Mama Bird – Let Me Take You Under my Wing. Cynthia Cutting, artist
The spring Weaverville Art Safari studio tour will take place on Saturday, April 29, and Sunday, April 30, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. This free, juried event has been a community staple since 2001 and provides the opportunity for visitors to enjoy the art work of more than 50 participating artists in the greater Weaverville area. A diversity of media are represented in the tour, including ceramics, glass, photography, sculpture, jewelry, painting, metalwork, fiber art, mixed media and woodwork.
Cynthia Cutting works with a variety of media to create eco art, which celebrates the natural environment and its impact on our collective and personal lives. “Eco art is one way to increase people’s engagement with the landscape they live in,” she says. “I also like to stress that this kind of art making experience is accessible to all and can feel important and enriching. As an educator, I very much want my visitors to feel empowered to explore their creativity.”
Tea Party. Kelly Barone, artist. Courtesy of the collection of Robin and Frank Mancuso
Cutting will open her studio this spring in her second year of participation in the Weaverville Art Safari. “I will have several stations where visitors can create mini artworks to take with them or to add to a community-made installation,” she says. “I think they will enjoy the feeling of the studio, which is a combination of lots of natural ingredients, art making materials, artworks on display and a welcoming learning space. The stories that emerge as visitors move through the artwork are so interesting: the impact an art teacher had on them in their youth, memories of family members, visions of places they’ve visited, recent health issues or challenges and how those have highlighted the value of experiences like the Safari.”
Kelly Barone, owner of The Creative Collective: Ceramic Design Studio, was juried into the Weaverville Art Safari in 2013. “I took years off from showing my work to pursue continued advanced studies in ceramics and to teach, so this is my first show back in the saddle,” she says.
In her warm and welcoming home studio with mountain views, Barone looks forward to sharing the tools and equipment she uses to create her finished ceramics. “After years of experimentation with various clays, methods of forming and kiln work, I have settled in on design of the form being the strongest aspect of my work,” she says. “From the drawings to the maquettes and models, I find the design process to be challenging as it takes critical thinking and problem-solving skills.” Visitors can also enjoy meeting the studio’s “chief greeting officer,” Gwendolyn the Golden Retriever.
“Weaverville is a community of easygoing, friendly, ‘home town’ people,” says Barone. “This event allows visitors to enjoy the graciousness of southern charm and hospitality that our artists treasure.”
For more information, including a studio tour map and details about participating artists, visit WeavervilleArtSafari.com.
