The Way to Stay “Creatively Unemployed” is to Never Stop Working
byMost artists who’ve been working for 55 years have an audience in mind. But John D. Richards just takes the ideas he says “pop…
Assemblage
Crafty Heartwood Gallery Anticipated the Main Street Revival By Three Decades
byHeartwood Gallery owner Shelley DeKay arrived in Saluda in the fall of 1984. She and her husband, a journeyman carpenter, had been traveling and…
It’s Much More Than a “No Strings Attached” Kind of Relationship
byKen Jones, a renowned luthier in Candler who will participate this month in the Mountain Acoustics Luthier Invitational, has spent 30 years in the…
Archaeologist Turned Artist Listens to Chairs and Understands Kudzu
byStudying anthropology at the University of Arizona, then working as an archaeologist for the forest service in California, Susan Alta Martin was intrigued by…
Trial and Error Pointed Knife Maker in the Right Direction
byAn early attempt at making a knife ended in a painful lesson for Ryan Pepper. Sharpening the blade too early in the process, “I…
He Used a Backcountry Sport to Make his Mark Worldwide
by“In every community, there’s someone up in the hills who could shoot the toes off a Tweety Bird from a hundred yards away.” That’s what…
Early Dumpster Diving Indicates a Future of Skulls and Watch Parts
byBobbie Polizzi, who brands her work as “Junk & Disorderly,” moved to WNC in 1997 as a product-design executive for a manufacturing company. She’s…
Smoke ’em if You Got ’em
byIn the same way that some former Western North Carolina tobacco farms are being repurposed through crop diversification, Clark Whittington transformed Midcentury cigarette-vending machines…
She Mapped Her Journey Back to Art on the Front of a Notecard
by“Curiosity is what brought me to where I am today,” says collage artist McKenzie Keenan, who owns and operates an atelier in Brevard, Heart…
Finding Art Made Him Feel Better, but this isn’t Feel-Good Art
byYears ago, DeWayne Barton totally redirected his life. “I wanted to represent love,” he says. He came back to his hometown, but he never…