50th Annual Juried Undergraduate Exhibition
Exhibition: February 27 – March 30, 2018
Reception: Thursday, March 22 from 5-7pm

A highlight of each spring season, the Annual Juried Undergraduate Exhibition is the longest running exhibition tradition at Western Carolina University. Dr. Beth Hinderliter, Associate Professor of Cross Disciplinary Studies at James Madison University, serves as juror for this display of creative expression in a variety of media by undergraduates at Western Carolina University. All undergraduate students enrolled at WCU are eligible to apply.

Image Caption: Lauren Medford, “Cookie Cutters”, 2015, Best in Show, 48th Annual Juried Undergraduate Exhibition

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

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).

School of Art & Design Alumni Invitational Exhibition
Exhibition: February 13 – May 4, 2018
Reception: February 15, 2018

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the College of Fine & Performing Arts, the WCU Fine Art Museum invites 12 accomplished alumni of the School of Art & Design back to campus for this exhibition. Exhibiting artists include Amy M. Anderson, Connie Bostic, Mary Charles Griffin, Luzene Hill, Sally Jacobs, Cole Johnson, Dakota Ling, Jeff Marley, Olivia Mears, Tom Pazderka, Byron Tenesaca, and Preston Tolbert.

Image Caption: Tom Pazderka, Angels of the New Light, 2017, ash, charcoal, and oil on burned panel, 43 x 43 in

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’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.

Adult Education Tutor Training is offered to prospective volunteers who have attended a volunteer  orientation session and registered with the Adult Education Program Director to attend training. 

Nourishment: Chinese Medicine Perspectives on Disordered Eating
Tuesday, February 27th – 6:30-7:45pm

In support of T.H.E. Center for Disordered Eating and in honor of #NEDAwareness Week, Skye Mallory is offering an opportunity to learn more about nourishment and notions of “balanced” eating from a Chinese medicine perspective.

Link below for detail:
studioclasique.com/nourishment

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

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).

School of Art & Design Alumni Invitational Exhibition
Exhibition: February 13 – May 4, 2018
Reception: February 15, 2018

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the College of Fine & Performing Arts, the WCU Fine Art Museum invites 12 accomplished alumni of the School of Art & Design back to campus for this exhibition. Exhibiting artists include Amy M. Anderson, Connie Bostic, Mary Charles Griffin, Luzene Hill, Sally Jacobs, Cole Johnson, Dakota Ling, Jeff Marley, Olivia Mears, Tom Pazderka, Byron Tenesaca, and Preston Tolbert.

Image Caption: Tom Pazderka, Angels of the New Light, 2017, ash, charcoal, and oil on burned panel, 43 x 43 in

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’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.

Empowered Eating Education for #NEDAwareness Week!

Join us for a Lunch & Learn with Kendra L. Gaffney, RD, LDN, CEDRD from Nutritious Thoughts at the Tap Haus inside Whole Foods (Tunnel Road) – 12:30-1:30pm on Wednesday, February 28th.

Everyone has a “relationship” with food. Come discover yours! Together we will explore the science behind food as well as daily mindful practices. Nourishment is more than FOOD! To nourish oneself is to love oneself…

Please arrive early enough to purchase your meal inside the Tap Haus or the market. Whole Foods is providing a beverage and dessert and the education is FREE!

TOAST Asheville at New Belgium Brewing
91 Craven Street
(the event is in the brewhouse building, not the liquid center)

Wednesday, February 28, 2018, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
$30 members; $35 non-members; $40 at the door

TICKETS: purchase online or call 828.253.3227
*Note tickets will not be mailed. There will be a check-In list at the event with all pre-purchased tickets listed.

The evening will be a festive gathering with unique New Belgium beers and partner wines to sample, tasty local food specially paired and created with the New Belgium beers, a brewery tour, a silent auction and live entertainment. 

Garden Helpline Open for Calls

Extension Master GardenerSM Volunteers of Buncombe County are ready to answer your
gardening questions.

Beginning March 1, the Garden Helpline is open Monday through
Thursday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., during the gardening season—March through September. Our
Master Gardener volunteers are available for phone calls, walk-ins, and emails.

Call 828-255-5522 or visit the Extension office at the location shown below. If you bring a plant
sample to the office, please be sure it is large enough for plant identification. You can also email
your questions and plant photos to [email protected].

Each year, Extension Master Gardener volunteers answer hundreds of gardening questions.
From October through February when the Helpline is not open, your questions will be
answered by Alison Arnold, Extension Agent, Consumer Horticulture. The Extension office and
our Helpline are closed on N.C. state holidays.

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

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).

School of Art & Design Alumni Invitational Exhibition
Exhibition: February 13 – May 4, 2018
Reception: February 15, 2018

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the College of Fine & Performing Arts, the WCU Fine Art Museum invites 12 accomplished alumni of the School of Art & Design back to campus for this exhibition. Exhibiting artists include Amy M. Anderson, Connie Bostic, Mary Charles Griffin, Luzene Hill, Sally Jacobs, Cole Johnson, Dakota Ling, Jeff Marley, Olivia Mears, Tom Pazderka, Byron Tenesaca, and Preston Tolbert.

Image Caption: Tom Pazderka, Angels of the New Light, 2017, ash, charcoal, and oil on burned panel, 43 x 43 in

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

Along with its 490 miles of road, the Blue Ridge Parkway boasts 369 miles of hiking trails, so one of the most daunting tasks facing hikers may be choosing which trail to explore. This season, ask experienced hikers for their tips on their favorite hikes.

Three speakers will talk on “Hiking the Blue Ridge Parkway and Beyond” at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, March 1, at the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center, 195 Hemphill Knob Road, Asheville, at Milepost 384 on the Parkway.

Randy Fluharty, president of the Carolina Mountain Club, and Steve Metcalf, board president of the Friends of Mountains-to-Sea Trail, will discuss upcoming group hikes and their work maintaining the Parkway’s trails.  A Parkway ranger will also discuss general hiking safety.

The free event is sponsored by the Blue Ridge Parkway, Blue Ridge National Heritage Area and Eastern National.

For information, contact Amy Hollifield at 828-298-5330 ext. 301 or [email protected].

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, designated by Congress and the President in November, 2003, works to protect, preserve, interpret, and develop the unique natural, historical, and cultural resources of Western North Carolina for the benefit of present and future generations, and in so doing to stimulate improved economic opportunity in the region.  National Heritage Areas are locally-governed institutions that encourage residents, non-profit groups, government agencies, and private partners to work together in planning and implementing programs that preserve and celebrate America’s defining landscapes.

The views and conclusions contained in this news release are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Government.

4-H Sewing classes for youth ages 10 – 18 will begin on March 1, May 10, July 5, Sept. 6 and Nov. 1. Classes are from 1:00 – 3:00 pm, or 3:30 – 5:30 pm. Each class will run for 4 weeks. The fee for each 4 week series is $25, and includes use of an individual sewing machine, a pattern, a basic sewing kit and an adult helper. Each class series will focus on a different garment or project. See the registration form for more information.
https://henderson.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Sewing-registration-2018_PDF.pdf?fwd=no

Asheville Gallery of Art’s March show features the work of Jane Molinelli. Known for expressive, colorful, non-objective paintings, the artist presents new works in a limited palette. The show runs March 1-31 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 artist on Friday, March 2, from 5-8 p.m. Everyone is cordially invited to stop by.

“The idea for the show came when a collector wanted a commission in black, white, and shades of gray,” says the artist. “I hadn’t consciously worked in that way and was excited about the challenge.” Molinelli found it to be an incredibly rich world. She mixed her own blacks, rather than grab the standard tube of carbon or ivory black. “When I grayed the colors with white, I got a whole range of beautiful shades.”

As she painted, she focused on the expression and rhythm of the pieces. “It gave me time to reassess my values, in both an artistic and life sense, as I got to the core of the emotion I was hoping to convey.” The artist believes non-objective art is a spectrum of dialogue. “I start the dialogue by responding to the energy of the marks, lines, and colors I lay on the surface. I hope those who see my work start their own dialogues with the pieces and remain open to what each says during the encounter.”

The artist settled in Asheville after attending Penland School of Crafts where she studied weaving. “I spent years as a craft book editor, but realized my heart belonged back with the visual arts. Once I started painting, I knew I was truly home.” Molinelli lives in Asheville with her husband, Jim LaFerla. Her work is found both in private collections and corporate settings and can be found at Asheville Gallery of Art in downtown Asheville and at 310 ART in the River Arts District.

Molinelli’s work, as well as the paintings of the other 30 gallery members will be on display and for sale through the month of March. 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.

(3:00 PM – 4:30 PM)

Envisioning Your Eden: Planting the Way Nature Intended

Explore ways of creating a garden of color that is harmonious with nature. Patrice German of BeeHaven Gardens and BB Barns will guide us on how to provide, and what to expect from, an environment that will play “heavenly host” to our honeybees and pollinators. $12

Bullington Gardens

95 Upper Red Oak Trail

Hendersonville,   NC   28792            (828) 698-6104

Featuring Regina Connell, former Director of Communications at Heath Ceramics. Positioning is one of the most important “business” decisions you will make. This workshop will cover why positioning is foundational for your business, how to do it, and how it will inform everything from your strategy to your brand, your pricing, your partnerships and your communications. Tickets are limited!

This workshop is just one part of a series. The Center for Craft, UNC Asheville, and Mountain BizWorks announce Entrepreneur’s Workshop: Craft Your Commerce, a new pilot program to connect, elevate, and advance emerging and established makers/designers who have craft-inspired businesses. Using research responses from over 300 area makers/designers, the series is designed to address top identified craft business topics, share insights from professional makers with strong sector experience, and foster peer-to-peer learning. Workshop pricing is accessible ($20-40) and early-bird specials are currently available.

Opening Reception for the Annual Juried Student Art Exhibit.

Juror’s Talk and Awards will start at 5:30pm. Please join us!

The Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition will be on view March 1st-March 23rd.

(The gallery will be closed to the public over Spring Break March 10th-March 18th)