cost to view the sculptures beyond our usual parking fee of $16 per personal vehicle.

Included with admission

A unique-to-Biltmore, large-scale outdoor sculpture will be crafted and installed in Antler Hill Village this spring by Patrick Dougherty. Over the last three decades, this internationally-acclaimed artist has combined his carpentry skills and love of nature to build over 300 of these wondrous works, captivating the hearts and imaginations of viewers worldwide.

Image: Close Ties (2006) Scottish Basketmakers Circle, Dingwall, Scotland. Photo: Fin Macrae
NOTE: This is an example of Patrick Dougherty’s work; the artist will create Biltmore’s unique structure in Antler Hill Village this spring.

Bender Gallery is honored to present One Day I Will Disappear, a solo exhibition of current paintings by Czech American artist Tom Pazderka. His captivating work is deeply personal and is an elegant metaphor for life’s darker side: of landscape, of nature, of memory. The exhibition runs from July 3 through August 31 during regular business hours. There will be an opening reception for Pazderka on Saturday July 3, from 6 to 9 PM by RSVP only.

Pazderka is a painter, an installation artist, an intellectual, and a writer who spent his undergraduate years in the Asheville area. He was born near Prague in 1981 during the waning of the Communist era in Czechoslovakia. He lived in a panelák, a Soviet-style concrete apartment block, until emigrating to the US in 1994 at the age of twelve. Contrary to what we may envision in America, Pazderka has fond memories of his time there. Although life was basic and creativity was not encouraged, his family was never in need and they enjoyed regular visits to their family cottage in the country. However, most of Pazderka’s life has been lived in the US and he also considers himself American. His work and life are deeply influenced by what he describes as the “incompleteness of the immigrant experience”. Pazderka explores humanity’s quest for a universal truth. The work reflects his reverence for history and the failed Soviet promise of utopia of his native land. It is thus a balancing act between this history and his assimilation into the capitalist consumer culture of the United States.

The works shown in One Day I Will Disappear consist of oil, ash, and charcoal paintings on burned panel and paper. They feature clouds, mountains, portraits, ephemera, and remnants of nature. They are conceptually dark, yet haunting and beautiful at the same time. Pazderka uses humble materials such as found plywood panels that he burns with a torch before beginning the painting process. He transforms the painting surface with the destructive, yet creative power of fire. He states, “Materials and process are components of the work that are as important as the image and what the work is about”.

Pazderka chooses to work in a colorless palette reminiscent of aged black and white photographs. He explains, “Photographs interest me because it is a tangible memory, but photographs are really residue of the photographic process.”  They are themselves a memory of a memory. Much of Pazderka’s work is based on old family photographs and photos taken from nature and architecture relaying the past, the present, and the hope of a better future. The work appears otherworldly and fleeting, like ghosts of his memories. In Pazderka’s words, “The present is all there is in the end.”

Pazderka holds a BFA from Western Carolina University and an MFA from U.C. Santa Barbara. He has received many awards and fellowships and has held residencies in the US, France, and the Czech Republic. He lives and works in Ojai, CA.

The Asheville Art Museum announces Meeting the Moon, an exhibition featuring prints, photographs, ceramics, sculptures, and more from the Museum’s Collection. This exhibition will be on view in the Asheville Art Museum’s McClinton Gallery February 3 through July 26, 2021.

2021 marks the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the Apollo space program at NASA, but its inception was hardly the beginning of humankind’s fascination with Earth’s only moon. Before space travel existed, the moon—its shape, its mystery, and the face we see in it—inspired countless artists. Once astronauts landed on the moon and we saw our world from a new perspective, a surge of creativity flooded the American art scene, in paintings, prints, sculpture, music, crafts, film, and poetry.

This exhibition, whose title is taken from a 1913 Robert Frost poem, examines artwork in the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection of artists who were inspired by the unknown, then increasingly familiar moon. Meeting the Moon includes works by nationally renowned artists Newcomb Pottery, James Rosenquist, Maltby Sykes, Paul Soldner, John Lewis, Richard Ritter (Bakersville, NC), and Mark Peiser (Penland, NC). Western North Carolina artists include Jane Peiser (Penland, NC), Jak Brewer (Zionville, NC), Dirck Cruser (Asheville, NC), George Peterson (Lake Toxaway, NC), John B. Neff (NC), and Maud Gatewood (Yanceyville, NC).

“Meeting the Moon offers the opportunity to combine science and popular culture with works of art in the Museum’s Collection,” says Whitney Richardson, associate curator. “I think all visitors will find something that draws them into this exhibition, whether it’s the artwork, poetry, music, or science of space travel. It’s such an affirmation of humanity to find these mysteries, like the moon, which enchant us all.”

This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Whitney Richardson, associate curator. Visit ashevilleart.org for more information about this and other exhibitions.

11am–6pm. Late-night Thursdays until 9pm; closed Tuesdays.

Public Domain: Photography and the Preservation of Public Lands presents works drawn from the Asheville Art Museum’s Collection by artists looking both regionally and nationally at lands that are either state or federally managed or have become so. This exhibition will be on view in the Asheville Art Museum’s Van Winkle Law Firm Gallery May 19 through August 30, 2021. 

“The Asheville Art Museum’s growing collection of photography features a variety of artworks that consider humankind’s impact on our environment and world,” said Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator. “The imagery featured in Public Domain reminds us of the critical role that artists play in environmental activism and preservation, affecting change at a range of levels”. 

Through images capturing the beauty, changes, and even devastation to the American landscape, photographers have played a vital role in advocating for the preservation of nature via the establishment and maintenance of state parks, national parks and monuments, and other federally protected lands. From George Masa and Timothy McCoy’s photographs of Great Smoky Mountains National Park to a selection of works from Robert Glenn Ketchum’s Overlooked in America: The Success and Failure of Federal Land Management series, these artworks provoke contemplation of both nature’s beauty and a calling to protect it. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Bureau of Land Management whose mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. 

Photographers include Robert Glenn Ketchum, George Masa, Timothy McCoy, Benjamin Porter, Sally Gall, and more. 

This exhibition is organized by the Asheville Art Museum and curated by Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator. 

MARA Meetings (Medication-Assisted Recovery Anonymous)

Introducing a local resident – Adora Winquist, a world renowned healer.

Adora Winquist will be launching her new book titled, “Detox, Nourish, Activate: Plant and Vibrational Medicine for Energy, Mood, and Love” releasing beginning of July 2021.

This revolutionary book guides readers along the path of self-mastery and the ultimate expression of their personal truth.“Detox Nourish Activate: Plant & Vibrational Medicine for Energy, Mood & Love” offers a three-step system designed to heal trauma at the core level from this lifetime and many previous generations. Three well-being areas are explored in-depth, with eleven primary alchemical interventions to facilitate healing down to the DNA level.

We would love the opportunity to introduce you to Adora with the Asheville community.

About Adora
Since 1990, Adora Winquist has used her gifts to help awaken and evolve the consciousness of humanity. Serving a mission of activating and uniting all kingdoms of life on our planet, she is a visionary in the nascent field of Quantum Alchemy and a pioneer in the field of vibrational medicine and aromatherapeutic healing. She is known for establishing one of the first brands to combine aromatherapy and energy healing on a national scale, evolving it into a world-renowned, award-winning company. She is the co-author of “Detox, Nourish, Activate: Plant and Vibrational Medicine for Energy, Mood, and Love.” This revolutionary book guides readers along the path of self-mastery and the ultimate expression of their personal truth. Among a full collection of products and services, she offers facilitation, education, and guided ceremony/meditation, along with custom vibrational medicine/aromatherapy blends at AdoraWinquist.com. When she isn’t supporting others on their healing journey, Adora can be found spending time with her alpha-male counterpart and two young daughters. Follow @AdoraWinquist on Instagram for healing guidance, upcoming events, and more. Adora Winquist: Awaken, Anchor, and Actualize the Spark of Your Divinity.

 Blue Ridge Humane Society knows how difficult the loss of a loved pet can be, and to support grieving pet owners, is offering a new peer support group with a professional group moderator.

The free program will provide a safe and non-judgmental space for members of the community to come together to support one another through their loss and grief of their beloved pet(s).

Sign-up is required and the sessions are limited to 20 participants. Sessions will be held via Zoom on the first Wednesday of the month, 6pm-7pm. Registration will be open for the first session until Friday, May 28, 2021, or until full, whichever occurs first. Registration is available at www.blueridgehumane.org/pet-loss-support/

“Pet loss is the worst part of being a pet owner. Our pets are family. Every pet is different and brings a unique light into our lives. The loss of that light can be devastating. Coping with grief, especially in today’s world, is a difficult process,” shares Angela Prodrick, Executive Director of Blue Ridge Humane Society. “We at Blue Ridge Humane Society feel it is important to help people navigate that time of mourning and offer what support we can.”

The sessions will be moderated by BRHS staff and led by Judi Moolten. Judi is a former clinical social worker, with a PhD certificate in Stress and Somatic Psychology. In addition to being a stress coach Judi lives and resides in Hendersonville. Judi comes to BRHS as a volunteer, but also as a pet parent who uses animals to help heal stress and more! Judi also has suffered many losses during COVID-19 and beyond and will be available to just listen, or when requested offer feedback.

Pet loss and grief can trigger intense emotional responses that may need to be addressed with professional resources which is beyond what BRHS is able to provide through the Peer Support group. This cannot to take the place of professional counseling and therapy.

Additional info or support for those who have suffered the loss of a pet can be found at The Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement https://www.aplb.org/.

If you feel that you’re in distress or having thoughts about harming yourself, please call:

• 2-1-1. A 24/7 national free and confidential service that helps you find the resources you need including crisis and emergency.
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or call (800) 273-8255. The lifeline offers 24/7 free and confidential support for people in distress

The North Carolina Arboretum is going wild for art and nature in 2021 with Wild Art! On view April 1 through September 26, this outdoor sculpture exhibition features works by 17 local and national artists drawing inspiration from the natural environment. Situated throughout the Arboretum’s spacious, open-air gardens, the show offers guests a doorway into the wild world from the comfort and safety of cultivated landscapes transformed by art.

The 18 sculptures on display represent a variety of approaches to the theme of “wild art,” from the literal to the abstract, and are crafted from a diverse array of materials that will delight and inspire. Let your imagination take you on a wild journey into the world of plants and animals near and far with Wild Art at The North Carolina Arboretum.

The exhibit is available to all guests during normal Arboretum hours, and there is no admission cost to view the sculptures beyond our usual parking fee of $16 per personal vehicle.

A Life in the Wild  features more than 30 large-format images from award-winning nature photographer Thomas D. Mangelsen, who has devoted decades of his life to documenting wild places across the globe and the remarkable creatures that inhabit them. For this traveling retrospective exhibition of his works, Mangelsen has hand-selected several legacy photographs from his portfolio of more than 40 years, during which time he has captured thousands of breathtaking images of wildlife under natural — and sometimes harsh — conditions. With subjects ranging from black bears in the Great Smoky Mountains to plains zebras in the savannas of East Africa, this collection of photographs serves to remind us all to slow down and take a moment to connect with nature near and far. Named the 2011 Conservation Photographer of the Year by Nature’s Best Photography, among other accolades, Mangelsen has his work featured in the permanent collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C..

A Life in the Wild is on display daily, May 15 – September 5, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. inside the Baker Exhibit Center. Face coverings are required for visitors ages 5 years and older.

Exhibit support for A Life in the Wild is provided in part by The North Carolina Arboretum Society, Asheville Citizen-Times, Biltmore Farms Hotels, Gasperson Moving & Storage, RomanticAsheville.com Travel Guide and Smoky Mountain Living Magazine. 

THOMAS D. MANGELSEN – A LIFE IN THE WILD, produced by David J. Wagner, L.L.C., David J. Wagner, Ph.D., Curator/Tour Director.

Fairy Trail 2021

Join us on the magical Fairy Trail where your imagination is the only limit.

Developed by Fairies and dedicated volunteers, Bullington Gardens’ Fairy Trail is a whimsical treat for the young and the young at heart. Featuring playful vignettes and villages, the fairy trail will charm you with its thoughtful design, eye catching displays and secret woodland trail.

Rules of the trail:

Do not move or rearrange fairy displays. The fairies are very fond of their own decorating.

Do not leave trash on the trail. Fairies do not like litter in their town.

Please ensure children and pets are supervised at all times. Dogs and loud noises can scare the fairies into hiding.

Do not disturb wildlife or vegetation. The fairies depend on the vegetation to build their homes.

The trail is one way only. Please stay on the trail at all times.

P.S. the Fairies would like us to remind you that we are a non-profit and donations are greatly appreciated. Help us keep the fairies living in the style with which they’ve become accustomed.

Bullington Gardens and the Fairy Trail are closed on Sundays.