This past Saturday, May 13th, the Southern
Highland Craft Guild's second Focus Gallery exhibition of 2017, Navigating
Our Humanity, was opened to the public. The rotating gallery on the Folk
Art Center's second level continues to bring craft of different media that
often are one-of-a-kind works. One of the benefits for Guild members is the
opportunity to submit both ideas and pieces to the shows.
The theme derived from Guild member Erin Keane
who was “grappling with age-old issues of humanity,” and decided to use her
work with sculptural books for exploration. “The book sculptures are personified
by their structures, through the interaction of covers and pages. My vision was
to have the structural form of each piece metaphorically convey an aspect of my
humanity.”
With each piece, there is often a story of its
making, whether a dedication to human expression or successes the complexities
of life brings us. “Creating art helps me overcome anxiety and questions about
my human condition. I can lose myself in the creative process, bringing
validation to my being on this earth, and I hope, adding beauty to the world,”
states member Martine House.
Her focus has been with beads, and the
technique of embroidery to construct elaborate adornments. Sometimes a single
bead or just a color combination can initiate her creative expression. “My main
goal for each necklace is that the woman who wears it will feel positive energy
and empowerment,” says House.
Oftentimes makers conceive their bodies of work
from the natural world that surrounds them. For Maggie and Freeman Jones, it is
the earth's activities that are incorporated into their ceramics. “My greatest urge
is to create from the very stuff of Earth. Crystals growing, lava flowing and
plants blooming are meaningful forms of creation for me,” explains Maggie.
Navigating Our Humanity displays the following makers and their work: Martine
House in jewelry, Maggie and Freeman Jones in clay, Deana Blanchard and Chuck
Young in glass, Sue Grier in clay, Erin Keane in paper, Pei-Ling Becker in
paper, as well as Laurie Young and Christian Arnold in glass.
Admission to the Folk Art Center is free. The
Folk Art Center is located at Milepost 382 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in east
Asheville. Headquarters to the Southern Highland Craft Guild, the Center also houses
three galleries, a library, a craft shop and a Blue Ridge Parkway information
desk and bookstore.
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