Woven, felted, beaded and embroidered wall piece. Judy Levine, artist
The Beaverdam Studio Tour, which debuted last year to great success, returns Saturday, October 27, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m and Sunday, October 28, from 12–5 p.m. Thirty artists with studios located in North Asheville’s Beaverdam Valley will participate. Disciplines represented include ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, watercolors, glass, textiles, and oil and acrylic painting.
“We are very excited to be part of this tour and to welcome visitors to our corner of tranquility,” says Holden McCurry, of Byers McCurry Studio. “We will share our artistic process and have quick demonstrations to make it fun.”
McCurry and his partner Ed Byers returned to WNC last year after living in New Mexico since 2014 and completing an inspirational trip to Kyoto, Japan. Upon their return, they spent several months renovating a home off Beaverdam Road and adding a studio and gallery. They are now ready to open the space to guests.
“We are glad to reconnect with good friends, nearby family and associations like the Southern Highland Craft Guild, as well as with the WNC landscape,” says McCurry. “The East-West contrasts in nature continue to be a source of inspiration for our work, including new encaustic pieces.”
Influenced by the lush blue-green landscape and multicolored leaves of the mountains, the duo create ceramic meditations that include hand-built red, green and yellow maple leaves made from clay slabs as well as ceramic prayer towers that often include miniature landscape paintings of mountains and streams.
Textile artist Judy Levine is also new to the Beaverdam Studio Tour. She will show nuno felted scarves and shawls, pieces that are exclusively felted or woven, and small wall pieces that are woven, felted, beaded and embroidered. Levine will demonstrate her techniques and share how she goes about creating her pieces.
“I am very excited to have people come to my home/ studio where I can show my work in a relaxed setting,” she says. “I think we will have an intimate time and get to know each other. I love sharing my textiles and the joy that I get from their creation.”
Levine’s work builds on more than 50 years of employment at major fabric companies where she designed everything from bandanas to draperies to infant bedding. She formed her own company, the North Carolina-based textile firm AboutColor, nearly two decades ago.
Beaverdam Studio Tour is self-guided, with maps available online. All participating studios are located off of Beaverdam Road, accessed from Merrimon Avenue. Signs are posted along the route. Driving distances through the scenic terrain are relatively short, making it easy to complete the tour within a day.
For more information, including a tour map and a full list of participating artists, visit BeaverdamStudioTour.com, fb.me/beaverdamstudiotour or instagram.com/ beaverdamstudiotour.
