Grovewood Gallery presents two art offerings for February

In conjunction with the National Arts and Crafts Conference held February 16–18 at The Omni Grove Park Inn, Grovewood Gallery will host craft demonstrations by local artists Brandy Clements of Silver River Center for Chair Caning and Pamella O’Connor of Hanji Home.

On February 16-18, Brandy Clements will be demonstrating authentic cattail rush weaving on a chair seat designed by Brian Brace Fine Furniture. This style of weaving dates back thousands of years to ancient Egypt and can be found on classic Gustav Stickley chair seats.

Brandy is a 4th generation chair caner and self-proclaimed "chair nerd" on a mission to dispel the myth that chair seat weaving is a lost art. She and her husband/business partner Dave Klingler have been weaving new lives into chairs for over 12 years, and have taught over 100 sessions at their school, offering classes on laced and pressed caning as well as splint, rush, and Shaker tape weaving. This year marks Silver River's 4th anniversary as the nation's only fully dedicated chair caning school and museum. The school is also an official education center of the Southern Highland Craft Guild.

On February 17-18, Pamella O’Connor will be demonstrating paper gathering techniques used to create texture on her signature line of hanji flower lamps. Hanji is traditional handmade paper from Korea, made from the inner bark of Paper Mulberry, a shrub-like tree that grows throughout Asia. Hanji is extremely durable, capable of being stretched, feathered, gathered and twisted. It’s also highly malleable, making it an ideal material for creating various handicrafts.

Pamella was first introduced to hanji during a two-year teaching stint in South Korea. Returning to Asheville in 2010, Pamella started her own business, Hanji Home. In 2012, she received the Merit Award as a first-time presenter at the Buyer’s Market of American Craft, catapulting her lamps onto the national scene. These days, she continues to make handmade art lamps and other hanji decor while focusing on perfecting her craft.

Pamella will have a variety of finished hanji flower lamps on display and available to purchase during her demonstration.