Toe River Arts Adventure
Art and adventure go hand in hand.
Once you set your GPS to Yancey and Mitchell counties in North Carolina for the Toe River Art’s Annual Fall Studio Tour November 11-13, you’ll completely understand.
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the tour features more than 100 artists and several fine art and craft galleries scattered across the region’s seriously scenic hills and valleys. Glass, ceramics, wood, jewelry, painting, metal—the myriad of work has a deep and wide appeal.
The tour was the brainchild of a small group of artists, including renowned glassblowers Rob Levin and Billy and Katie Bernstein, who believed people would appreciate seeing where their artwork was being created. The Toe River Arts Council (now Toe River Arts) partnered with the group and began facilitating the tour under its umbrella, adding local galleries into the diverse and eclectic mix, as well as adding a third day to help visitors meander to as many studios as possible. The Bernstein’s and Levin still enjoy participating in the annual event that draws visitors from across the country.
Julie Wiggins (juliewigginspottery.com) counts her blessings for being one of the studio tour’s newest participants. The ceramic artist, who grew up on the North Carolina coast and recently moved to Bakersville from Charlotte, is passionate about melding her childhood beach memories and the floral wonders she experiences in the mountains into her simple yet elegant porcelain pieces.
“The colors I use in my work are meant to replicate the transparency of water,” she says. “They also allow me to clearly show my imagery.”
If you ask about that imagery, she’ll tell you of the car accident that caused her to lose the use of her right hand for a year. “I started drawing with my untrained left hand and liked the marks that were happening. Although I couldn’t make pots in the fashion I was used to, that experience opened the floodgates and I started using my pots as canvases.”
Before finding her way with clay, Wiggins says she was a lost student at East Carolina University. “In 1997, I decided to take a semester off and send myself to the Penland School of Craft,” she said. The experience was life changing. Having found the thing she loved and was good at, she returned to school, earning her BFA in ceramics before earning a graduate degree from the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute in China.
Wiggins’ work has a meditative feel, which is by design.
“Living here has created such a shift for me, one that helps me experience nature in a new way. With each step I take I connect with my breath, always pausing to observe.” Those observations, so often made from the comfort of her beloved garden, lead to the drawings which she then uses to embellish her pots.
One of the things she appreciates most about the tour is being able to share her garden with visitors.
“This past spring tour was like my debut,” Wiggins said. “I was so excited by how many locals came to welcome me, and so excited to see how many people were pausing to observe the beauty around me. In some cases, the garden brought up memories for visitors who then shared their experiences with me.”
Wiggins likes to say she’s focused on wholehearted living and creating wholehearted pots. “Of course, what excites me most about being here is the work I’ve yet to do. I can’t wait to see what’s next.”
Rich stories like Wiggins abound. While their studios may be rurally located, many of the participating artists have garnered well-deserved recognition not only across the country but across the globe in glass, jewelry, ceramics, wood, painting, weaving and more. Their teaching efforts span the globe.
Perhaps the only challenge is how to make the most of your personal adventure. An easy-to-use mobile friendly website, toeriverstudiotour.org, offers both a big picture view of participating artists as well as directions to get to their studios. Visitors can also use the website or printed guides to break down their explorations by medium or area (Celo, Burnsville, Bakersville, Spruce Pine). Toe River Arts will also host a studio tour reception featuring participating artists’ work at its 269 Oak Ave. location in Spruce Pine from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Friday, November 11. The printed guide is available at the Yancey Visitors Center in Burnsville, at various galleries, and in Asheville at the Southern Highlands Craft Guild.
Tour signs make it easy for visitors to stay on track as well as discover studios of which they might not have been aware.
For more information visit toeriverarts.org.