Deborah Czeresko & Tim Tate at Asheville Art Museum

If you are anywhere near Asheville  next week, think about stopping by and joining glass artist Deborah Czeresko, winner of the reality competition series Blown Away, and Tim Tate, artist and Director of the Washington Glass School, for an exciting conversation exploring both artists’ long history of using glass sculpture to highlight LGTBQ rights. Both artists will share images of earlier pieces while discussing their artistic journeys, work, and the art world.  Thursday, Oct. 5, 5:30 – 6:30

Click on link to register: https://shop.ashevilleart.org/collections/event-tickets/products/hospitality-workers-date-night

AAPI Craft Directory

Asheville, NC’s Center for Craft is the founding partner of Warren Wilson College’s Master’s in Critical Craft Studies—the first and only low-residency graduate program in craft history and theory. They are developing a directory of self-identified Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) working through craft today, and will continue to gather listings until August 31, 2021.

This project is a directory and a tool on what conversations come next? How does research catalyze community, action, and visibility? 

Why focus on Asian American and Pacific Islanders working through craft? 

According to the Pew Research Center, Asian Americans are one of the fastest growing groups in the US since 2000. Despite nearly 23 million Asian American in the US population, a recent study by Leading Asian Americans to Unite for Change (LAAUNCH) found that 58% of their respondents could not name a prominent Asian American (Hint: Vice President Kamala Harris). 

Drawing inspiration from the Black Power Movement, students at the University of California, Berkeley are credited with unifying pan-Asian groups under the term “Asian American” in the 1960s. This grouping deliberately rejected the outdated, geographically-based, and problematic term “Oriental.” 

In the 1980s, the U.S. Census expanded the category, combining Asian American and Pacific Islanders. Today, this governmentally-determined grouping feels too broad to many, as it includes more than 20 countries and thousands of Pacific Islands, each with unique histories, cultures, languages, and craft histories.

This project is intended to catalyze conversations, be a conversation starter and to bring people of AAPI heritage together.

If you are working through craft and of AAPI heritage, add your information.

If you are a craft researcher, please consider this directory a tool for making connections. Instead of reading about the Center for Craft , talk directly with them to understand who the AAPI are, what we make, and how we shape American Craft. 

Michael Janis ward 5 dc
ROLODEX. Craft a Conversation at the Center for Craft, Jun 4–Aug 20, 2021

Currently, at Asheville’s Center for Craft in the John Cram Partner Gallery is ROLODEX. Craft a Conversation. This exhibit, curated by Namita Gupta Wiggers is this project is centered on the people of the AAPI craft communities, their descriptions of themselves, and their connections to craft – rather than on the objects they create.

Center for Craft, 67 Broadway St, Asheville, NC 28801.

Image of ROLODEX. Craft a Conversation, at the John Cram Partner Gallery.

Glassville in Asheville

Asheville, North Carolina’s Center for Craft, Creativity & Design has an incredible showcase of area glass artists – titled Glassville in Asheville! If you are in Asheville,  in early August…..you should check out this amazing small show.

glass.nc.asheville.penland.art

Featuring work from both emerging and established glass artists from Western North Carolina and the surrounding region, Glassville will offer an excellent opportunity for the public to meet and interact with the artists and their work. Artists will be present for the duration of the event and work will available for purchase. Many artists will be presenting experimental bodies of work, exhibiting pieces they have not shown anywhere else, or using the space to create installations specific to the site. The event offers the unique chance to view work that explores the future of glass while also recognizing the rich history of the medium in the region.  

Event Details

Location: The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, 67 Broadway Street, Asheville, NC 28801 (map)glassville.asheville.poster.

Date and Time:  Thursday, August 6 – Opening public reception: 8:00 – 9:30 pm | Friday, August 7 – 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

Admission: Free and open to the public. No registration required.

Participating Glass Artists

Kathryn Adams, Asheville, NC | Dean Allison, Penland, NC | Michael Allison, Nashville, TN | John Almaguer, Asheville, NC | James Breed, Knoxville, TN | Jennifer Bueno, Penland, NC | Thor Bueno, Penland, NC | Carla Camasso, Asheville, NC | Ken Carder, Vilas, NC | Matthew Cummings, Knoxville, TN |Courtney Dodd, Asheville, NC | Ben Elliott, Burnsville, NC | Joseph Falzone, Asheville, NC | Loretta Forde, Burnsville, NC | John Geci, Bakersville, NC | Ben Greene-Colonnese, Candler, NC | Judson Guerard, Bakersville, NC | Michael Hatch, Weaverville, NC | Jan Kransberger, Asheville, NC | Mike Krupiarz, Asheville, NC | Fred Mead, Forest City, NC | Sarah Mizer, Richmond, VA | Roger Parramore, Asheville, NC | Jacob Sadler, Raleigh, NC | Scott Summerfield, Bakersville, NC | Justin Turcotte, Asheville, NC | David Wilson, Burnsville, NC | Hayden Wilson, Asheville, NC

With special guest, 2010 CCCD Windgate Fellow Thoryn Ziemba, Knoxville, TN

Glassville In Asheville!

glassville.asheville.nc.contemporary.jpg

To All Glass Artists of Western North Carolina! A great opportunity is coming up this August. Do you feel the galleries there have not given you enough notice? Have installation work and haven’t found a place to show it? Are you an established artist who wants to support an important effort ? The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design is offering you a prominent downtown Asheville, NC venue this August with the intent to create and reinforce the strong glass community in and around Western North Carolina.

On Thursday, Aug. 6 and Friday Aug. 7 they will be hosting “Glassville In Asheville!”. This will consist of 30+ glass artists showing their work within the 24,000 sq ft space.

Sculpture, vessels and installation work will be the focus here. There is a minimal cost. Why show at such a short venue? Because Thursday eve at the opening will be the 112 collectors from the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass, the national glass collecting group.

This is your chance to finally get your work seen by folks who know what they are seeing and can truly appreciate it. Space is very limited, already 1/3 full. While everyone else argues as to whether this is a good deal or not, sign up to reserve your space! It’s first come, first serve. Contact Grace Reff at greff@craftcreatiivitydesign.org or 828/785-1357 x105 to find out more info!

The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design | 67 Broadway Street, Asheville, NC 28801

The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design | 67 Broadway Street, Asheville, NC 28801

Audrey Wilson at Bender Gallery

audrey.wilson.bender_gallery.NCAsheville, North Carolina’s Bender Gallery is hosting Artifacts and Contraptions, a two person exhibition featuring glass and mixed media sculptures by artists Peter Wright and Audrey Wilson. An opening reception will be held from 5-8 PM on August 1 in conjunction with downtown Asheville’s First Friday Art Walk. 
  
Wright is inspired by indigenous art and utilitarian objects used by man throughout history. He takes a visceral approach to his work, creating vessels and sculpture rich in texture and color. Wright’s Mezcala sculptures are inspired by commonplace objects in pre-Columbian culture.
  
Audrey Wilson is an artist with a unique perspective on aesthetics and the conceptual narrative. Her multi-media sculptures are an amalgam of created and altered objects that explore the relation between man and technology. 
  
Her body of work titled “The Aberrant Collection of the Spurious Calamus” investigates the role of invention in society. As she explains, “inventions are a continuous response to something that needs to be changed, a response to the needs of life. Without a brave, creative impulse, life would become a commonplace of interest. Yet, with just one thought many deficient prototypes are produced. Without these thoughts, advances could not be possible”. 
  
Bender Gallery specializes in contemporary sculpture and is located at 12 S Lexington Avenue in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.

JRA Organizes August Penland Tour – Plan Now!

The Asheville-Penland Tour again promises an exciting 5 Days this Summer! The James Renwick Alliance Board of The James Renwick Alliance (JRA), along with Tim Tate and Sean Hennessey the organizers – invite you to an upcoming summer excursion and art experience, August 7-11, 2013.

One of the most enjoyable arts trips in this country is to the area outside of Asheville, NC – an area dense with amazing studios. This trip will also include the Penland School of Crafts Annual Auction in a stunningly beautiful setting.

Accompanying us on this trip will be Jennifer Scanlan, independent curator and craft scholar. For over a decade Ms. Scanlan was an associate curator at the Museum of Arts and Design, New York. She brings with her a depth of craft knowledge and a scholarly conversation about the works we will see on studio tours and the auction.

The day before we will be visiting the studios of some of the most talented artists surrounding Asheville.This will honestly be the best five-day excursion you have ever taken…at least we are going try to make it that way. We will be given phenomenal access to some of the finest studio artists this country has to offer!

Here is the schedule of events:

Wednesday, August 7

We arrive in Asheville….either by plane or driving down, your choice.If you come by plane we will arrange pick up.  Our base will be the Inn at Little Switzerland on the Blue Ridge Parkway with spectacular views of the valley, a favorite spot, close to both Asheville and Penland.  

Our first event will be an evening welcome cocktail and dinner at the Inn. The price of this event is included in the trip.

Thursday, August 8

We leave at 8:30 am to see the sites of Asheville and visits to some amazing artists’ studios for private tours.  Below is a list of those studios and events 

  • Randy Shull and the River District Artists.
Randy Shull

Randy Shull is an artist who works fluidly between varieties of media, including furniture design, spatial design, painting, and landscape design.  He is highly acclaimed for his rich and sensual use of color and space. A recipient o f many awards and grants, Randy has also had four solo shows in New York in the past decade. His work is included in a number of important museum collections including The Brooklyn Museum,  The High Museum in Atlanta, The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Mint Museum of Craft & Design ,Racine Museum of Art, The Gregg Museum of Art & Design, and Museum of Art and Design. 

Zack Noble

Zack Noble is an artist that specializes in modern sculptural, functional and architectural work. He has taught at Penland School of Crafts and John C. Campbell Folk School. He has studied and worked with noted blacksmiths in Great Britain. His work has been featured in a number of books and craft magazines, and is in private collections across the U.S. 

Grove Park Inn

Lunch that day will be on the beautiful Sunset Terrace of the amazing Grove Park Inn. The Grove Park Inn is a nearly 100 year old historic resort hotel on the western-facing slope of Sunset Mountain within the Blue Ridge Mountains, in Asheville, North Carolina.  The Inn is an AAA Four-Diamond Hotel and has been since 2001.  It serves as one of the most romantic places to stay on the eastern U.S. seaboard and has been visited by many United States’ Presidents and other people of notoriety. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the hotel is an important example of the Arts and Crafts style.

  • After, we visit with Amy Tavern and Joanna Golderg.
Amy Tavern

Originally from Upstate, NY, Amy Tavern received a BFA in Metal Design from the University of Washington in 2002.   In the last two years she has had solo exhibitions at Beyond Fashion in Antwerp, Belgium and at Velvet da Vinci in San Francisco, CA. She has also exhibited in group shows at Sienna Gallery and Heidi Lowe Gallery, among others.  In 2009 Amy received several emerging artist honors including an American Craft Council Searchlight artist.  Amy’s jewelry has been published in numerous books such as New Rings and 500 Silver Jewelry Designs and she was featured on the cover of Metalsmith Magazine’s 2012 “Exhibition in Print.”  Amy recently completed a three-year artist residency at the Penland School of Crafts and just celebrated her 10th year in business.  Her work can be found in galleries around the United States and abroad.

Joanna Goldberg

Joanna Golberg began making jewelry at the age of 13, using fishing lures, beads, and (very heavy!) old coins. Joanna is also a well-known and respected author. She has written four books on making handcrafted designer jewelry–Making Metal Jewelry, Creative Metal Crafts, The Art & Craft of Making Jewelry, and The Ultimate Jeweler’s Guide –all titles published by Lark Crafts, an imprint of Sterling Publishing, Inc.  Joanna teaches jewelry making at noted craft institutions, such as the Penland School of Crafts and Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts.  Her jewelry has been published in Art Jewelry Magazine, Lapidary Journal, Ornament Magazine, 1000 Rings, 500 Wedding Rings, 500 Enameled Objects, and 21st Century Jewelry.  Joanna operates out of an amazing studio in downtown Asheville.

  • Asheville Art Museum / Curator Tour by Nancy Sokolove
Asheville Art Museum
Stoney Lamar

Founded by artists in 1948, the Asheville Art Museum annually presents an exciting, inviting and active schedule of exhibitions and public programs.  Any visit will also include experiences with works of significance to Western North Carolina’s cultural heritage including Studio Craft, Black Mountain College and Cherokee artists. Special exhibitions feature renowned regional and national artists and explore issues of enduring interest. At the time of our visit, there will be a Stoney Lamar 40-year retrospective.  Stoney will be joining us to talk to us about the work. At the same time, there will also be a Black Mountain College – New Acquisition show. This should be one spectacular event.

  • Blue Spiral Gallery
Blue Spiral 1

No trip to Asheville would be complete without a visit to the famous Blue Spiral Gallery. This amazing gallery presents work by exceptional Southern artists and object makers in a beautifully renovated building in the heart of downtown Asheville.  The light-filled, 15,000 square-foot gallery spans three floors connected by an open stairway. This spacious setting allows Blue Spiral 1 to offer considerable diversity, affording accessibility to various tastes and aesthetics.  

Now, on to dinner!  We are planning our meal at the spectacular Limones Restaurant in the center of Asheville.  Then back to the Inn at Little Switzerland.

Friday, August 9

Today we will stay closer to Penland, exploring several studios and then joining in the festivities surrounding the Penland auction, which begin at 3 p.m. with auction previews.  Dinner is included.

  • Visit with sculptor Lisa Clague  9:30 to 10:30am
Lisa Clague
Lisa Clague

The distinctive figurative sculpture by Lisa Clague hovers between fantasy and reality –- playful, mysterious, contemplative. “Although the imagery in my work comes directly from my own dreams which, in turn, respond to very personal experiences. I must also acknowledge a debt to the surrealist movement. Artists such as Hieronymous Bosch, Frida Karlo, Louise Bourgeois and Hans Bellmer have been profoundly inspirational“…“My hybrid figures have been influenced by prehistoric art, the “Great Mother” figurines from the Neolithic period, the animal-headed figures from the rock shelter of La Madeleine, and also the bird-headed Egyptian Goddesses and archaic Greek Kouros figures.”

  • Visit to sculptor Mel Chin  11:00am to12:30pm
Mel Chin

Mel Chin was born in Houston to Chinese parents in 1951, the first of his family born in the United States, and was reared in a predominantly African-American and Latino neighborhood. He worked in his family’s grocery store, and began making art at an early age. Though Mel is classically trained, his art is both analytical and poetic and evades easy classification. Alchemy, botany, and ecology are but a few of the disciplines that intersect in his work. In 1989, Mel had a one-person exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, DC. 

Mel Chin

Mel Chin has also exhibited in numerous group shows including the Fifth Biennial of Havana, Cuba; Seventh Architectural Biennial in Venice, Italy; Kwangju Biennale, Korea; Hirshhorn Museum, Washington DC; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Whitney Museum of American Art; P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center; Museum of Modern Art; and the Asian American Arts Centre, New York City among others. Mel has received numerous awards and grants from organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council for the Arts, Art Matters, Creative Capital, and the Penny McCall, Pollock/Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Rockefeller and Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundations, among others.

  • Penland Gallery

Elizabeth Brim

No trip to Penland would ever be complete without a visit to the Penland Gallery. The Penland Gallery – featuring work by artists affiliated with Penland School of Crafts – is a stop worth adding to your trip through Western North Carolina. It is the perfect place to choose a gift, add to your craft collection, or learn about contemporary craft.

Bob Trotman

Lunch this day will be on the porch of the Penland Gallery. Lunch will be a box lunch furnished by the spectacular restaurant Knife and Fork. During our lunch we will have special presentations from Bob Trotman (wood sculptor) and Elizabeth Brim (metal sculptor).

Now it’s on to the auction. It begins at 3 p.m. with the silent auction in the new state-of-the-art facilities in the Print/Letterpress Studio.  Dozens of Penland’s artists will be showing there. Then on to a lovely dinner and wine under the beautiful tent overlooking the valley on Penland’s grounds while the main Friday night auction goes on. After this, it’s back for a quick cocktail at the Inn at Little Switzerland.

Saturday, August 10

The morning begins with coffee and breakfast at The Barns at Penland, where we will be treated to a show by the resident artists here at Penland, always a highlight and much fun. From there we attend a show given by the Core Students where we will see the work of tomorrow’s most promising artists.  On to the Saturday silent auction and artist chats….then on to the main festivities of the luncheon and live auction.  This will definitely be the highlight of the weekend!

  • After the auction we will head to the studio of Anne Lemanski in Spruce Pine.

Anne Lemanski

Through the use of materials such as vintage paper, vinyl, textiles, wood veneer, metal and artificial sinew, Anne Lemanski creates a menagerie of sculptural portraits.

The politically charged content and form of the sculpture happens through the combination of a copper rod armature and hand-stitched “skin.” Anne’s current focus is on the complex, symbiotic relationship between humans and animals, highlighting our admiration for anima ls as symbols, and our exploitation of them to suit our needs.

Afterwards, we head back to the Inn at Little Switzerland, where we will have time to freshen up before a lovely farewell cocktail and dinner party where you will be able to swap stories with the new friends you made on this spectacular trip!

Sunday, August 11
Travel day…..those that need a ride to the airport, we will arrange it.  If you are driving down, and wouldn’t mind taking folks to Asheville and Penland from the hotel, please let us know. 

The cost of this trip is only $625; $75 is a non-refundable donation to the James Renwick Alliance.  You pay the cost of your hotels, meals and transportation (hotel /anywhere from $120 to $200 per night). Meals at the Friday night auction, breakfast and lunch at the Saturday afternoon auction are included. This trip is limited to 20 people. Cut off date is July 1, but please sign up early.

To RSVP, contact Cicie Sattarnilasskorn by email at admin@jra.org or Tel: (301) 907.3888

Asheville, NC Celebrates Studio Glass’ 50th Anniversary

>North Carolina’s Bender Gallery, located in the hip arts city of Asheville, will host an exhibition that will celebrate the diversity of glass as an artistic medium since the inception of the American Studio Glass Movement in 1962. New works made expressly for the exhibition along with work never before shown by thirty two regional and national as well as Canadian glass artists will be on display. 

Erwin Timmers “Banding Together”

 
Divergent Visions: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of American Studio Glass” will showcase the various techniques of glass art inspired by each individual artist’s unique vision and interpretation. There will be an extensive variety of contemporary art glass on exhibit including delicate flame-worked sculpture; tactile kiln cast glass, hot formed glass pieces, gauzy pate de verre and glass “painting” with vitreous enamel.

The Bender Gallery will host an opening reception from 5-8 p.m. Thursday June 7, 2012.

Erwin Timmers “More or Less”

The “king of recycling” – ErwinTimmers‘ striking glass sculptures made from recycled glass are featured.

Janis Miltonberger “Between Worlds”

Also in the gallery are new flame-worked glass sculptures by Janis Miltenberger.


The Bender Gallery is located at 12 S Lexington Avenue in Asheville, North Carolina. The gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 10:30 am – 5 pm and Sunday from 12 pm – 5 pm. For inquiries call 828-505-8341.

Blue Spiral Gallery

>

Tim Tate artwork in forground, L-R ‘The Conflict of Archimedes’, ‘Contentment Can’t Escape Me’, ‘Red Devil Bowl’.

NEW X Threeopened this weekend at Asheville, NC’s beautiful Blue Spiral 1 Gallery in Asheville, NC to a great crowd. There was a lot of interest and excitement at Blue Spiral’s introduction of their newest artists represented, and (happily) a number of sales!

Tim Tate artwork L-R: ‘My Love Life Thus Far’, ‘She Was Often Gripped With The Desire To Be Elsewhere’. Michael Janis artwork L-R: tarot ‘The Sun’, ‘Death’, ‘The High Priestess’, ‘The Moon’.

Michael Janis artwork L-R: tarot ‘Wheel Of Fortune’, ‘The Hangman’, ‘The Tower’.


The show runs until March 21, 2010
Blue Spiral 1 Gallery 38 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801

Blue Spiral 1 Gallery to feature Washington Glass School artists

>

Blue Spiral 1 Gallery in Asheville, NC – one of the East Coast’s premier discipline based fine art gallery will feature the work of WGS’ Michael Janis and Tim Tate in a show that will span throughout the 15,000 square-foot space. New X Three is Blue Spiral’s annual exhibition that introduces diverse artists who have never before exhibited at the gallery; offering a fresh perspective for the New Year.

New X Three
January 7 – March 21, 2010
Opening Reception Thursday, January 7, 5-8 pm
38 Biltmore Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801
828.251.0202