Mica, a cooperative gallery of fine art and contemporary craft in Bakersville, will feature five of its members with special exhibitions in July, August and September. Mica displays the work of all members and invited guest artists throughout its 9-month season.
Sondra Dorn and Teresa Pietsch will take the spotlight in July. Dorn is a mixed media artist whose paintings abstract the landscape and her natural surroundings.
Clematis plate. Teresa Pietsch, artist
“I take many photographs and examine the world around me as if through a microscope,” says Dorn. Her new work will feature gestural black-and-white gel plate monotypes with watercolor.
Pietsch, who finds imagery and inspiration by walking her dogs in the woods, creates ceramics made of earthenware with colored slips. She decorates the surfaces of her functional forms as if each cup or pitcher is a page from a sketchbook.
In August, the focus shifts to potter Gay Smith who will fill the gallery with light through candleholders, menorahs, candelabras, containers to hold candles and lamps. Smith uses porcelain clay for its sensuous form and fires in a soda kiln for vibrant color and the marks it leaves on the edges of the pots.
David Ross and Vicki Essig will show new work in September. Fifty years after first studying ceramics at Appalachian State University, Ross continues to delight in making high-fired stoneware and porcelain platters. Coastal images from his childhood in Florida and mountain images of hummingbirds, bears and trout are drawn onto the surfaces of his functional works.
“When people use my work, I want them to connect with their own memories of the animals I depict,” says Ross.
Essig, known for her intricate and intimate work with silk, will continue her exploration of the mineral mica through her handwoven pieces along with a collection of sculptural books that include components of the gallery’s namesake. Essig’s work speaks to the strength in what might appear to be quite fragile.
Mica is located at 37 Mitchell Avenue, Bakersville. Hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 12–5 p.m. The gallery continues to follow guidance from the CDC and state of North Carolina for controlling the spread of COVID-19. For more information, call 828.688.6422 or visit MicaGalleryNC.com. Follow the gallery on Facebook at Mica Gallery NC or on Instagram at micagallerync.
