Plein Air Painting Tips
Don Osterberg has illustrated some of his advice on plein air painting with step-by-step stages of his pastel “Looking Glass Falls in Pisgah Forest.”

The watermedia and mixed media paintings, drawings, and monotype prints of Costanza Knight, also known as Connie Knight, are contemporary expressions that explore and celebrate the human form and the landscape. Poetry and narratives are often her creative touchstone, but she also takes inspiration from the landscapes she loves. Her diverse interests are evident in her varied styles.

Diane Dean talks about the process of painting a commission painting

Acrylic Painter, Diane Dean teaches her technique for creating heavily textured acrylic paintings using heavy gesso for surface texture, fluid and heavy body acrylics, brushes and palette knives.

Mary Alice Braukman presented “Free Up: Collage Surprise,” a workshop that was videotaped for viewing on the League’s YouTube channel. Students: Lisa Casperson, JoAnn Jenson and Sharon Richmond participated.  Lynn Padgett and Diane Dean video recorded this event for publication on the Art League website for all members to view.
Braukman was the Director of the Kanuga Watercolor Workshops for 17 years, held at the Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina. She teaches workshops throughout the United States, in experimental water media painting and collage for intermediate and advanced painters, consults on workshops, lectures, serves as juror in national, state and regional water media exhibitions.

Pat has been teaching workshops for over 20 years and has received several local and regional awards and has had solo shows as well as  Kindred Spirit exhibits with her friend and colleague Janet Campbell.  She is a signature member of the North East Watercolor Society,   Audubon Artists, Inc.  and a former elected member of the New Jersey Water Color Society and the Salmagundi Club in NYC.

Diane Dean demonstrates using a palette knife to complete a dogwood painting.
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Acrylic Painter, Diane Dean teaches her technique for creating heavily textured acrylic paintings using heavy gesso for surface texture, fluid and heavy body acrylics, brushes and palette knives.

Each spring, hundreds of locals 50+ years-old enjoy participating in the Asheville-Buncombe Senior Games and Silver Arts. This year’s program will be held at locations throughout Buncombe County from the week of Apr. 19 through May 19 (tentative). There is no registration fee this year.

To register, fill out a registration form (see documents below) or register online at ncseniorgames.org.

Sports include bowling, croquet, football throw, softball throw, golf, putt-putt, cycling, track and field, archery, cheerleading, swimming, billiards, badminton, cornhole, horseshoes, pickleball, racquetball, shuffleboard, tennis, and table tennis. Age categories start at 50 and increase at five year intervals.

Silver Arts categories are classified as Heritage (quilting, woodwork, crochet, basket weaving, jewelry, needlework, tole painting, weaving, knitting, pottery, stained glass, woodcarving, and woodturning), Visual (solo, small group, and large group), Performing, Literary (poem, short story, essay, and life experience), and Contemporary. Art pieces will be displayed online.

The Asheville Art Museum is the only museum in North Carolina to be selected as a finalist for this award. Chapel Hill Public Library is the only library to be selected in North Carolina.

The National Medal is the nation’s highest honor given to museums and libraries that demonstrate significant impact in their communities. For more than 25 years, the award has honored institutions that demonstrate excellence in service to their communities.

To celebrate this honor, IMLS is encouraging the Asheville Art Museum’s community members to share stories, memories, pictures, and videos on social media as part of the Share Your Story Campaign, using the #IMLSmedals hashtag, and engage with IMLS on Facebook and Twitter. For more information, please visit the IMLS website. The Asheville Art Museum will be featured on IMLS’s social media accounts on Tuesday, March 30, and we invite all to also share the content with the community.

National Medal winners will be announced in late spring. Representatives from winning institutions will be honored for their extraordinary contributions during a virtual National Medal Ceremony this summer.

To see the full list of finalists and learn more about the National Medal, visit the IMLS website.

FIND A FREE FOOD DISTRIBUTION NEAR YOU

The MANNA Partner Network of over 200 nonprofit pantries, meal sites, and other community-based organizations help residents to access free food across 16 western North Carolina counties. Use the map below to find MANNA partners close to you, or search the up-to-date listing of food partners (by county).

Opening the Door to Change presents the history of education in Western North Carolina, with a particular emphasis on Madison County, from the mid-nineteenth century through the late twentieth. Here, learning has taken many forms, from in-home instruction, common, subscription, and religious schools, to colleges of farming and craft. The curriculum of these schools, as well as their very construction, and in some cases closing, was deeply entwined with the changing needs and values of the Western North Carolina Appalachian community.

 The exhibition focuses on the dynamic relationship between community values and education, with a special focus on how students and their families navigated the economic, geographic, and racial challenges to education. Trends and changes in curriculum, assessment, and classroom design will also be explored.

The virtual exhibition will feature didactic panels showcasing a survey of schools within Madison County and highlighting the effect community values had on the curriculum, function, and format of these institutions. Online visitors may also get a sneak-peak at an original film, produced by the Museum, presenting the oral histories of several Madison County residents sharing their personal recollections and memories of past school-days.

Additional films will spotlight the Historic Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School and Laurel School, with first-hand accounts from former students and teachers.

This virtual exhibition is sponsored by the Madison County Tourism and Development Authority.

Show Us What the River Means to You!

Every spring we host our Voices of the River: Art & Poetry Contest. We ask kids to use the river as a source of inspiration to showcase their creativity. Each year we are so amazed by the talent of these young artists, poets, and performers. Submissions can include 2D and 3D works in various mediums, poems and creative writings, and video compositions of songs, dances, or skits. Winners are selected by a council of judges made up of local artists, writers, and community leaders. Many generous businesses also donate prizes for winners from each age group and category.