The juried exhibition Connecting to Place: Blue Ridge Craft Trails Invitational 2026 opened in May and features the work of 20 craft artists from Western North Carolina. The invitational, presented by the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area and The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts, is on view at the Thompson Gallery at The Bascom, located in Highlands, through July 25, after which it moves to Mars Landing Galleries in Mars Hill. An opening reception, free and open to the public, will be held Thursday, June 11, beginning at 5 p.m.
Landscape Jar. Terance Painter, artist
This is the third year for this display of WNC’s craft heritage. “I like to think of craft as a socially integrated object, something made that’s not simply appreciated for its beauty but also for a meaning more integrated into daily life,” says M. Anna Fariello, curator of Connecting to Place and a long-time curator of the Blue Ridge Craft Trails. “WNC is known for its high-quality craft, both innovative and traditional handcraft practices. What makes WNC a center of craft is the artists’ knowledge of natural materials and their connection to the place that provides them.”
Among the wearable artwork displayed are two hats created with traditional millinery techniques by Teresa Bouchonnet of Cowee Millinery, a division of Cowee Textiles at the Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center in Franklin. “Each piece begins as a vision, a spark of inspiration, and slowly transforms through careful planning, cutting, stitching and shaping,” says Bouchonnet, who is also a fourth-generation weaver. “The process itself is both an adventure and a meditation, allowing me to express my creativity while engaging with textures, colors and styles that bring each hat to life.”
Susan Coe, who creates functional pottery decorated with sgraffito and Mishima designs inspired by nature, hopes visitors are captivated by the exhibition. “This area is very rural and the artists are scattered and often in tiny communities,” she says. “Having potential customers visit each studio is often not practical or even possible, so exhibiting a collection of work in a well-known gallery such as The Bascom allows people, and especially people from outside the immediate area, to see a variety of works from a wider geographic region.”
Billy Love, The Bascom’s executive director, believes that the Center is a natural setting for the high-quality work on display. “We sit at 4,000 feet in the Southern Appalachians on a campus that grew up out of historic barns and mountain land,” he says. “The setting isn’t just a backdrop, it’s part of the conversation. Craft at this level isn’t just beautiful; it carries the history, landscape and spirit of a region. I hope people walk away feeling more connected to WNC, to the artists who call it home and to the idea that making things by hand is still a powerful, living tradition.”
Second-generation wood artist, craftsman and product designer Desmond Suarez of Sabbath-Day Woods brings more than 40 years’ experience creating in his Asheville studio and sells his work in fine art galleries across the country. “The wood is certified sustainable Appalachian hardwoods with a hand-rubbed Danish oil finish,” he says. “I incorporate hand-tooled copper with natural patina.”
Ilene Kay credits living in the Blue Ridge Mountains with bringing her inspiration and sparking an entirely new line of jewelry—The Blue Ridge Collection—two pieces of which are part of the exhibition. “For the community, craft exhibitions are especially powerful because handmade objects show the maker’s time, touch and personal decisions,” she says. “People connect with craft on a human level—emotionally and physically, not just intellectually. Craft can reflect local materials, history and ways of life, allowing people in the community to feel represented and connected.”
The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area is a non-profit organization that preserves, cultivates and promotes the natural and cultural heritage of 25 WNC counties and the Qualla Boundary. Find out about Blue Ridge Craft Trails and other initiatives at BlueRidgeHeritage.com. The Bascom: A Center for the Visual Arts is located at 323 Franklin Road, Highlands. Learn more at TheBascom.org.
