First Friday Art Crawl March 1
The Watauga Arts Council's Serendipity Gallery is featuring the vivid pen-and-ink drawings of William Craven Bass.
The First Friday Art Crawl returns to downtown Boone March 1,
and participating galleries and businesses will open their doors in celebration of art, community
and a combination of the two.
Appalachian State University’s Turchin Center for the Visual
Arts (423 W. King St.) is celebrating the opening of five new exhibitions with its aptly titled
Winter Exhibition Celebration. From 7 to 9 p.m., the Turchin Center will be open for all visitors to
come and enjoy the new artwork on display, listen to live music from The Lucky Strikes and enjoy a
beverage from the cash bar.
The new exhibitions include the 10th Appalachian Mountain
Photography Competition; “Standing Still…in the Abstract: Sculptures, Paintings and Drawings by
Mary-Ann Prack”; Art Expo 2013: Annual Juried Student Exhibition; Behind the Scenes: TCVA Community
Outreach Teachers; and the final installment of the international exhibition series, “21 Sztuka:
Contemporary Art from Poland I-V,” featuring artwork by Polish artists Monika Kostrzewa and her
work, titled “Monika Izabela Kostrzewa—Visual Art and fashion,” Maciej Guźniczak and his work,
titled “Faithful to Black,” and Alexander Wereszka and his work, titled “Intimacy Areas.”
Boone Saloon (489 W. King St.) will host the artwork of Jonathan Smith from Shed
Studios.
Hands Gallery (543 W. King St.) will feature the work of potter Brenda Schramm,
owner of Flame Pottery and a member of Hands since 1991, and a reception from 6 to 8 p.m. With the
title, "Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down,” Schramm’s show will feature a collection of lidded jars
suitable for cremation ashes.
"I know it sounds strange, but customers have been buying my
jars and boxes for their loved ones' ashes for many years,” Schramm said. “I just thought it was
time to come out and say as much. The jars were never really intended for that purpose specifically,
but often, people would say, ‘This is for my mother or husband or cat or dog.’ Once, a man bought a
box to keep his petrified tarantula in.”
Gladiola Girls (549 W. King St.) presents “Crafts
for the Kingdom,” featuring handmade jewelry, artwork and crafts, the sale of which will benefit
area missionaries.
Doe Ridge Pottery (585 W. King St.) will host a demonstration from Nathan
Fields of Rattlesnake Mountain Pottery in Laurel Springs, in which he’ll be constructing large
slab-built vessels. Refreshments, as well as gallery tours, will be served.
The town of
Boone’s Jones House Cultural and Community Center (604 W. King St.) will host a reception from 6:30
to 8 p.m. for a show of photography by Martin Church. The exhibit will feature images from film,
paper and digital light sensitive materials in black and white, as well as color. Martin is a native
of Watauga County and is currently teaching in the art department at Appalachian State University.
The prints will be on display throughout the month of March at the Jones House. Regular hours are
Tuesday through Friday, from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, call (828) 262-4576 or visit
http://www.joneshousecommunitycenter.org.
Anna Banana’s (641 W. King St., Suite 1) will celebrate
First Friday with wine from Glug, food from Char and face-painting by Claire Bilbao. Per Anna
Banana’s tradition, customers can dance for a discount.
The Nth˚ Gallery and Studios (683 W.
King St.) will present "Keep Calm and Draw On," a dual exhibition featuring the work of students and
community members. Gallery A will feature a propaganda poster show by students in the Appalachian
State University art department's "Art for Social Change" class, taught by adjunct instructor and
Nth member Joe Bigley. Gallery B is a drawing show curated by Nth members Josiah Cameron and Bigley
and will feature a wide variety of pencil, ink and mixed media drawings. The show opens at 7:30 p.m.
and is BYOB. For more information, visit http://www.nthdegreegallery.com.
Shear Shakti (693 W. King
St., upstairs from Lucky Penny) is collaborating with Speakeasy Tattoo Co. and Lucky Penny to host
“4or the Kids,” an art show and silent auction fundraiser. The art featured is all by local school
students, and all proceeds will benefit local school art programs. Complimentary refreshments will
be served.
The Watauga County Arts Council Gallery (783 W. King St.) celebrates First Friday
with the opening of two new exhibits – “In Memory of Maggie” by the Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild in
the main gallery and “Zentangle” by William Craven Bass in the Serendipity Gallery. A reception,
from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., will feature special music from the Watauga Community Band.
The
Mountain Laurel Quilt Guild’s exhibit celebrates the life of guild member and celebrated quilter
Maggie Harmon. The show is comprised of various fabrics and unfinished projects from Harmon’s
surviving work.
“Zentangle” showcases a variety of vividly colored pen-and-ink artwork by
Bass, 62, a student of Marsha Holmes from the Lois E. Harrill Senior Center and Cove Creek Senior
Center with the Watauga County Project on Aging. According to Holmes, Bass was raised in Eastern
North Carolina in several group homes, and the Willie School in Raleigh was where his love of
drawing began. He draws a "picture a day" and is ready to share a smile and a "Purple People Eater"
picture with all his friends in Boone. For more information, visit http://www.watauga-arts.org or call
(828) 264-1789.
Yosefa AntiquiTEA (161 Howard St., Suite C)
will host live music, with wine and tea tastings and light snacks.
Join Our Art Crawl Roundup
If your business participates in Downtown Boone First Fridays, send your goings-on to (frank@mountaintimes.com) for a spot in next month’s roundup.
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