Upcoming events and things to do in Asheville, NC. Below is a list of events for festivals, concerts, art exhibitions, group meetups and more.

Interested in adding an event to our calendar? Please click the green “Post Your Event” button below.

Saturday, February 3, 2018
Skylight by David Hare
Feb 3 @ 7:30 pm
Date: February 2 – 18, 2018
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Asheville Community Theatre- 35below
Admission: $15
When a former lover’s son shows up on her doorstep, Kyra is surprised that he hopes she will reconcile with Tom, his now widowed father. Is the gap between them unbridgeable, or can they resurrect their relationship?
Zach Williams & Citizen Way
Feb 3 @ 7:30 pm
Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts
Zach Williams & Citizen Way @ Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts | Franklin | North Carolina | United States

Zach Williams wears many hats: from husband and father to church staff and worship leader. Most recently he can add recording artist to the list. Zach is no novice to the music industry. He had spent a majority of his life traveling with various bands. It was while on the road that the Lord grabbed a hold of him and he decided to leave the rock star life behind. After that, Zach transitioned in to a position at the Refuge Campus of Central Baptist Church in Jonesboro, Arkansas in which he still serves. It came as a shock when the opportunity to sign with Provident Label Group as a new Christian artist arose. Never in his wildest dreams did Zach Williams think that he would be in this place of writing and recording music in the Christian music industry, especially from years of hard living on the road while in a rock & roll band. His personal testimony of receiving freedom in the Lord is so beautifully reflected in his debut single “Chain Breaker.” The song came from a place of wanting to reach people who had been struggling and it undoubtedly has. Over the course of its release in the summer of 2016, an influx of stories have been shared on his various social media pages by people who have experienced the life changing power of broken chains.

Sporting pop-rock influences, infectious lyrics and a creatively ambitious sound, the band, Citizen Way, carries with it a decided level of maturity and vulnerability. Band member, Josh Calhoun shares the desire of the group: “Knowing when we’re on stage and when we’re sharing the Gospel, we believe the Holy Spirit will waters the seeds of those listening and lets them grow.” The group prays their latest offering can meet people where they are, offering encouragement, uplifting their spirit and reminding them of the power of God’s promise. “My goal is always to put a hook around God’s word and let people sing it,” Calhoun says. “I want people to fall in love with Jesus. I just want them to know that the word of Jesus is something worth following and I’m going to spend my life and my energy on it because I believe in it that much.”

Proceeds from this event will benefit the The Hands and Feet Project

Rumours – A Fleetwood Mac Tribute
Feb 3 @ 9:00 pm
Yacht Rock Revue
Feb 3 @ 9:00 pm
Sunday, February 4, 2018
Skylight by David Hare
Feb 4 @ 2:30 am
Date: February 2 – 18, 2018
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Asheville Community Theatre- 35below
Admission: $15
When a former lover’s son shows up on her doorstep, Kyra is surprised that he hopes she will reconcile with Tom, his now widowed father. Is the gap between them unbridgeable, or can they resurrect their relationship?
Valentine’s Day Special Offer- FREE GIFT
Feb 4 @ 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Short Street Cake
Valentine's Day Special Offer- FREE GIFT @ Short Street Cake | Asheville | North Carolina | United States

De La Terre Skincare has teamed up with Short Street Cake shop an amazing local bakery here in Asheville, NC for a Valentine’s Day Special Offering! What better way to feed the soul and boost overall wellness than with cake infused with De La Terre Skincare Comforts Tea. To place you order for delivery of this awesome cake and receive your FREE GIFT of a 1 oz Comfort Tea and $20 gift card from De La Terre Skincare please call 828-505-4822

LINING: SHEATHING
Feb 4 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Permanent Gallery

LINING: SHEATHING
Exhibition: January 16 – May 4
Reception: Thursday, April 19 from 5-7pm
Lining: Sheathing is a large-scale installation about the tactile and protective qualities of textiles by collaborators Denise Bookwalter and Lee Running. The artists have been working together for five years, creating installations and artist books that include printed fabric, handmade paper, woodblock prints, custom garments and embroidery. This installation has been developed in residencies at Penland School of Crafts, Penland NC, Constellation Studios, Lincoln NE, and Small Craft Advisory Press, Tallahassee FL. The focal point of the installation is a room-size tent suspended beneath a skylight. The tent is made from large printed and dyed textile panels which create a space that viewers can enter. Viewers are invited to try on one of the handmade garments and view the series of eight queen bed sized woodblock prints on handmade paper. For the exhibition at the WCU Fine Art Museum, Bookwalter and Running will also create a three-story site-specific window installation for the atrium of the Bardo Arts Center.

MUSEUM HOURS: Tues-Fri 10am-4pm/ Th 10am-7pm
Closed weekends & University holidays
828.227.ARTS

Image Caption: Detail: Denise Bookwalter, Lee Emma Running, “LINING:SHEATHING”, 2011

Scale Up: 10 Years, 10 Fellows, 10 Projects
Feb 4 @ 10:00 am – 10:15 am
Center for Craft
Scale Up: 10 Years, 10 Fellows, 10 Projects @ Center for Craft | Shelby | Ohio | United States

To mark the 10th Anniversary of the Windgate Fellowship, the Center for Craft awarded a total of ten, $10,000 Project Grants. This exhibition showcases how the next generation of craft artists used their funds to explore scale, installation, and community practice.

Artists: Andrea Donnelly (Richmond, VA), Josh Copus (Marshall, NC), Dustin Farnsworth (Montreal, QC), Brian Fleetwood (La Mesilla, NM), Ani Geragosian (Salem, MA), Adam Ledford (Philadelphia, PA), Rebecca Manson (Bedford Hills, NY), Rachel Mauser (Louisville, KY), Aaron McIntosh (Richmond, VA), and Mark Reigelman II (Brooklyn, NY).

Willie Cole: Soles and Boards
Feb 4 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Fine Art Museum Gallery B

Willie Cole: Soles and Boards 
Exhibition: January 16 – May 4, 2018

Since 1989, Willie Cole has employed the image of the clothes iron in his work. Cole morphs this utilitarian object to represent and reference a range of associations from African masks to scarification to slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. This exhibition presents prints from Cole’s time working at Highpoint Editions in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 2011-2012.

Image Caption: Image Courtesy of Highpoint Editions and Willie Cole

Asheville Gallery of Art February 2018 Show “Inspired by Nature”
Feb 4 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Gallery of Art
Asheville Gallery of Art February 2018 Show "Inspired by Nature" @ Asheville Gallery of Art | Asheville | North Carolina | United States

Asheville Gallery of Art’s February show features the work of two new members, Ana Blanton and Zoe Schumaker. Though they paint in two different styles and mediums, the artists’ work represents the inspiration each derives from nature. The show runs February 1-28 during gallery hours, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday. The gallery, located at 82 Patton Avenue in Asheville, across from Pritchard Park, will host a reception for the artists on Friday, February 2, from 5-8 p.m. Everyone is cordially invited to stop by.

“When I process ideas, I see them as layers of images rather than words, and as my thoughts become imagery, I feel more comfortable expressing myself through abstract form,” says Ana Blanton. Of her latest series of mixed-media paintings she says, “In this series I am more interested in representing the sense and feel of light in nature. It is about exploring the sense of energy and movement that is unique to light traveling through air, water, and objects in nature or a simple still life.”

Blanton, who has lived in Asheville since 1997, has a BA in Art Studio from Mars Hill University. She studied Art Conservation at University of Madrid, Spain, and mural painting and mural Conservation at the International School of Mural Painting Miguel Farre, Barcelona, Spain.

Zoe Schumaker says, “From an early age, I tried to capture the beauty I saw by drawing and photographing my surroundings.” Raised in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Northern California, the artist spent many afternoons immersed in imaginative drawings of the mountains, lakes and forests, and the animals that live there.

Schumaker rediscovered her passion for painting upon moving to the Blue Ridge Mountains in 2005. “As I explored the area, I started bringing my backpack kit of pastels. It was not long before I decided to pursue art full time.” The artist teaches painting at the John C. Campbell Folk School and is active in several regional environmental non-profits. She frequently donates her work to support these causes. “Nature is my muse. I hope my paintings capture the joy and reverence I feel for our beautiful home.”

The featured works by Blanton and Schumaker, as well as the paintings of the other 29 gallery members will be on display and for sale through the month of February. For further information about this show, you can contact Asheville Gallery of Art at (828) 251-5796, visit the gallery website at www.ashevillegallery-of-art.com, or go to the gallery Facebook page.

Chotta Chai Pani
Feb 4 @ 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Chai Pani
Chotta Chai Pani @ Chai Pani | Asheville | North Carolina | United States

Asheville, prepare for a little Chai Pani by the river. For the first time in eight years, the beloved downtown Indian street food restaurant that spawned a restaurant group is undergoing a month-long renovation. But fear not, dear chaat lovers, as there’s a pop-up in store to fill the Chai Pani-sized hole in your heart. ’Chotta Chai Pani’, a three week pop-up from Meherwan Irani and the Chai Pani team, will be coming to Riverside Drive throughout the month of February. Featuring mainstay favorites alongside additions from MG Road and Botiwalla, the pop-up menu includes a bevy of hits from around the restaurant group, previously unavailable at Chai Pani Asheville, including the Mumbai Club, Frankies, Pav Bhaji, sweet handpies from Buxton Hall’s lead pastry chef Ashley Capps and more, as well as the return of the beloved Kheema Pav (Sloppy Jai lovers, rejoice!). The pop-up will be open 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Mini Restorative Retreat for Self Care
Feb 4 @ 12:00 pm
Sunday, February 4, 2018 12:00-3:00pm All Levels Welcome $40 Step away from the momentum of your day to day life
Jeeves Takes a Bow
Feb 4 @ 2:00 pm
Jack of the Wood : Sunday-Irish Session
Feb 4 @ 3:00 pm
Jack of the Wood

 

Jack of the Wood : Sunday-Irish Session 

Sundays

1 till who knows when?

Traditional Irish music is kept alive at Jack of the Wood with our unplugged Sunday session.

Jack of the Wood

95 Patton ave

Asheville, NC 28801

(828) 252.5445

http://www.jackofthewood.com/

St. John in the Wilderness Concert
Feb 4 @ 3:30 pm

On Sunday, February 4, the Friends of Music at St. John in the Wilderness in Flat Rock will present a concert of music from Mozart to My Fair Lady. The concert celebrates the completion of the church’s new Parish Hall and the donation of a Yamaha Grand Piano. It will be held in the new Parish Hall beginning at 3:30 p.m.

The program will include Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A major, K. 414, played by St. John Organist and Director of Music, Dewitt Tipton, along with members of the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra. Greenville professional singers Danielle Knox, soprano, Grant Knox, tenor, and Adrian Smith, bass-baritone, will sing opera arias and the final trio from Gounod’s Faust. They also will sing excerpts from My Fair Lady joined by the St. John Parish Choir.

Admission is free; however, donations will be gratefully accepted. For more information, call (828) 693-9783 or visit www.stjohnflatrock.org.

AYURVEDIC KITCHEN PHARMACY WITH GRETA KENT-STOLL
Feb 4 @ 5:30 pm

VILLAGERS

YURVEDIC KITCHEN PHARMACY WITH GRETA KENT-STOLL // 5:30-7PM

Your best medicine may be hiding in your spice cupboard! Join Greta Kent-Stoll, Ayurvedic Practitioner, for this peak inside the profound health benefits of common kitchen spices. Not only will you learn about the medicinal properties of various common cooking spices; you will also learn about their Ayurvedic properties and energetic qualities. Greta will share some simple recipes, as well as tips for maximizing the amazing healing benefits of spices!

$10-20 per person, sliding scale

Greta Kent-Stoll’s mission as an Ayurvedic practitioner is to inspire, educate and heal others through the wisdom of Ayurveda. Her practice, Asheville Ayurveda, is located in downtown Asheville. As an avid student and practitioner of Iyengar yoga, Greta recognizes the deep and inseparable connection between yoga and Ayurveda. Greta has published in the Ayurvedic Journal of Health, writes monthly for the Herbal Academy, and is an intern supervisor with the CA College of Ayurveda. For more on Greta’s Ayurveda practice, please visit www.ashevilleayurveda.net.

 

Monday, February 5, 2018
Valentine’s Day Special Offer- FREE GIFT
Feb 5 @ 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Short Street Cake
Valentine's Day Special Offer- FREE GIFT @ Short Street Cake | Asheville | North Carolina | United States

De La Terre Skincare has teamed up with Short Street Cake shop an amazing local bakery here in Asheville, NC for a Valentine’s Day Special Offering! What better way to feed the soul and boost overall wellness than with cake infused with De La Terre Skincare Comforts Tea. To place you order for delivery of this awesome cake and receive your FREE GIFT of a 1 oz Comfort Tea and $20 gift card from De La Terre Skincare please call 828-505-4822

LINING: SHEATHING
Feb 5 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Permanent Gallery

LINING: SHEATHING
Exhibition: January 16 – May 4
Reception: Thursday, April 19 from 5-7pm
Lining: Sheathing is a large-scale installation about the tactile and protective qualities of textiles by collaborators Denise Bookwalter and Lee Running. The artists have been working together for five years, creating installations and artist books that include printed fabric, handmade paper, woodblock prints, custom garments and embroidery. This installation has been developed in residencies at Penland School of Crafts, Penland NC, Constellation Studios, Lincoln NE, and Small Craft Advisory Press, Tallahassee FL. The focal point of the installation is a room-size tent suspended beneath a skylight. The tent is made from large printed and dyed textile panels which create a space that viewers can enter. Viewers are invited to try on one of the handmade garments and view the series of eight queen bed sized woodblock prints on handmade paper. For the exhibition at the WCU Fine Art Museum, Bookwalter and Running will also create a three-story site-specific window installation for the atrium of the Bardo Arts Center.

MUSEUM HOURS: Tues-Fri 10am-4pm/ Th 10am-7pm
Closed weekends & University holidays
828.227.ARTS

Image Caption: Detail: Denise Bookwalter, Lee Emma Running, “LINING:SHEATHING”, 2011

Scale Up: 10 Years, 10 Fellows, 10 Projects
Feb 5 @ 10:00 am – 10:15 am
Center for Craft
Scale Up: 10 Years, 10 Fellows, 10 Projects @ Center for Craft | Shelby | Ohio | United States

To mark the 10th Anniversary of the Windgate Fellowship, the Center for Craft awarded a total of ten, $10,000 Project Grants. This exhibition showcases how the next generation of craft artists used their funds to explore scale, installation, and community practice.

Artists: Andrea Donnelly (Richmond, VA), Josh Copus (Marshall, NC), Dustin Farnsworth (Montreal, QC), Brian Fleetwood (La Mesilla, NM), Ani Geragosian (Salem, MA), Adam Ledford (Philadelphia, PA), Rebecca Manson (Bedford Hills, NY), Rachel Mauser (Louisville, KY), Aaron McIntosh (Richmond, VA), and Mark Reigelman II (Brooklyn, NY).

Willie Cole: Soles and Boards
Feb 5 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Fine Art Museum Gallery B

Willie Cole: Soles and Boards 
Exhibition: January 16 – May 4, 2018

Since 1989, Willie Cole has employed the image of the clothes iron in his work. Cole morphs this utilitarian object to represent and reference a range of associations from African masks to scarification to slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. This exhibition presents prints from Cole’s time working at Highpoint Editions in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 2011-2012.

Image Caption: Image Courtesy of Highpoint Editions and Willie Cole

Asheville Gallery of Art February 2018 Show “Inspired by Nature”
Feb 5 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Gallery of Art
Asheville Gallery of Art February 2018 Show "Inspired by Nature" @ Asheville Gallery of Art | Asheville | North Carolina | United States

Asheville Gallery of Art’s February show features the work of two new members, Ana Blanton and Zoe Schumaker. Though they paint in two different styles and mediums, the artists’ work represents the inspiration each derives from nature. The show runs February 1-28 during gallery hours, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday. The gallery, located at 82 Patton Avenue in Asheville, across from Pritchard Park, will host a reception for the artists on Friday, February 2, from 5-8 p.m. Everyone is cordially invited to stop by.

“When I process ideas, I see them as layers of images rather than words, and as my thoughts become imagery, I feel more comfortable expressing myself through abstract form,” says Ana Blanton. Of her latest series of mixed-media paintings she says, “In this series I am more interested in representing the sense and feel of light in nature. It is about exploring the sense of energy and movement that is unique to light traveling through air, water, and objects in nature or a simple still life.”

Blanton, who has lived in Asheville since 1997, has a BA in Art Studio from Mars Hill University. She studied Art Conservation at University of Madrid, Spain, and mural painting and mural Conservation at the International School of Mural Painting Miguel Farre, Barcelona, Spain.

Zoe Schumaker says, “From an early age, I tried to capture the beauty I saw by drawing and photographing my surroundings.” Raised in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Northern California, the artist spent many afternoons immersed in imaginative drawings of the mountains, lakes and forests, and the animals that live there.

Schumaker rediscovered her passion for painting upon moving to the Blue Ridge Mountains in 2005. “As I explored the area, I started bringing my backpack kit of pastels. It was not long before I decided to pursue art full time.” The artist teaches painting at the John C. Campbell Folk School and is active in several regional environmental non-profits. She frequently donates her work to support these causes. “Nature is my muse. I hope my paintings capture the joy and reverence I feel for our beautiful home.”

The featured works by Blanton and Schumaker, as well as the paintings of the other 29 gallery members will be on display and for sale through the month of February. For further information about this show, you can contact Asheville Gallery of Art at (828) 251-5796, visit the gallery website at www.ashevillegallery-of-art.com, or go to the gallery Facebook page.

Chotta Chai Pani
Feb 5 @ 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Chai Pani
Chotta Chai Pani @ Chai Pani | Asheville | North Carolina | United States

Asheville, prepare for a little Chai Pani by the river. For the first time in eight years, the beloved downtown Indian street food restaurant that spawned a restaurant group is undergoing a month-long renovation. But fear not, dear chaat lovers, as there’s a pop-up in store to fill the Chai Pani-sized hole in your heart. ’Chotta Chai Pani’, a three week pop-up from Meherwan Irani and the Chai Pani team, will be coming to Riverside Drive throughout the month of February. Featuring mainstay favorites alongside additions from MG Road and Botiwalla, the pop-up menu includes a bevy of hits from around the restaurant group, previously unavailable at Chai Pani Asheville, including the Mumbai Club, Frankies, Pav Bhaji, sweet handpies from Buxton Hall’s lead pastry chef Ashley Capps and more, as well as the return of the beloved Kheema Pav (Sloppy Jai lovers, rejoice!). The pop-up will be open 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

Transition Asheville Monthly Social: Energy Savers Network
Feb 5 @ 6:30 pm

Transition Asheville Monthly Social: Energy Savers Network

 Looking for a way to do something tangible to help the climate and help people? Come learn about the Energy Savers Network at the February 5th Transition Asheville social. We’ll meet from 6:30pm – 8:00pm at the First Congregation UCC, 20 Oak St. Asheville, NC (parking in rear).You might become a volunteer to help lower the energy burden of some of our most vulnerable communities and make a dent in our national energy footprint. Or go to www.energysaversnetwork.com if you can’t come on the 5th.

Time: 6:30 pm – 8:00pm

Place:  Friendship Hall, First Congregation UCC, 20 Oak St. Ashevile, NC, (parking in rear)

 PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT WAS PREVIOUSLY POSTPONED AND WILL BE HELD ON 2/5/18

Camino 101
Feb 5 @ 7:00 pm

Interested in walking the Camino de Santiago? Have questions? This session will start with a brief history of the Camino, followed by time to break out and ask your questions. Experienced pilgrims will be stationed around the room to answer your questions about getting there, what route to take, packing, tech on the trail, accommodations, and any other topic related to the network of Camino trails.

John 5 & The Creatures
Feb 5 @ 8:00 pm
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Valentine’s Day Special Offer- FREE GIFT
Feb 6 @ 8:00 am – 6:00 pm
Short Street Cake
Valentine's Day Special Offer- FREE GIFT @ Short Street Cake | Asheville | North Carolina | United States

De La Terre Skincare has teamed up with Short Street Cake shop an amazing local bakery here in Asheville, NC for a Valentine’s Day Special Offering! What better way to feed the soul and boost overall wellness than with cake infused with De La Terre Skincare Comforts Tea. To place you order for delivery of this awesome cake and receive your FREE GIFT of a 1 oz Comfort Tea and $20 gift card from De La Terre Skincare please call 828-505-4822

LINING: SHEATHING
Feb 6 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Permanent Gallery

LINING: SHEATHING
Exhibition: January 16 – May 4
Reception: Thursday, April 19 from 5-7pm
Lining: Sheathing is a large-scale installation about the tactile and protective qualities of textiles by collaborators Denise Bookwalter and Lee Running. The artists have been working together for five years, creating installations and artist books that include printed fabric, handmade paper, woodblock prints, custom garments and embroidery. This installation has been developed in residencies at Penland School of Crafts, Penland NC, Constellation Studios, Lincoln NE, and Small Craft Advisory Press, Tallahassee FL. The focal point of the installation is a room-size tent suspended beneath a skylight. The tent is made from large printed and dyed textile panels which create a space that viewers can enter. Viewers are invited to try on one of the handmade garments and view the series of eight queen bed sized woodblock prints on handmade paper. For the exhibition at the WCU Fine Art Museum, Bookwalter and Running will also create a three-story site-specific window installation for the atrium of the Bardo Arts Center.

MUSEUM HOURS: Tues-Fri 10am-4pm/ Th 10am-7pm
Closed weekends & University holidays
828.227.ARTS

Image Caption: Detail: Denise Bookwalter, Lee Emma Running, “LINING:SHEATHING”, 2011

Scale Up: 10 Years, 10 Fellows, 10 Projects
Feb 6 @ 10:00 am – 10:15 am
Center for Craft
Scale Up: 10 Years, 10 Fellows, 10 Projects @ Center for Craft | Shelby | Ohio | United States

To mark the 10th Anniversary of the Windgate Fellowship, the Center for Craft awarded a total of ten, $10,000 Project Grants. This exhibition showcases how the next generation of craft artists used their funds to explore scale, installation, and community practice.

Artists: Andrea Donnelly (Richmond, VA), Josh Copus (Marshall, NC), Dustin Farnsworth (Montreal, QC), Brian Fleetwood (La Mesilla, NM), Ani Geragosian (Salem, MA), Adam Ledford (Philadelphia, PA), Rebecca Manson (Bedford Hills, NY), Rachel Mauser (Louisville, KY), Aaron McIntosh (Richmond, VA), and Mark Reigelman II (Brooklyn, NY).

Willie Cole: Soles and Boards
Feb 6 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Fine Art Museum Gallery B

Willie Cole: Soles and Boards 
Exhibition: January 16 – May 4, 2018

Since 1989, Willie Cole has employed the image of the clothes iron in his work. Cole morphs this utilitarian object to represent and reference a range of associations from African masks to scarification to slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. This exhibition presents prints from Cole’s time working at Highpoint Editions in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 2011-2012.

Image Caption: Image Courtesy of Highpoint Editions and Willie Cole

Asheville Gallery of Art February 2018 Show “Inspired by Nature”
Feb 6 @ 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Asheville Gallery of Art
Asheville Gallery of Art February 2018 Show "Inspired by Nature" @ Asheville Gallery of Art | Asheville | North Carolina | United States

Asheville Gallery of Art’s February show features the work of two new members, Ana Blanton and Zoe Schumaker. Though they paint in two different styles and mediums, the artists’ work represents the inspiration each derives from nature. The show runs February 1-28 during gallery hours, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday. The gallery, located at 82 Patton Avenue in Asheville, across from Pritchard Park, will host a reception for the artists on Friday, February 2, from 5-8 p.m. Everyone is cordially invited to stop by.

“When I process ideas, I see them as layers of images rather than words, and as my thoughts become imagery, I feel more comfortable expressing myself through abstract form,” says Ana Blanton. Of her latest series of mixed-media paintings she says, “In this series I am more interested in representing the sense and feel of light in nature. It is about exploring the sense of energy and movement that is unique to light traveling through air, water, and objects in nature or a simple still life.”

Blanton, who has lived in Asheville since 1997, has a BA in Art Studio from Mars Hill University. She studied Art Conservation at University of Madrid, Spain, and mural painting and mural Conservation at the International School of Mural Painting Miguel Farre, Barcelona, Spain.

Zoe Schumaker says, “From an early age, I tried to capture the beauty I saw by drawing and photographing my surroundings.” Raised in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Northern California, the artist spent many afternoons immersed in imaginative drawings of the mountains, lakes and forests, and the animals that live there.

Schumaker rediscovered her passion for painting upon moving to the Blue Ridge Mountains in 2005. “As I explored the area, I started bringing my backpack kit of pastels. It was not long before I decided to pursue art full time.” The artist teaches painting at the John C. Campbell Folk School and is active in several regional environmental non-profits. She frequently donates her work to support these causes. “Nature is my muse. I hope my paintings capture the joy and reverence I feel for our beautiful home.”

The featured works by Blanton and Schumaker, as well as the paintings of the other 29 gallery members will be on display and for sale through the month of February. For further information about this show, you can contact Asheville Gallery of Art at (828) 251-5796, visit the gallery website at www.ashevillegallery-of-art.com, or go to the gallery Facebook page.