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|| High Country Press Newswire

June 5, 2008 issue

Downtown Boone Art Crawl Friday

Story by Anna Oakes

Make sure your summer diversions include plenty of cultural activities, including local and regional art. You can start with the monthly Downtown Boone Art Crawl, taking place Friday, June 6. Enjoy the warm weather, eat a meal and enjoy art and refreshments at the Jones House, Turchin Center, ArtWalk, Hands Gallery and Nthº Gallery and Studios.

The Downtown Boone Development Association sponsors the Art Crawl. For more information, call 828-262-4532.

Hands Gallery
543 West King Street
828-262-1970
At the upcoming Art Crawl on Friday, June 6, leather artist Amy Eagles will premiere her new line of custom elkskin patches. Skin Your Knee, her new line, features small knee to full thigh coverage patches, booty patches and pant cuffs—all customized to the individual customer’s favorite pair of jeans.

With Skin Your Knee, Eagles is combining fashion and conservation. In all of her work, she uses free-range deer and elk leathers from legally hunted game used for their meat. The animals are free in the wild until the moment they are taken and provide an earth-friendly source of leather.

She is also now beginning to work with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, a largely hunter-based conservation group that works to protect elk habitat and educate about the importance of hunting in conservation efforts.

In addition to Hands Gallery on King Street, Eagles’ work is also available locally at Green Mother Goods across from Dan’l Boone Inn and online at www.artandsoulwebgallery.com. She also offers a line of pouches and accessories for men and women, including her popular corded deerskin necklaces.

In addition, other Hands Gallery artists will be present during the art crawl.

Nth Gallery and Studios Elkskin pouches are among the leather goods created by Amy Eagles, the featured artist at the Hands Gallery during the June Art Crawl.
683 West King Street
On Friday, June 6, the Nth Gallery presents Art Cinema, an evening of artistic animation and short films. Art Crawl participants are invited to drop by any time or stay all evening. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and popcorn and other snacks will be served. This event is BYOB.

Nth Presents Art Cinema will feature a number of films of varying length, ranging from 30 seconds to 30 minutes, that will cover styles such as animation, surrealism, humor and interviews. An array of artists from throughout the 20th century created the films, focusing on the more contemporary time period. Several of the films contain adult themes or content, therefore attendees under the age of 18 MUST be accompanied by an adult. Comfortable seating will be available, and crawlers are invited to kick back their heels and enjoy art in the celluloid form.

The Nth Gallery & Studios is an independent art venue that serves as an incubator for new, emerging and established artists in the region. The Nth is open each Monday evening from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. and by appointment. The Nth Gallery and Studios is located at 683 West King Street, across from the Post Office and above Loretta’s Vendetta. For more info, call Brian Lee at 828-264-7429 or Jamie Goodman at 828-719-9493.

Jones House Community Center
634 West King Street
828-264-1789
The gallery reception at the Jones House is from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. Free food and beverages will be served.

Glenn Bruce’s exhibit Full Saturation, referring to this show’s complete color range from black and whites to strong primary colors to most of everything rich and full in between, is on display in the Mazie Jones Gallery this month. The show features more than 25 new abstract expressionist paintings, as well as some older pieces.

A writer of screenplays, novels, television and movie scripts, the artist also teaches screenwriting and acting for the camera at Appalachian State University. He has received numerous awards and credits for these endeavors. Most recently he directed and produced an award-winning commercial. A full-time resident of Watauga County for a number of years, Bruce has called Watauga County home, at least part time, for most of his life.

Suzanne Svejcar’s vibrant watercolors are on exhibit in the Open Door Gallery during June. A part-time resident of Watauga County, the artist said that creating a painting is similar to beginning a pleasant dream and conveying this relaxing atmosphere to the viewer, to give joy, comfort and inspiration. “To that end, I have chosen to paint subjects that reflect serenity as well as vitality,” she said. Her aim is to draw the viewer into her paintings as a source of inspiration, simplicity, elegance or even humor.

ArtWalk
611 West King Street
828-264-9998
At ArtWalk, Southern Yankee Wood Worker artist Gordon Ekback showcases the beauty you’ll find during a hike on a local trail. Ekback’s wood-turned bowls display sensitivity to the natural state of the wood, and his refining techniques make for a wonderful piece of High Country artistry.

Ekback resides in Boone, but his roots are in New York. As a child, tinkering with different mechanics and materials was far more interesting to Ekback than schoolwork. At this time he learned his hands would be the tools to help him through life. Wood became his medium of choice. He saw art as a necessity in the home, a place where things could be cherished and appreciated by someone every day. The wood he uses to create bowls, platters and frames is either from naturally expired fallen trees or from old barns. Ekback works with a variety of woods that are local to the region: maple, cherry, walnut, wormy chestnut and red oak.

At the June 6 Art Crawl, Ekback will demonstrate the process he takes to get from a fallen tree to the refined pieces on display on ArtWalk’s lower level. ArtWalk will serve wine and hors d’oeuvres from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Turchin Center for the Visual Arts
423 West King Street
828-262-3017
Six exhibitions are on display at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. Included are three that opened in March: the collections of North Carolina poet Jonathan Williams, the finalists’ works in the Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition and the warfare and monster-themed pieces of James Fickling. These three exhibitions will close on Saturday, June 7.

Two of the exhibitions opened in April: Capturing a Transient World: A Contemporary Look at Louisiana, a powerful exhibition focusing on the ever-changing coastal lands of Louisiana; and IN Black & White, photographs investigating Louisiana’s coastline. In addition, 10 sculptures were recently installed on the west side of the ASU campus as part of the Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition.