Judy Simmons and Alan “Doc” Welty, Opening Sept. 1

Alan “Doc” Welty earned his nickname while attending the Herron School of Art + Design in Indianapolis. “… I carried my supplies around in an old doctor’s bag,” he explained during a 2022 interview with Asheville Made. Nowadays, the artist makes functional stoneware, tiles, and decorative garden pieces in his Leicester pottery studio. This fall, Welty will display a curated collection of his ceramics at the FW Gallery at Woolworth Walk. He’ll be joined by Judy Simmons, a local fiber artist who creates elaborate art quilts using a menagerie of innovative methods. “Judy likes to create one-of-a-kind pieces using various surface design techniques, some of which include dyeing, painting, marbling, and various imaging techniques,” the gallery explains. “Extensive thread work finishes the piece.” Simmons’ quilts can incorporate old family photos and letters; her collage approach encourages a multidimensional blend of old and new. Welty and Simmons’ work, aesthetically united by a propensity for antiqued surfaces, will be on display at the downtown gallery through the end of September.