By Alli Marshall
Most informed travelers know the mountainous western corner of North Carolina as home to a thriving arts scene, though — until recently — one that encompassed only the most utilitarian of disciplines. Sure, Billie Ruth Sudduth’s baskets, Cynthia Bringle’s pottery and Rob Levin’s glass are famous nationwide, but the region’s artistic evolution (especially of the last decade) has seen a decided shift toward more contemporary, urban, sophisticated and fine art forms.
The greatest indicator of this metamorphosis is the sheer number of galleries now in business. The Asheville Downtown Gallery Guide alone lists 24, which doesn’t even begin to account for art retailers in other areas of the city, in outer-lying areas of Buncombe or in the other counties comprising WNC.
Arts and crafts representatives region-wide agree on several points: crafters are taking their forms in experimental directions, craft-based tourism is a viable industry and fine arts are growing increasingly visible.
Western North Carolina and crafts have an enduring symbiotic relationship, and that hot romance shows no signs of cooling. Western North Carolina crafts, however, remain a work in progress, both literally and philosophically.
Crafts in this area date back to the days when out-of-state traffic was largely limited to livestock drovers en route between Tennessee and South Carolina. While few of those travelers were in the market for a dyed silk coverlet or ceramic tea set, they likely ate, drank and dressed with handcrafted products — the likes of which vacationers and local collectors today will pay top dollar. Car travel last century opened up the Carolina mountains to tourism, which meant opportunities for local crafters to turn their practical talents into viable businesses. Today, functional crafts such as quilts, pottery and baskets are still sought after.
But as much as things remain the same, change is afoot. The Penland School of Crafts (founded in the early 1900s as a program to teach local woman how to market their woven goods) edged away from strict traditionalism in the 1960s. "It’s not that we don’t have artists who do traditional work, but we’re more identified with a very contemporary take on craft," explains Robin Dreyer, Penland’s communications manager.
Dreyer observes the rest of WNC moving in a similar direction. "There are a lot of people working with traditional materials (such as clay and glass) who are making work that’s grounded in the function of traditional craft, but blurs the lines between craft and sculpture," he says.
Jenny Moore, associate director for Asheville-based HandMade in America (a nonprofit crafts-promoting organization), follows that same trend. "Younger crafters are out there, but they aren’t necessarily connecting with craft organizations," she explains. "They call themselves ‘designers.’ They’re embracing something that’s new and is of their generation."
One of HandMade’s main initiatives is in pairing the growing pool of artisans, many of whom are drawn to the area by Penland (Dreyer points out some 50 studios in Yancey and Mitchell Counties alone are run by Penland alums) with an increasingly cosmopolitan consumer base. This marriage is illustrated in the HandMade House at the Ramble, an upscale Biltmore Forest development. The collaboration between builders and bench-made furniture designers showcases the talents of area artists juxtaposed with savvy economic development strategy. Urban centers now stage luxury properties to sell not just real estate but lifestyle. Western North Carolina is on board with that high-concept marketing plan.
According to Moore, HandMade shares a home-furnishings emphasis with retailers like Blue Spiral 1 and the Grovewood Gallery that "has a lot of potential for artists. What is appealing to many artists about that is that you can make a better living doing custom work," she says. "I don’t think we’ve topped out our potential for branding the region as a destination for handcrafted furnishings, or craft-related tourism."
Indeed, tourism continues to thrive, with rural communities developing promotions for their own versions of gallery crawls. The annual Weaverville Art Safari is one of an increasing number of events that brings art enthusiasts into various counties to visit artist studios and buy items directly from crafters. Ashe county (near the Virginia border) and the tiny town of Marshall both boast a thriving arts scene. Local craft and culture organizations are busily advancing awareness of the high quality of products found in Mitchell, Haywood, and Jackson counties, and galleries are doing their part to educate craft-curious visitors.
Dreyer has noticed that, when tourists stop into the Penland Gallery, "What they’re seeing isn’t what they expect." But that’s not a bad thing. Though the region remains immured in traditional craft forms, both artists and appreciators are enthusiastic about pushing the envelope. Art glass (which goes back to the 1970s in this area) is "old news" according to Dreyer, who enthuses about recent developments in steel work. "Artists are using traditional blacksmithing techniques while getting increasingly sophisticated, blurring the distinction between functional work and art," he says. Another craft to watch: Book arts. "It’s not quite as visible and never breaks into the high dollar area, but there are a lot of people working in books," Dreyer points out. "There’s been a big spike in interest, reflected in our classes in books and paper."
But even as new craft fields emerge and the tried-and-true forms garner impressive prices, what’s most notable about Western North Carolina’s artistic evolution is how the boundaries between handicraft and fine arts are fading, allowing greater collaboration between the disciplines and boundless potential for experimentation. And, as the crafts community grows more fertile, more crafters are drawn to this area, happily perpetuating the cycle.
"Vibrant arts community" could be the T-shirt-ready slogan for Western North Carolina. In fact, a gullible transplant might be convinced that the first interstate rest stop after cresting Saluda Grade hands out easels and oil paints the way Florida’s welcome centers dole out orange juice.
"I hope we can live up to our reputation," quips John Cram, who happens to be largely responsible for Asheville’s ongoing renaissance. Cram opened the craft-based "art for living" New Morning Gallery in 1972. In ‘91 he founded the three-story fine arts gallery Blue Spiral 1, followed in ‘97 by the Fine Arts Theatre, an independent film house. Cram also owns the wearable art boutiques Bellagio and Bellagio Everyday, so little of the local arts scene has escaped his touch.
But even Cram can’t talk about art for very long without touching on craft, its sister discipline. "Magnets that attract artists to this area are Asheville’s reputation and the Penland School," he says. Still, Penland isn’t just for crafters anymore: there’s a notable photography program along with classes in drawing and painting — including Robert Johnson’s recent workshop, "Nature Journaling: Art for Nature Freaks."
Innovative landscape painter Johnson features North Carolina’s varied flora in his stylized canvases; works increasingly in demand due to Cram’s "very active" development of Johnson’s career.
In fact, much of the evolution Cram has witnessed over the decades is in the portfolios of long-term artists such as painter Deborah Squire. Though Blue Spiral 1 typically introduces new artists at its first show each year ("It’s always fun to put new ideas into the public eye," Cram says.), when asked if these shows reveal emerging trends, Cram’s answer is no. "An artist has to recreate himself from day to day," he muses, "and a gallery does the same."
Connie Bostic hopes that when it comes to recreating themselves, her fellow artists won’t opt to play it safe. "If you go to other towns that cater to tourists, artists make what’s pleasing and looks good over the sofa," says the local painter and former gallery owner. "There are a lot of artists in this area who are capable of so much more. There are so many young artists here doing very exciting things."
HandMade’s Moore says, "When you make conceptual art about difficult subjects, it’s hard to sell. But [those] who do add a lot to the life of a community. We as a community should make it easier for those artists to live here."
It’s a sentiment shared by Angela Martinez, Executive Director of the Asheville Area Arts Council. "Artists are workers and they play an essential role in the cultural vitality, diversity and economic prosperity of Asheville," she insists. Visual artists are so entwined with the very fabric of Western North Carolina that it’s hard to imagine the area without them — though, in fact, conceptual painters and sculptors are a much more recent presence than their crafting predecessors.
The Asheville Chamber of Commerce confirms the growth spurt. Within the Asheville metropolitan statistical area (Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson and Madison Counties) a respectable populace of 16 art dealers in 2002 swelled to 25 establishments by last year. And these aren’t all well-known entities such as Blue Spiral 1. For instance, Bostic is a fan of skateboarder stop-off Push Skate Shop and Gallery for "some stuff that’s pretty far out" and Asheville’s River Arts District-based Phil Mechanic studios where artists "can do work and not have to sell something."
"Having an alternative space for creating art — that’s come and gone for short periods in Asheville, but it’s very important to keeping the art scene going," she adds. Happily, grassroots organizations such as Arts2People, along with a newly dedicated leadership role by Asheville’s Arts Council, advocate for non-craft artists.
While small galleries provide platforms for developing artists, they often struggle to pay the rent: a story Cram knows well. Of his humble beginnings he says, in theory, he should have gone out of business, but passion (and youthful optimism) prevailed. While he wonders if alternative galleries can rally a purchasing audience for their edgier work, he notes that "they don’t have high rents or fancy printing costs. They don’t have the sales volume, but they don’t have the overhead." Like animated underdog Popeye, "They are who they are."
So are the area’s fine artists, carving their niches in a creatively fertile climate. Already they’ve made an indelible mark both with their talent (a level Moore speculates is on par with that of Santa Fe) and their diversity. "Our economy depends on imagination, innovation, and creativity," says Martinez. "Those are the skills our artistic citizens contribute daily."
So, let that "vibrant arts community" reputation of the area precede us. It’s a reputation well deserved and worth striving for; an artistic vision Western North Carolina is intent on crafting.
mountainous western corner of North Carolina as home to a thriving arts scene, though — until recently — one that encompassed only the most utilitarian of disciplines. Sure, Billie Ruth Sudduth’s baskets, Cynthia Bringle’s pottery and Rob Levin’s glass are famous nationwide, but the region’s artistic evolution (especially of the last decade) has seen a decided shift toward more contemporary, urban, sophisticated and fine art forms.