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Carlton Gallery Presents Intuitive Connections at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum Through Dec. 4

Nov. 11, 2013. Carlton Gallery Presents an “Intuitive Connections” exhibit which features local artists, Debbie Arnold and Toni Carlton, at the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum located on Main Street in Blowing Rock which runs through Dec. 4. This exhibit can be viewed Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. with free admission on Thursday between the hours of 4 and 7 p.m.

The “Intuitive Connections” exhibit explores the painting process used by Arnold and Carlton. Their technique allows the painting process to connect with the inner self and to the invisible spirit and soul. Their work is the merging of art and spirituality. 

Debbie Arnold’s paintings have evolved and changed greatly over the years she has painted professionally. Although she experiments constantly, her work has maintained a surprising cohesiveness as her paintings are very recognizable due to her unique inspirations and personal technique. 

Arnold’s paintings end up not only being very subjective, but with images she strongly relates to. She feels they mirror her life in a spiritual metaphor in that the paintings seem to create themselves with her as an intermediary. 

The lovely environment of the High Country is a source of inspiration for Arnold. She says “trees have always fascinated me because of the fluid organic shapes they form. My Dancing Tree series came about because I noticed the similarity between tree shapes and the human figure. I worked to find the perfect balance between tree shapes and dancer shapes. The Fluid Tree series arose from the organic flowing nature of the tree limbs and bark. The strong but subtle use of color and line is a tribute to 17th Century printmakers’ depiction of nature.” 

Arnold’s work is in many public, corporate and private collections. She has participated in one and two person shows and in numerous juried and invitational exhibitions. 

In creating her art work, Toni Carlton seeks and reveals what is unique in each of us and universal in all of us. Many of her paintings represent the deeper levels of feminine awakening by using multiple layers encoded with images that activate ancient memories. 

She is inspired by different cultures, expressing movement and sacred connections in her spiritual journey as an artist. Carlton’s work has also evolved and changed over the years with her current paintings incorporating images from personal life experiences, a love of dance, photographic images taken during her travels, hand-woven fibers as well as multicultural images of express the “Oneness” of all. 

Carlton earned a BS in Industrial Arts and Technical Education, as well as Art Marketing and Production from Appalachian State University. Her artwork has been exhibited in the Carolinas, Washington, D.C., Texas, California and New York. Toni Carlton’s calligraphic paitings have juried in the Invitational World Calligraphy Exhibitions held in Seoul, Korea; Beijing, China and Geneva, Switzerland. 

Carlton was one of two American female artists whose work was chosen for the “Calligraphy Sprout to the West” exhibition in Seoul, Korea. Her calligraphy was also chosen to participate in the International Healing Arts Exhibition early this year in Naples, Italy. 

Carlton said, “for over 20 years, my intuitive artwork 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.” 

Everyone is welcome to visit the Blowing Rock Art and History Museum to view the “Intuitive Connections” exhibition by Debbie Arnold and Toni Carlton which runs through Dec. 4. A large collection of their work is also at Carlton Gallery with hours Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. The gallery is located 10 miles south of Boone and seven miles north of Linville on N.C. 105 in the Grandfather Mountain Community.

For more information, call 828-963-4288.