Weaverville Art Safari

Leo Monahan segued from commercial to fine art when he moved to the Weaverville area more than 20 years ago. The veteran artist’s works are numbered in the Smithsonian and in many private collections. A color specialist and master of Asian-style paper art, Monahan uses the medium to create intricate sculptural works including birds, feathers, butterflies, and leaves. “The natural beauty of this region has such an impact on both residents and visitors — it’s easy to be inspired here,” Monahan remarks to Asheville Made. The artist is well known for his large-scale series of fishing flies — a meticulous homage to an already meticulous art form. Other subjects include a brilliant guitar series, imagery from the Black Hills of South Dakota where he grew up, rural landscapes, and quirky abstract collage. This will be Monahan’s twentieth year participating in the twice-yearly Weaverville Art Safari, billed as Western North Carolina’s longest-running driving studio tour. The event features more than 70 artists in the region just north of Asheville, and it spans town and country, stretching from Main Street Weaverville to bucolic Barnardsville and Jupiter. True to its name, the Art Safari pulls in attendees from all over. “Through the Safari I met some close relatives from Greenville, South Carolina, that I didn’t know existed — how cool is that?” remarks Monahan. See the website for a tour map, including the location of Monahan’s studio, and for more information.