1000 x 90

“Art Songs of the Heart” by Toni Carlton and the Autumn Group Exhibition at Carlton Gallery Opens Sept. 27

Sept. 23, 2014. “I am often deeply moved by what is happening outside..in the world and in my close environment but if I take it inside and transform it using movement, writing, vocal toning..art making …expressive arts..it feels like my life mission as an artist is somehow being fulfilled and that there is a higher purpose for me to do this work. “

“I enjoy speaking to the heart of others in person and through my artwork.

In the beginning…..The Word moved upon the face of the waters of the canvas.

Toni Carlton - Healing Voices -038Through her passion for working in mixed media combined with her expression of her spiritual journey, artist Toni Carlton’s creative process begins in a consciousness of prayer and song; a focused intention to allow a centered prayer to become an artistic expression through movement on the canvas. In Toni’s latest collection “Art Songs of the Heart” the texture of ancestral patterns of the fabric of all life are blended with the hand-woven threads shared between generations. “Art as a Prayer” becomes the theme as the Exhibition “Art Songs of the Heart “embodies the vibration of the voice within a painting.

The woven fabric, offers the observer to “see beyond” what appears to be to what can be experienced and transformed through the sacred voice of the heart.

The word in script is becoming a lost art. Toni’s artwork is imprinted with the expressive calligraphic text in English to create elegant flowing abstract compositions which are seen through hand woven fabric adhered to canvas with many layers of transparent paint.

Another layer of the creative process in the “Art Songs of the Heart” series includes the process of touch drawing. This technique is done by touch with only the hands on transparent paper that is placed on a thin layer of water based oils. The expressions in the work come from the subconscious, the heart space and from within rather than from a plan to create a specific image. Using movement, meditation and healing sounds as a prompt to begin the art work, Toni’s work expresses the connection to the Divine Feminine and Mothering Peace.

Toni Carlton’s calligraphic artworks have juried in the Invitational World Calligraphy Exhibitions held in Seoul, Korea, Beijing, China and Geneva, Switzerland. Carlton was one of the two American women artists whose work was chosen to participate in the International Healing Arts Exhibition in Naples, Italy.

This exhibition refers to an interest in weaving elements which connect the outer worlds of traditions and nature to the inner worlds of mind, spirit and emotion. It also explores concepts of nature, “flow” and the authentic gesture used in Asian art.

“For over twenty years, my work has been about the connection of all people through the use of different languages, universal images that represent open hearts, as well as respecting our heritage and recognizing our oneness”.

“On a recent trip to India, in one of the temples we visited threads were used to tie your prayers on a pole with many others. This reminded me of the way we are all connected with each thread becoming part of the fiber that holds us all together. It was an incredible experience to witness the devotion of the people of India.

As a tribute, visitors are welcome to take one of the prayer threads as an offering to the earth, the water, the fire, the air or the space most desirable for your heart.

Enjoy the “Art Songs of the Heart” Exhibition of Toni Carlton’s paintings along with the Autumn Group Exhibition at Carlton Gallery beginning Sept. 27 and visit with Toni Carlton, artist, owner and curator of Carlton Gallery from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. during the Avery Tour de Art.

An Artists’ Reception is planned from 2 to 5 p.m. with some of the standing gallery artists in attendance to greet friends, visitors and patrons. Light hors d’oeuvres and community spirit can be enjoyed while viewing the gallery’s collection of fine art in paintings, glass, wood, clay, sculpture, fiber and jewelry. The gallery represents local, regional and national artists working in these various mediums.

Enjoy new paintings by gallery artists, Kevin Beck, Vae Hamilton, Linda Apriletta, Mary Martha McKinley, Mike Ham, Marion Cloaninger, Alan Gordon, and Freeman Beard.

Traditional and abstract paintings in landscapes, still life’s, figurative, non-objective abstracts, cityscapes and structural design abound at Carlton Gallery by artists Andrew Braitman, Connie Winters, Egi Antonaccio, Kate Worm, Warren Dennis, Helen Farson, Roy Nichols, Mike Ham, Michael Grady, Mary Dobbin, Edie Maney, Sharon Rusch Shaver, Holly Glasscock, Gina Strumpf, and new to the gallery this season, Amy Sullivan and Kevin Lee Aita. Many artworks express the beautiful autumn colors of the High Country.

New clay figurative sculpture by Jayne Harris honors women in nature and the feminine mystic as well as Melissa York’s female figurative indoor or garden sculpture.

Enjoy and celebrate the 32nd year of Carlton Gallery during the Autumn Group Exhibition along with the “Art Songs of the Heart” exhibit by Toni Carlton on Saturday Sept. 27. The Avery Tour de Art is from 10-5 and the Opening Reception is from 2-5 p.m.

The gallery is located 10 miles south of Boone and 7 miles north of Linville on N.C. 105 in the Grandfather Mountain community. For information on artists, exhibitions or available workshops, call 828-963-4288 or visit www.carltongallery.com.