2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Exhibition Archive

2023

Fall Studio Tour Preview Exhibition – Work from Participating Studio Tour Artists

November 4 – December 30

The Studio Tour Preview Exhibition was an exhibition of work from artists in Mitchell and Yancey Counties who participated in the November Studio Tour, which takes place annually on the second weekend of November. It was an opportunity for visitors to get a preview of the artists that were on the tour and what they showed in their studios. Visitors were encouraged to come by the gallery and view this exhibition before they traveled to the artists’ studios.

COMPLIANT: Exhibition of Work by Melissa Cadell

September 30 – November 18

Melisa Cadell presented experimental work that explored the concept of beauty. The work was largely focused in work that utilizes plastic and its alluring pliant nature. The exhibit included sculpture, painting, ice forms, water containers, video, and other ephemeral works.

I was made
to be pliant
to take form
to be useful
to be beautiful
to contain
to protect
to be forever
And so I am

Waking Dream – Paintings and Jewelry by Allison Edge and Diana Alexander

September 23 – October 21

In this dual exhibition featuring the works of Allison Edge and Diana Alexander, “Waking Dream” refers to the experience of seeing the outside world in low-lit, half-lit, or fog-obscured scenarios, evoking a dream-like quality and straddling the boundaries of familiarity and unknowns. Allison’s paintings, hung on the walls in this exhibition, set the stage and atmosphere for Diana’s neckpiece adornments, presented on pedestals and armatures within the space. Allison Edge’s body of work titled “Waking Dream” included oil paintings depicting landscapes and images of nature at night, at twilight, in fog or mist, or a combination of these factors. In Diana Alexander’s “Waking Dream” series, she endeavored to create adornments that mesh with the environment created by Allison’s paintings.

Resilience: The Heart of Ukraine — Photography by Michael Andrews

August 4 – September 9, 2023

The photo exhibition, “Resilience: The Heart of Ukraine,” featured work by American photographer Michael Andrews. As a volunteer with United States Peace Corps Ukraine in 2018–19, Andrews augmented his service as a consultant to an HIV and AIDS service agency working as a photographer for Ukraine’s Baba Yelka Cultural Expedition. The group was formed in 2018 to preserve and share the unique cultural traditions of Ukraine’s Kirovoghad region — stories, songs, recipes, and material culture, including traditional embroidery.

“Resilience” offered a unique window into remote village life before Russia’s invasion, and focuses on the lives of Ukrainian “babusyas” (grandmothers) and their cultural roots.

Entangled: Intersections of Thought & Reality by Stephanie Thomas Berry & Alena Applerose

July 29 – September 9, 2023

In conversation one day Alena and Stephanie, longtime kindred creative spirits, discovered they had embarked on a similar adventure in their studio practices. They felt that their new adventures were loosening their grip on their creative practice, allowing new energies to bloom. They were each producing a similar aesthetic of spirals and lines that curved and twisted around themselves. They recognized that something mysterious was happening that they wanted to engage with in a more intentional way.

The exhibit consisted of drawings and sculptures that were created during conversations with each other and that intersect with their inner life. In addition, they offered their audience an opportunity to join them on the journey of surrendering expectations through an interactive undertaking of their own. Participants were invited to hang their own creations, crafted within the space, with the exhibit.

Carmen Grier + Terry Gess: Together

June 17 – July 22, 2023

Carmen’s Work: “My work for this exhibit has been made this past winter — the perfect time to go inward. When the leaves are down, the stark bare branches create the most engaging shapes as they curve and bend over and under each other. I find these line drawings in nature to be an unending source of inspiration. Once I start working, the painting takes on a life of its own and I react to what’s before me, making moment-to-moment decisions.”

Terry’s Work: “I’ve long made work that fits in the hand and in the kitchen. But with the solitude provided by the Covid pandemic, I’ve been exploring pottery making on a larger scale. This exhibit at Toe River Arts has given me the challenge of making work to adorn a large room, to let the pots interplay and influence the space surrounding them.”

Floating Blue: Photography by Thomas Pickarski

June 10 – July 15, 2023

Thomas Pickarski developed a deep love for the eternal beauty of icebergs as a child by enjoying their visual portrayal through photographs and paintings. This ultimately led to his having spent the last 12 summers traveling through arctic regions seeking direct experiences with these fleeting forms. In this series of photographs, Pickarski aimed to portray both the ethereal beauty of icebergs, as well as the otherworldliness of the landscapes in which they exist.

Exhibition of Work by Mitchell County High School Students

May 16 – June 4, 2023

This show provided the opportunity for students to meet other artists during the opening/closing event. It gave them experience working on personal and narrative work to present to the community. They learned to make artists’ statements, hang a show, and design invitations. 

Spring Studio Tour Preview Exhibition

May 13 – June 4, 2023

The Studio Tour Preview Exhibition is an exhibition of work from artists in Mitchell and Yancey Counties who are participating in the June Studio Tour. The exhibit is in conjunction with the Annual June Studio Tour which takes place annually on the first weekend of June. This year’s studio tour weekend was Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, June 2-4. 

 

16th Annual Blacksmith Exhibition

March 25 – April 29, 2023

Featuring the work of blacksmiths from the southeast and beyond, this exhibition offered craftspeople the opportunity to show their work in a place known for its blacksmithing community. Historically, the exhibition runs in conjunction with the Fire on the Mountain Blacksmithing Festival. Every year, the Fire on the Mountain Festival asks a renowned metalworker to join the festival as its Featured Artist Blacksmith. This year’s featured blacksmith was Rick Smith.

 

Mitchell County Student Showcase

February 11 – March 11, 2023

The Arts in Education Showcase features the artwork of kindergarten through 12th-grade students from public, private, and home schools in Mitchell County. The showcase celebrates the creative achievements of our students and honors the dedication shown by the art educators who nurture creativity and artistic growth.

 

2022

Fall 2022 Studio Tour Exhibition

October 29 – December 31, 2022

For more than a quarter century, the Toe River Arts Studio Tour has intrigued those who make the journey to visit places of inspiration and creation. Situated between Roan Mountain which boasts the world’s largest rhododendron garden and Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak east of the Mississippi, the Toe River Arts Studio Tour is a free, self-guided journey of the arts. This arts adventure through Mitchell and Yancey Counties will take visitors along the meandering Toe River, across its many bridges, around barns, acres of fields, and miles of forests all while visiting the 83 talented studio artists who often take inspiration from the mountains they call home and 8 galleries featuring local and international art.

 

Re-think Big Ink

August 12 – December 31, 2022

This exhibition, a fundraiser for Toe River Arts education programming, features large format woodblock prints made by local artists and printed on the Big Tuna, a specialized large press made for traveling, during previous Big Ink workshops.

LIFE ART LIFE | William Bernstein 50 Year Retrospective

August 6 – October 9, 2022

This exhibition was a retrospective of the blown glass work and paintings of William Bernstein, an artist who has been at the forefront of the North Carolina studio glass movement for over 50 years. The exhibition also coincided with the United Nations’ declaration of the Year 2022 as the Year of Glass and the 60th Anniversary of the Studio Glass Movement. As a retrospective exhibition, it created a visual summary of the separate elements of Bernstein’s art over time – his motives, goals, and achievements. It showed and captured his ability to work simultaneously in diverse mediums. A life well lived surrounded by art.

Works + Wonders of the High Country

June 25 – July 30, 2022

Works + Wonders of High Country was a showcase of High Country Ceramic Arts’ artist members. Each artist has their own unique approach to ceramics, including; pottery, sculpture, and mixed media. A showing like this was the perfect opportunity to highlight their talents. High Country Ceramic Arts is owned and operated by clay artist Linda Powell. High Country is a community-based studio working with established and aspiring clay artists to build and refine their skills. They offer beginners and quarterly membership packages, private lessons, workshops, and parties.

Contain Your Fear

June 18 – July 23, 2022

Everyone who has ever lived was afraid of something. Creative people use fear as an incentive for examining reality through their work and exorcising it. Contain Your Fear offered new looks at what we fear in our own lives. Each of the fifty-four participants created one piece of work focusing on a personal fear they want to contain, and maybe, even conquer. Each piece embedded or incorporated a “container” to diminish the power of their fear through the artists’ own interpretation. This exhibit featured artists from around the U.S., of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and talents ranging from painting, sculpture, essayists, videographers, designers, textile artists, and more. With such a vast array of styles, personalities, and fears, this exhibit helped people understand that it’s okay to be afraid. And, that a fear, once contained, loses its power.

A Time and Place | Luther and Victoria Stroup

May 14 – June 11, 2022

A Time and Place highlighted four consecutive generations of handcrafted woodwork inspired by the rich Appalachian region. The exhibition showcased how tradition and innovation blend with local natural resources to create one timeless body of work. The primary focus was handmade Grandfather clocks from the Stroup Hobby Shop, including the first Grandfather clock crafted by founder H.M. Stroup in the late 1940s, which features extensive inlays and a hand-painted dial. Additionally on display were four Grandfather Clock models still in production at the Stroup Hobby Shop in Spruce Pine. The exhibit also featured mantle clocks, wall clocks, desk clocks, cabinetry, home decor, wood turnings, and jewelry designed by all four generations. All works are made from a variety of mindfully selected local hardwoods such as maple, walnut, cherry, and oak.

Toe River Arts Spring Studio Tour

May 14 – June 5, 2022

Since 1992, the Toe River Arts Studio Tour has showcased the talent and studios of North Carolina’s Yancey and Mitchell County artists. These world-renowned, well-traveled, and skilled artists bring beauty to the world by sharing their craft. All of the artists featured have a fascinating story, interesting background, and their own “Journey of the Arts.” The Studio Tour is a showcase for local artists to feature their work, processes, and studio spaces. Along with the Studio Tour held June 3 – 5, participating artists and galleries exhibited their work in the Kokol Gallery from May 14 – June 5.

15th Annual Blacksmith Exhibition

April 2 – April 30, 2022

Featuring the work of blacksmiths from the southeast and beyond, this exhibition offers craftspeople the opportunity to show their work in a place known for its blacksmithing community. Historically, the exhibition runs in conjunction with the Fire on the Mountain Blacksmithing Festival. Spruce Pine Main Street, in collaboration with Penland School of Craft and Toe River Arts, hosts the festival every year on the last weekend in April. The public can explore vendor tents for goods for sale, observe live demonstrations, or try their hand at blacksmithing at scheduled hands-on workshops. Every year, the Fire on the Mountain Festival asks a renowned metalworker to join the festival as its Featured Artist Blacksmith. This is an opportunity to bring big names from around the country to Spruce Pine to share their talent and skills. This year’s Featured Artist Blacksmith was Jim Cooper.

Arts in Education Showcase

Mitchell County Showcase
February 12 – March 13, 2022

Yancey County Showcase
February 19 – March 19, 2022

The Arts in Education Showcase features the artwork of kindergarten through 12th-grade students from public, private & home schools in Mitchell and Yancey Counties. The showcase celebrates the creative achievements of our students and honors the dedication shown by the art educators who nurture creativity and artistic growth.

2021

2021 Studio Tour Exhibition

November 12 – December 31, 2021

Since 1992, the Toe River Arts Studio Tour has showcased the talent and studios of North Carolina’s Yancey and Mitchell County artists. These world-renowned, well-traveled, and skilled artists bring beauty to the world by sharing their craft. All of the artists featured have a fascinating story, interesting background, and their own “Journey of the Arts.” The Studio Tour is a showcase for local artists to feature their work, processes, and studio spaces. Along with the Studio Tour held November 12-14, participating artists exhibited their work in the Spruce Pine Gallery.

Here and There, Contemporary Sculptural Ironwork

September 25 – October 30, 2021

Every year, Toe River Arts hosts a Blacksmith Exhibition in conjunction with the annual Fire on the Mountain Festival which takes place in April. Due to the pandemic, the festival was canceled in 2020. Because of the cancellation, Toe River Arts recognized the need to adapt and hosted a virtual exhibition of blacksmith work. Elizabeth Brim was featured as the master blacksmith in both 2020 and 2021 and curated the 2021 Blacksmith Exhibition, an exciting departure from the usual exhibition format. The sculptors represented in this exhibit are some of those currently pushing the art and craft of fine ironwork to the next level of excellence. The artists, both local and from around the country, showcase vast advancements of techniques and sophistication and are producing remarkable work using the ancient techniques of forging.

Orbits and Fields | Artists Connected to Appalachian State University and Penland School of Craft

August 7 – September 11, 2021

The artists in this show move in a wide variety of orbits around and through both Appalachian State University and Penland School of Craft. Their paths cross one another as fellow students and teachers, as co-workers, co-residents, and fellow community members. They have not all met, but they know one another, in the way that they share common chapters and parallel experiences. This show presented 20-odd artists with connections to two vastly different institutions: a small intentional craft school and a big public university. Their fields trace the scope of work being fostered in both communities. Their work reveals both the richness that can come from time spent in these contexts and the unique visions that they bring to both places.

Fresh Produce | Work by Penland School of Craft Studio Coordinators

July 10 – August 21, 2021

This exhibition highlighted current work made by the studio coordinator team from Penland School of Craft. This group of ten individual artists approaches the field of contemporary craft from the broad perspectives of functional objects, sculptures, and two-dimensional works, representing a material range of paper, photography, printmaking, metal, textile, ceramic, wood, and glass. Unique to Fresh Produce | Work by Penland School of Craft Studio Coordinators, these artists are not full-time studio artists. Each balances their studio practices with active roles in craft communities locally and beyond Western North Carolina. Through showcasing the studio work of these multifaceted artists, this exhibition showed the broadness of what it means to live, work, and make as an artist today.

Two Generations | Ken and Galen Sedberry

June 19 – July 24, 2021

Two Generations showcases the unique art created by artists Ken and Galen Sedberry. The work of this father and son duo involves the detailed craft of wood firing. Galen and Ken have shared physical spaces of studio, kiln, booth space, as well as shared aesthetic space where ideas are translated into pots. This father and son team aspires to highlight how these shared spaces deliver work that is both parallel and divergent.

Pressing Forward

May 8 – June 5, 2021

Pressing Forward is an exhibition of works by Asheville Printmakers, an independent alliance of artists who express themselves through the medium of print. Their membership encompasses both experienced and emerging artists, as well as those new to printmaking. Learn more about Asheville Printmakers at ashevilleprintmakers.org.

What a Relief!

May 8 – June 5, 2021

What a Relief! is an exhibition of the large-scale woodblock prints made by the 18 participants in our October 2020 workshop with BIG INK. After countless hours of carving, participants printed their blocks on BIG INK’s traveling press. The smallest of these large-scale prints is two by three feet, with the largest being four by eight feet.

BIG INK, founded in 2012 by Lyell Castonguay and Carand Burnet and based in Newmarket, New Hampshire, provides opportunities for large-scale woodblock printing workshops in host institutions. BIG INK’s mission is to inspire a greater public appreciation of large-scale woodblock printmaking and to extend its practice as an artistic discipline. Learn more about BIG INK at bigink.org.

Essential Work

March 20 – April 24, 2021

When the world shut down a year ago, many of us put our lives on pause. People were ordered to stay home, and only work deemed essential carried on. Artists felt an added loss of revenue as exhibitions and festivals were cancelled, sales plummeted, and opportunities vanished. The artists in this exhibition all received grant funding that became available as the need for financial assistance in the arts became apparent. Through the efforts of the North Carolina Arts Council, the Madison County Arts Council, ArtsNC, the federal government, and Toe River Arts, these artists received the help they needed to keep carrying on in hard times. This exhibition is a testament to the resiliency and significance of the arts in our community.

Arts in Education Showcase | Mitchell County

February 6 – March 6, 2021

More than 200 works of student art are on display at the Toe River Arts Gallery in Spruce Pine for the annual Mitchell County Arts in Education Showcase. Kindergarten through 12th grade students from public and private schools in Mitchell County participate annually in this event that celebrates the creative achievements of our students. This showcase is not just a celebration of students, but also a testament to the hard work each art educator dedicates to the job of nurturing creativity and artistic growth.

2020

Studio Tour Preview Exhibition

November 24 – December 30, 2020

The Toe River Arts Studio Tour is a free, self-guided tour of artists’ studios typically held on the first weekends of June and December in North Carolina’s scenic Mitchell and Yancey counties. In response to the pandemic, this popular event went virtual from Monday, November 23 through Sunday, December 27, 2020. The Studio Tour is a showcase for local artists to feature their work, processes, and studio spaces.

Full Spectrum: Expressions in Color, Form and Texture

September 26 – October 31, 2020

The Blue Ridge Fine Arts Guild creates a visually engaging experience using color, form and texture. The full spectrum of color spans the gallery so that visitors standing within it are encompassed by a colorful flow. The artists explore the themes of exuberance, radiance, introspection and tranquility as a reflection of the ever-flowing spectrum of life.

Works in a variety of media—oil, watercolor, acrylic, cold wax, pastel, photography, printmaking and clay—will be accompanied by artist statements relating the work to the theme of the exhibition, and giving compelling insight into the artists’ inspiration, creative processes and techniques.

Think BIG Prints

September 11 – October 24, 2020
Owen Gallery

This exhibition, curated by Community Outreach Coordinator Melanie Finlayson and Exhibition Manager Kathryn Andree, features work from artists that have participated in past BIG INK printmaking workshops. This exhibition features 37 artists from around the United States, including ten artists from North Carolina. The prints range in size from 2 x 3 ft., up to 4 x 8 ft.

BIG INK, founded in 2012 by Lyell Castonguay and Carand Burnet, and based in Newmarket, New Hampshire, provides opportunities for large-scale woodblock printing workshops in host institutions. BIG INK’s mission is to inspire a greater public appreciation of large-scale woodblock printmaking and to extend its practice as an artistic discipline.

Pictured: Brian Kreydalus

Zac Trainor | Between Psyche and Matter

August 5 – September 2, 2020
Owen Gallery

Zac Trainor presents a confrontation with the unconscious in an effort to capture or access a glimpse beyond the veil and into the realm of the soul. “The processes taking place in our conscious and unconscious, the conflict of desire versus necessity, the struggle to obtain a sense of place, and the impermanence of our existence are just some of the underlying philosophies and inspiration in the works,” describes Trainor.

Emotional States | Beyond Prison Artist Alliance

August 5 – September 12, 2020

The Beyond Prison Artist Alliance is a community of artists incarcerated at Avery Mitchell Correctional Institution (AMCI) and artists affiliated with the Penland School of Craft and Appalachian State University networks, who joined to facilitate short and long form workshops within the prison.

Beyond Prison’s mission is to build artistic community through collaborative education efforts within the prison and the pursuit of exhibition opportunities that amplify the voices of incarcerated artists to the outside world. Beyond Prison aspires to be a human and empowering presence that relies on all participants and a broader creative community to imagine art as an essential tool of liberation.

Pictured: Robert G. Reid

Mitchell High School Student Exhibition

Online exhibition

“This marks the third year Toe River Arts has sponsored the Mitchell High School art students with an exhibition in the upstairs Owen gallery in Spruce Pine. This has always been an opportunity to showcase the young talent and hard work of our young people. At this point it is needless to say that things are anything but normal. That being said, normal is not what we should be aiming for, and that is evident as young people are leading the way in so many needed changes in this moment in history. A few of these pieces reflect on students’ experience navigating the post-COVID-19 world.” – Melisa Cadell

Pictured: Lillian Kline

14th Annual Blacksmith Exhibition

March 28 – May 30, 2020

This spring Toe River Arts hosts its 14th Annual Blacksmith Exhibit at its Spruce Pine gallery, opening online March 28. Featuring the work of blacksmiths from the southeast and beyond, this exhibition offers craftspeople the opportunity to show their work in a place known for its blacksmithing community.

Historically the exhibition runs in conjunction with the Fire on the Mountain Blacksmithing Festival. Spruce Pine Main Street, in collaboration with Penland School of Craft and Toe River Arts, hosts the festival every year on the last weekend in April. The public can explore vendor tents for goods for sale, observe live demonstrations, or try their hand at blacksmithing at scheduled workshops.

Journey at Home | #journeyathome

April – May, 2020

From the day we closed our doors in March 2020, we were trying to come up with creative solutions to continue to support our artists and our communities. We moved our exhibitions and our gift shops online.

We took our Journey of the Arts home with #journeyathome. We wanted to know how our artist members and members of our community were getting creative at home. Submission was free, and the only rule to participate was that work submitted needed to be made after March 15, the date we closed our doors because of the spread of the pandemic.

Pictured: Lynne Hobaica and Rickie Barnett’s Eternal Blooms.

Arts in Education Showcase | Mitchell County

February 25 – March 14, 2020

More than 200 works of student art are on display at the Toe River Arts Gallery in Spruce Pine for the annual Mitchell County Arts in Education Showcase. Kindergarten through 12th grade students from public and private schools in Mitchell County participate annually in this event that celebrates the creative achievements of our students. This showcase is not just a celebration of students, but also a testament to the hard work each art educator dedicates to the job of nurturing creativity and artistic growth.

Arts in Education Showcase | Yancey County

February 22 – March 16, 2020
Burnsville Gallery

Works of student art were on display at the Toe River Arts Gallery in Burnsville for the annual Yancey County Arts in Education Showcase. Kindergarten through 12th grade students from public and private schools in Yancey County participate annually in this event that celebrates the creative achievements of our students. This showcase is not just a celebration of students, but also a testament to the hard work each art educator dedicates to the job of nurturing creativity and artistic growth.