Main Gallery
The Main Gallery is featuring “The Mountains of NC” – a showcase of the work of Norma Suddreth. Suddreth was born in the Foothills of North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Mountains and farms surrounded her small rural community. Their beauty, wonders of nature, worldwide travels, and the local church affect her art today.
The artist specializes in two ancient arts. As a papermaker, she has developed a technique of painting with paper pulp using her hands as her brush. Painting on pulled sheets or sculpting with pulp allows a textured surface. Papers are colored with hand ground natural pigments. She uses the art of fresco to create spiritually focused art.
Her art studies include the prestigious Penland School of Arts and Crafts in North Carolina, the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Tennessee, and St. Michael’s Institute of Sacred Art in Connecticut.
She has received many awards and honors and exhibited in regional and national juried shows both in groups and solo exhibitions. She lectures and teaches workshops, often in our studios in Lenoir and Blowing Rock, NC.
“Observation, preservation of history, and acts of goodness and honesty are elements I incorporate into my arty. I take satisfaction in each creative process. Gathering plants, producing pulp, preparing the foundation and painting are each equally important. The ability to communicate through art about what I have discovered and believe to be important and true is the main focus of my work.”
Suddreth’s exhibition will include paintings, papermaking, and pulp paper paintings. A raffle to win one of her pulp paper paintings is underway and tickets may be purchased for $5. She is also teaching a workshop on the process of pulp paper painting on Wednesday, April 22 and Thursday, April 23 from 1-3 pm.
Under Suddreth’s expert guidance, handmade and dyed paper pulp will be used to hand sculpt a three-dimensional mountain landscape. (You may be surprised to learn that you will not be using brushes!)
The 1st day we will be designing the painting and preparing the pulp. The 2nd day will be spent painting. Registration is only $50 for the two-day workshop with a $5 Materials Fee. Registering is easy to do in the Arts Council’s Online Store at http://watauga-arts.org (look for the tab called Online Store) or you can register by stopping by the Blue Ridge ArtSpace at 377 Shadowline Drive or calling the Arts Council at 828-264-1789.
Open Door Gallery -2nd Annual “Mudslingers!” Rather than the distasteful political variety, the Arts Council is showcasing a totally different type of mudslinging. Celebrating the talents of the clay artists of our community, the Arts Council has extended an invitation to all who work in clay whether it be functional or purely for the beauty (or the fun) of it. Among the artists who are sharing their works this month are Tara Belk, Becki Henderson-Gow, Theresa McGrath, Keith Lambert, Cindy Pacileo and Willi Baucom. Their creations range from functional vessels to strikingly ornate to downright whimsical pieces.
Serendipity Gallery – The serendipitous hats are off to spring with a collection of works entitled “Hats Off to Spring”. The Serendipity Gallery showcases the work of artists who are taking classes at the Lois E. Harrell Senior Center and the Western Watauga Community Center under Marsha Holmes. Among the artists whose works are exhibited are Mary Foreman, Wendy Hayek, Margie Franz, Cyn D. Weaver, Cherry Burns, Sondra Edwards, Trudy Muegel, Kit Fisher, Linda Lillo Norman, Marsha Holmes, Barbara Hinkel, William Bass, Susan Lindgren, and Judy Clarke.
The Children’s Gallery is featuring works of art created by the students of Valle Crucis Elementary School. Their art teacher is Jill Huffman. Ms. Huffman is an ASU Graduate and has had the privilege of teaching in Watauga County since 2001 at Valle Crucis, Green Valley and Mabel Elementary School. Ms. Huffman says, “Teaching Art allows me to inspire and challenge students to try their best. Art helps students develop perception, awareness and creativity. The art room is the perfect place for innovation, critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration with others. My philosophy is to expose students to a wide variety of Artists, mediums and techniques throughout their Elementary School career. I rarely teach the same lesson twice! I love to teach interdisciplinary lessons so that students can make real life connections between Art and their academic classes. Becoming an artist is a lifelong process… and I am always trying new things, studying new artists and learning right along with the students.” It will be exciting to see what her students have been doing this year!
All of the galleries of the Blue Ridge ArtSpace are sponsored regularly by Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff.
Classroom Demonstrations:
Our colorful classrooms are once again going to be filled with creative energy and each will feature a new arts adventure. There will also be plenty of shopping in the Gift Shop, and light refreshments.
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