Photo by Rachel Pressley
Memes everywhere by mid October (when November Asheville Made went to press) were riffing on R.E.M.’s cheerfully dire laundry-list song “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” and other apocalyptic tropes. In fact, the only sentient being we can think of that had a promising year in 2020 — at least in the abstract — was the bird. Early-spring pandemic birdwatching is still a hot hobby. And by early summer, birding was socially significant: During Black Birders Week, the local Audubon Society took the name of Elisha Mitchell, an early local conservationist and slavery apologist, off its chapter name.
Speaking of abstract birds, enjoy this Paul Klee-inspired wonder by Shane Fero of Penland. Represented by Penland Gallery and by Blue Spiral 1 in Asheville, Fero is a celebrated glass artist of many decades who’s featured this fall in Asheville Made’s sister publication, Carolina Home + Garden.
Something about this little creature’s stance manages to combine melancholy, wonder, and fortitude. She is not flying, not yet — but her stillness is about as loud as it gets.
— Ed.