So Toe Color by Kat Turczyn
By Belle Crawford
A reception at the Burnsville Toe River Arts Council (TRAC) Gallery on Friday, September 22, from 5–7 p.m. marks the end of an exhibit documenting life along the Toe River. Gary Peeples with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service will give a watershed overview from 5–5:30 p.m. during the reception.
Titled Toe River Valley, the exhibit has a counterpart at the sister TRAC gallery in Spruce Pine where an opening reception was held in August. The idea for the shows came from artist Doug Sudduth, who has been photographing the river for 13 years. To highlight the local importance of the river, Sudduth proposed a collaborative art show that would bring TRAC together with the Blue Ridge Fine Arts Guild (BRAG), Penland School of Crafts and the Toe River Watershed Partnership (TRWP).
“Since moving to Mitchell County in 1994,” he says, “I have been walking on nearby Conley Ridge Road, known as the back road to Penland School, always with my camera on me. Finally, in 2009, a neighbor cut a road on his property that provided access to the river. I found a special place within a few feet of the river with lively rapids just upstream. That site became my connection, having the river all to myself.”
The exhibitions include local painters, photographers and three-dimensional artists as well as the works of children who have created art based on the images they see from their bus or car windows on trips to and from school each day.
Kat Turczyn, cover artist for the December 2016 issue of The Laurel of Asheville and BRAG member, is a participating artist. When asked about pieces in the show she’s particularly excited about, Turczyn noted Jeff McDowell’s awardwinning iron works, the Mayfly Sculptures. “Gaylene Petcu, also a BRAG member, has painted some particularly beautiful works of the area as well,” she says.
A very large Toes in the Toe mural is displayed at each site for the duration of the exhibitions. The murals were produced as part of an annual science festival organized by TRWP, which teaches students in Mitchell and Yancey counties about their watershed.
“The Toe River is one of the defining, natural elements of our region,” says TRAC executive director, Denise Cook. “We were very interested in this project that brought together so many groups and individuals to share its history, fragility and importance.”
Toe River Valley is for anyone who wants to experience the beauty of the Toe River through the eyes of the artists who live, work and create near the banks of one of the oldest rivers in the world. TRAC is a nonprofit organization established in 1976 to connect the arts and the community.
The Burnsville TRAC gallery is located at 102 West Main Street and the gallery in Spruce Pine is located at 269 Oak Avenue. Hours of the galleries are 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. TRWP is a nonprofit working to protect watersheds in Western North Carolina. For more information about the Toe River Valley Exhibits, visit toeriverarts.org or call 828.682.7215. For information about TRWP, see toerivervalley.org.
