The Greater Avery Tour de Art Saturday

Story by Anna Oakes

The final Greater Avery Tour de Art of 2009 will take place this Saturday, October 24, at 12 participating galleries and studios in the Foscoe, Banner Elk, Linville and greater Avery County areas. The event has taken place on the fourth Saturday each month since June.

“This has been a great inaugural year, and we have had nice positive feedback from participants and hope to continue to develop the tour events,” said Liz Brown, director of The Art Cellar Gallery.

Hours this Saturday, October 24, are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The gallery tour includes paintings, pottery, sculpture, fine art reproductions, framing, lighting and more by established and emerging artists. Galleries may also feature refreshments, special sales and other activities.

A map of the entire tour is available at each location, and directional signs help guide gallery tourists along the 105, 184, 194 and 221 highways. For more information about the Tour de Art, call 828-963-7246.

1. Kevin Beck Studio
1590 Shull’s Mill Road, Boone
828-963-1181
The Kevin Beck Studio, featuring original oils, pastels and giclee prints by Kevin Beck, will host a public paint-along. Beck will start a painting on canvas and anybody who comes is invited to add their artistic touch to the work.

The studio will also feature ceramic artist Sarah Wimmer, with her miniature pots and ceramic jewelry, and serve organic herbal tea from the Becks’ garden.

At ArtPurveyors.com world headquarters in Foscoe, view giclee print editions of four Dennis Lehmann illustrations of St. John’s and Holy Cross Episcopal churches in Valle Crucis.

2. ArtPurveyors.com
112 Aldridge Park (105 South), Foscoe
828-963-7246
Wildflowers Fine Art Editions, in cooperation with the Church of the Holy Cross, is proud to announce the release of giclee print editions of four Dennis Lehmann illustrations of St. John's Episcopal Church and the Church of the Holy Cross.

Lehmann, a member of Church of the Holy Cross, was architect and contractor on the restoration of St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, a seminal Valle Crucis landmark. A talented artist and designer in his own right, Lehmann created four original illustrations of the Church of the Holy Cross and St. John's Episcopal, which have been used to create an exquisite set of four Archival Giclee Print Editions that will be sold to help pay for the church renovation project.

Artists’ proofs of the edition are limited to 50 of each image and are being sold for $200. They can be viewed at ArtPurveyors.com world headquarters or by calling the Church of the Holy Cross at 828-963-4609.

ArtPurveyors.com will also feature hand-built pottery by Temple Throneberg. An ongoing pre-holiday locals appreciation sale continues with a buy-one-get-one-free promotion on custom framing packages, a 16-by-20-inch photograph on stretched canvas for $59.99 and the True Vue Museum Glass Feeds America program.

The visionary art of Debbie Arnold is featured at the Carlton Gallery during the Tour de Art and the gallery’s Autumn Exhibition.

3. Carlton Gallery
10360 Highway 105 South, Banner Elk
828-963-4288
Carlton Gallery continues its 27th Autumn Exhibition with special emphasis on visionary art as a feature of the Tour de Art. The gallery is pleased to exhibit new work by local artists Debbie Arnold and Toni Carlton, whose visionary or imaginative art conveys different images and encompasses many schemes.

Arnold, one of the first artists to exhibit at Carlton Gallery, is influenced by her formal graphic arts training and love of oriental art. She utilizes the fluidity and lightness learned through years as a watercolorist along with the layering of acrylic paints. Arnold’s individualistic style consists of 15 to 20 layers of transparent paint to create intricate paintings that shimmer.

Arnold is greatly inspired by nature; however, she does not paint scenes or existing scenarios but instead puts together a puzzle from her subconscious. Her subject matter comes from visions or dreams that take a long time to evolve before the actual painting begins. She said her artwork is more of a stream of consciousness.

Toni Carlton’s works combining painting, mixed media collage and calligraphy are featured during this Saturday’s Tour de Art.

Carlton’s main focus is the connection between all people to spread peace, whether it is in one’s heart or throughout the world. Her mixed media collages and paintings project an ethereal world created through poetic imagination. Carlton depicts a magnitude of emotions in her canvases that spark a connection with the viewer.

“My media in my artwork continues to change,” Carlton said. “I began my art career as a fiber artist creating contemporary weavings and basketry, which changed to mixed media drawings and paintings in the early ‘90s. Now my artwork is mixed media collage incorporating woven textures to come full circle back to my early woven works.” Recently Carlton’s artwork was shown in two calligraphy exhibitions in Seoul, Korea—a Modern Biennial Exhibition in June and a World Calligraphy Exhibition in September.

During the Tour de Art, Carlton’s studio will be open with a representation of the many works of art she has created over her art career along with a slideshow of her early woven works. She will be available for discussion.

4. Linville Gallery
4004 Highway 105 South, Suite #102, Banner Elk
828-898-8405
John Dempsey, a native of North Carolina, will be at the Linville Gallery doing demonstrations of etching, pen and ink and walnut ink drawings. Dempsey is currently an instructor at the Fine Arts League of the Carolinas, an art school in Asheville founded by noted fresco artist Ben Long. He has also worked on several frescoes throughout North Carolina.

New paintings by George Snyder, including “Wilson Creek,” are on display at The Art Cellar Gallery.

5. The Art Cellar Gallery & Framemakers
920 Shawneehaw Avenue (Highway 184), Banner Elk
828-898-5175
For the October 24 Tour de Art, The Art Cellar Gallery will feature work by oil painter George Snyder, who has created several new paintings filled with the colors of autumn, along with artist David Birmingham's large new regional landscapes.

New work has just arrived from acclaimed North Carolina artist Gregory Smith—his newest painting is a large acrylic on canvas titled “Approaching Winter.” Scott Boyle has just completed a serene mountain scene titled “September Light on Price Lake,” a large oil on canvas, and Margaret Salisbury continues to delight the eye with her warm palette in a wide range of paintings.

For the Tour De Art, The Art Cellar Framemakers will have a selection of specially created small frames ready to display family photos or small artworks.

6. The Cheese House Gallery (Avery Arts Council)
630 Shawneehaw Avenue (Highway 184), Banner Elk
828-898-4292
During the Tour de Art, stop in at the Cheese House Arts Gallery and check out a new exhibit by artist Germaine Galjour.

Galjour is a self-taught artist of French-Cajun descent. Her family is originally from New Orleans, but she has traveled extensively and lived in New York and Europe. Galjour spent many years in New Orleans painting in Jackson Square and was working there when Hurricane Katrina’s disastrous winds blew through. She relocated to Bakersville and has taken up with the art scene in Western North Carolina with enthusiasm.

She still keeps New Orleans in her heart, however. Currently, she is donating 12 of her whimsical art prints to the Warren Easton Charter School Foundation’s forthcoming auction, which will raise funds for one of the oldest and most historic high schools in New Orleans.

Germaine’s vibrant abstracts were first seen in Avery County back in February, when she exhibited her paintings alongside the found-art sculpture of DC Smith. For this, her Return Engagement, she has brought a variety of artwork including giclee prints and small format paintings, with prices ranging from $45 to $1,800.

7. Clark Gallery
393 Shawneehaw Avenue (Highway 184), Banner Elk
828-898-2095
Clark Gallery is located in the center of Banner Elk and shows the work of artist and gallery owner Chris Clark, the large-scale works of painter Lowell Hayes and a select collection of New York-based artists working in a variety of styles and media.

8. Sally Nooney Art Gallery
7137 Highway 194 South, Banner Elk
828-963-7347
“Celebrating Fall” is the theme this month at the Sally Nooney Gallery. Fall is more than just pretty landscapes with bright colored leaves. It's pumpkins and gourds, candy corn, barns and scarecrows.

Owner/artist Sally Nooney has captured all of these fall sights in oil, acrylic and watercolor, including the beautiful fall landscapes. Cozy up to the fire and have some cider and snacks while you enjoy the paintings.

Delve in the intricately detailed and animate paintings of Will Moses, great-grandson of Grandma Moses, at the Alta Vista Gallery in Valle Crucis during the Saturday, October 24, Tour de Art.

9. Alta Vista Gallery
2839 Broadstone Road, Valle Crucis
828-963-5247
From 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during the Tour de Art, Alta Vista Gallery will have a special reception to feature the autumn and Halloween folk art of Will Moses, great-grandson of Grandma Moses.

A fourth-generation member of the renowned Moses family, Will Moses creates paintings that reflect the quiet beauty of his tiny New York community nestled close to the Vermont border. Moses creates paintings of vivid, delightful miniature worlds peopled with villagers from the past, with a technique that captures the most minute details in sharp-edged focus.

Come enjoy hot cider and pumpkin bread and other fall refreshments while viewing the funny folk art of an internationally acclaimed artist. Alta Vista also offers more than 100 other artists as well as fine crafts—great for Christmas gifts.

10. 87 Ruffin St. Gallery
87 Ruffin Street, Linville
828-737-0420
87 Ruffin St. Gallery features a large collection of Southern folk art, woodcarvings and hundreds of artful pieces, from pottery to handcrafted furniture. The gallery is located at the Old Hampton Store in Linville.

11. Crossnore Gallery
205 Johnson Lane, Crossnore
828-733-3144
The Crossnore Fine Arts Gallery will feature a creative knitting circle from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during the Tour de Art. Sit for a while in a knitting circle, learning or sharing your knowledge while you create something warm and wonderful.

In addition, visitors can view the Ben Long fresco, watch the weavers and walk through the labyrinth and healing garden.

12. Anvil Arts Studio/Sculpture Gallery
9600 Linville Falls Highway (Highway 221), Linville Falls
828-765-6226
The Anvil Arts Studio and Sculpture Gallery in Linville Falls invites the public to stroll through the sculpture garden gallery and studio. Brown’s works include contemporary sculpture, sculptural lighting and paintings from a myriad of materials, such as steel, copper, bronze and various patinas.