Watauga Arts
Council October Gallery Reception Nov. 7
A special night celebrating the traditional arts and regional
artists will be held Friday, Nov. 7 from 5-8 p.m. at the downtown
Boone Jones House Community Center.
Print by Emily Proshuto.
Fiber arts and a quilt show, storytelling, book signing and music,
all tied together with hot apple cider and comfort food will bring
back memories of simpler times in the mountains.
The evening will begin with Green Valley teacher and long-time
resident, Clara Hollar, in the front parlor with storytelling.
At 5:30 p.m., the Watauga Arts Council (WAC) will announce the
names of the Regional Artist Project and winners will be on hand
to accept the awards. The visual artist winners will present examples
of their work and the performance artists will play some of their
tunes.
The Regional Artist Project provides financial support to developing
professionals by funding a project pivotal to the advancement
of their careers as artists. The Regional Artist Project of Northwest
North Carolina Grants Program is a partnership between the arts
councils of Alleghany, Ashe, Watauga and Wilkes counties and the
North Carolina Arts Council. This year’s Watauga County winners
are Lynn Duryea, Scott Ludwig, Crys Matthews, Janet Montgomery,
Nathan Taylor and Joseph Barnes.
Beginning at 6:30 p.m., Michaele Hastings Haas will be in the
parlor with copies of the book she co-authored, “MeeMa’s
Memory Quilt.” The book was a 1998 project sponsored by the
Boone Service League to commemorate Watauga County’s 150th
birthday and to raise money for the Seby B. Jones Cancer Center
in Boone.
In the story, MeeMa and her grandson, Ryan, explore many areas
of Watauga County history using the visual aid of an extraordinary
quilt given to MeeMa for her birthday.
The book is informative, yet interesting and easy for children
to understand. The illustrations are bright and colorful and were
drawn by students of Watauga County. Every public and private
school in our area (at that time) is represented, as well as the
home-schooled community.
“I am convinced that God definitely had a hand in the creation
of this book,” Haas said. “It’s a long story, but
from the timing right down to the people involved ....everything
just fell into place. That said, I would be remiss to make it
seem like the process itself was easy, because it wasn’t...
we almost abandoned the book. However, I was the BSL president
at the time and had an unexplainable conviction to complete the
project. That’s how I became ‘co-author.’
“The final writing and editing was complete in April of 1999
and two months later, I found out that my mother had cancer of
the colon and liver. The proceeds of ‘MeeMa’s Memory
Quilt’ raised more than $2,500 for the Cancer Center and
my mother has been cancer free for nine years... a happy ending
all the way around.”
Haas and her husband, Bryan, are both Watauga County natives and
still reside in Boone with their children, Connor, Cameron, Carri
and Cailey.
In addition to the book signing, patrons to the reception can
enjoy a traditional quilt and fiber art exhibit in the downstairs
Mazie Jones Gallery. The exhibit includes hand-sewn quilts, machine-sewn
quilts, hooked rugs, hand-felted wool, barn quilt examples, a
woven tapestry, cross-stitching with hardanger embroidery and
a hand-tied fishnet bed canopy. These fiber-based pieces represent
craft traditions that have been passed down for generations in
Watauga County and some newer art forms that are becoming part
of the tradition. The artists also represent several generations,
Mark Freed, curator of the show said. “I am very happy to
have the opportunity to showcase some of the local craft artists
with this exhibit.”
In addition to the pieces, the exhibit will feature information
about the artists, art forms and photos of the artists and other
work they do. The artists include: Carol Turner, quilt and hardanger-embroidered
cross stitching; Mary Clark, quilts; Ruth Coffey, quilts, hats,
broom cover; Leniavell Trivette, quilt and “candle-wicking”
piece; Evanell Trivette Thomas, hooked rug; Sandy Adair, woven
tapestry; Kelly Sheets, hand felting; John Turner, painted barn
quilts; Eula Osborn, fishnet bed canopy; and Brady Guy Matheson,
hooked rug.
Raffle tickets for a crib quilt, made by Carol Turner, will be
available for purchase and the crib quilt will be raffled off
that night.
An upstairs printmaker exhibit,“Retrospective of Printmaking”
presented by Emily Proshuto, consists of various works made by
the artist throughout her journey into this skill. From both different
processes and experience level within the art of printmaking,
the prints show a broad range of the wonderful possibilities of
the craft.
Proshuto grew up in the small rural town of Seneca, S.C. Since
making Boone her home in 2002, she has graduated with a bachelor
of fine arts in printmaking from Appalachian State University,
and is now applying to graduate school. She currently is working
with children and hopes to one day teach her craft to college
students.
These exhibits are on display from now until Friday, Nov. 7, during
the gallery hours of noon to 5 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays.
The Arts Council galleries are also open Thursdays from 7:30 to
11 p.m. during the acoustic jams at the Jones House.
The gallery reception will be held in conjunction with downtown
Boone’s First Friday Art Crawl. Free food and beverage will
be served, and the public is invited and encouraged to attend.
The Watauga Arts Council galleries are sponsored in part by Cheap
Joe’s Art Stuff and Grassroots Funds of the North Carolina
Arts Council. The WAC’s offices and galleries are located
in downtown Boone at the Jones House Community & Cultural
Center, owned by the town of Boone.
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