JUNE 18, 2009 ISSUE
The Greater Avery Tour de Art
Coalition of Galleries Launches 12-Stop Tour June 27
“There really are more galleries here per capita than you’ll find anywhere else in the High Country,” said Mike Hill, owner of ArtPurveyors.com in Foscoe, referring to the Foscoe, Banner Elk, Linville and greater Avery County area.
Hill, who recently moved his art supply business to Foscoe from Boone, has coordinated an effort to organize a gallery tour throughout Avery communities. The result is the very first Greater Avery Tour de Art, taking place on Saturday, June 27, at 12 participating galleries and studios. Tour hours are 12:00 to 5:00 p.m., although some galleries will be open earlier and later. The gallery tour will take place every fourth Saturday through October.
Shortly after moving to Foscoe, Hill started a dialogue with the Avery Chamber of Commerce about forming a coalition of galleries, or COG. The purpose of the coalition is to join together to more fully promote the vast artistic resources of the greater Avery County area. The Greater Avery Tour de Art is the coalition’s first endeavor.
“I just kind of asked my buddies if they’d like to band together and try to put on a program,” Hill said. “Everybody thought it was a great idea.”
The gallery tour will include original paintings by professional and emerging artists, pottery, sculpture, glass, porcelain, fine art reproductions, framing and lighting. Various galleries may also feature refreshments, special sales, trunk shows and other activities.
“We’re excited about it,” said Liz Brown, director of the The Art Cellar Gallery in Banner Elk, one of the 12 Tour de Art stops. “It really lets people see that we are an arts community here.”
A map of the entire tour will be available at each location, and yellow directional signs will help guide gallery tourists along the 105, 184, 194 and 221 highways. Additionally, some area restaurants will offer special discounts to Tour de Art participants.
Information about events at several of the gallery tour stops is included below. For more information about the Tour de Art, call 828-963-7246.
The Art Cellar Gallery
The Art Cellar Gallery in Banner Elk will be in the second day of its two-day Pottery Collectors Show during the Tour de Art, with hours from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Featured in the show will be about a dozen potters, including “all of our favorite artists that we’ve been showing for some time, plus some guest artists,” said Liz Brown, director of The Art Cellar Gallery. The show will feature a wide range of clay work on all three floors of the gallery. Refreshments will be served.
The Art Cellar Gallery is now in its 17th season. Its primary focus is on local artists, and the gallery also features artists from throughout the Southeast, from emerging artists to those with national and international renown.
The Art Cellar Gallery is located at 920 Shawneehaw Avenue (Highway 184) in Banner Elk. For more information, call 828-898-5175.
ArtPurveyors.com
Mike Hill is celebrating 20 years of his business, ArtPurveyors.com, located at 112 Aldridge Park (Highway 105 South) in Foscoe.
ArtPurveyors.com will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during the Tour de Art. Local author Bernadette Cahill will have a book and print signing at Art Purveyors between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Cahill is launching her new book, Women in the High Country, this week—right at the summer solstice. The book brings together most of the articles that Cahill wrote about women for High Country Press and High Country Magazine between May 2008 and December 2009. It details the huge contribution women make to the local community and also includes interviews with several nationally prominent women such as Sister Helen Prejean and Gloria Steinem, who came here during that time. The cover of Women in the High Country is from one of Cahill’s own paintings, “The Spirit of Earth.”
Women in the High Country is now available in Dancing Moon and Black Bear Books and costs $20.
Art Purveyors will also feature eight new giclee editions by the Rev. Leighton Ford in the gallery and a trunk show of Art Purveyors’ new Foscoe Gothic line of frames.
Refreshments will be served. Tour de Art bowling shirts are available for $39, and Tour de Art stickers are available for $2. For more information, call 828-963-7246.
Carlton Gallery
At the Carlton Gallery, located at 10360 Highway 105 South in Banner Elk, you’ll find numerous paintings of landscapes by artists Bill Farnsworth, Roy Nichols, Jim Crompton, Peter Paglen, Freeman Beard, Egi Antonaccio, Andrew Braitman, Jane Desonier, Gina Strumpf, Holly Glasscock, the late David McCaig and Eloise Pope.
“We’ll bring out landscapes from lots of different artists—extra pieces available that you wouldn’t normally see in the gallery,” said Toni Carlton, owner of Carlton Gallery. “It will be a nice viewing of all the pieces by landscape artists that we represent.”
The subject matter of these paintings ranges from artistic impressions of Grandfather Mountain, woodland waterfalls, rural farms, local rivers and streams painted in each artist’s individual style expressing sentiment, beauty and emotion. The gallery will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during the Tour de Art, and light refreshments will be served.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Carlton said about the Tour de Art. “It’s a great community effort and project that we can all pull together and bring people out. I think that most of the fine art galleries are more in this direction, but we’re kind of spread out.”
For more information about Carlton Gallery, call 828-963-4288.
87 Ruffin St. Gallery
Abigail Sheets, owner of the 87 Ruffin St. Gallery at the Old Hampton Store in Linville, said the Avery Tour de Art will coincide with the Old Hampton Store’s 28th annual Cornbread Cookoff, taking place from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The cookoff judging will take place at 12:00 p.m. Throughout the day will be live bluegrass music and demonstrations by artists such as potters, painters and jewelry makers. 87 Ruffin St. Gallery features a large collection of Southern folk art, wood carvings and hundreds of artful pieces, from pottery to handcrafted furniture.
The gallery is located at 87 Ruffin Street in Linville. For more information, call 828-737-0420.
Linville Gallery
The Linville Gallery will feature Charlotte landscape artist Libby Smart and Geneva porcelain artist Tiffany Purser during the Tour de Art. The gallery will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and an artists’ reception with light hors d’oeuvres will take place from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
The Linville Gallery is located at 4004 Highway 105 South, Suite #102, in Banner Elk. For more information, call 828-898-8405.
Clark Gallery
The Clark Gallery stays open from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. on the day of the Tour de Art. The gallery currently features new paintings from James Kerr and from several other artists. The gallery features oils on canvas and linen.
“Guests can choose amongst seven premier painters of the area,” said owner Chris Clark.
The Clark Gallery is located at 393 Shawneehaw Avenue (Highway 184) in Banner Elk. For more information, call 828-898-2095.
Alta Vista Gallery
Alta Vista Gallery in Valle Crucis will host an opening reception to feature the new oils by Linville painter Joan Sporn. Sporn is a nationally collected artist known for her fearless use of color and her loose, expressive brushstrokes.
The opening will be from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and will also feature wine from Shelton Vineyards.
Sporn's oil paintings often feature landscapes from the High Country, including mountains, rivers, flowers and farm scenes. However, she travels worldwide, so the viewer might also enjoy paintings of Provence, or Tuscany, or many of the other spots she travels to with her husband, Max Sporn.
Alta Vista Gallery is located at 2839 Broadstone Road in Valle Crucis, between the Mast Farm Inn and Mast Store Annex. For more information, call 828-963-5247.
Tour de Art Stops
Following are the 12 studios and galleries participating in the first Greater Avery Tour de Art taking place on Saturday, June 27.
1. Kevin Beck Studio
1590 Shull’s Mill Road, Boone
828-963-1181
2. ArtPurveyors.com
112 Aldridge Park (105 South), Foscoe
828-963-7246
3. Carlton Gallery
10360 Highway 105 South, Banner Elk
828-963-4288
4. Linville Gallery
4004 Highway 105 South, Suite #102, Banner Elk
828-898-8405
5. The Art Cellar Gallery & Framemakers
920 Shawneehaw Avenue (Highway 184), Banner Elk
828-898-5175
6. The Cheese House Gallery (Avery Arts Council)
630 Shawneehaw Avenue (Highway 184), Banner Elk
828-898-4292
7. Clark Gallery
393 Shawneehaw Avenue (Highway 184), Banner Elk
828-898-2095
8. Sally Nooney Art Gallery
7137 Highway 194 South, Banner Elk
828-963-7347
9. Alta Vista Gallery
near historic Mast Store, Valle Crucis
828-963-5247
10. 87 Ruffin St. Gallery
87 Ruffin Street, Linville
828-737-0420
11. Crossnore Gallery
205 Johnson Lane, Crossnore
828-733-3144
12. Anvil Arts Studio/Sculpture Gallery
9600 Linville Falls Highway (Highway 221), Linville Falls
828-765-6226
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