Gina Malone, editor
The most captivating thing about the arts, for me, is how a work, whether it be a poem or a piece of music or a painting, can have one meaning for one person and something else entirely for another—and there’s no desire to argue the point. The ambiguity is part of the appeal. Artist David V. Eckert says of Beach Chair Umbrella on this issue’s cover that it calls to mind that peaceful time of having the beach to one’s self in the morning. When I look at it, however, it speaks to me of summer’s end, that last wistful visit to the empty shore to gaze out upon the horizon, reflect upon the end of carefree summer days and prepare for autumn, coming as surely as that next wave.
Harvests are the theme of our Plough to Pantry section, with Judith Canty Graves and Robert Turner marveling at the abundance of gardens large and small. Here, too, find information about September’s ASAP Farm Tour, when farms and farmers throughout Western North Carolina welcome visitors eager to spend a day or two in the country.
Art events not to be missed in August and September include the annual Come to Leicester Studio Tour, Penland School of Craft’s auction and Resilience: The Heart of Ukraine, an exhibition of stunning photographs by photographer Michael Andrews at Toe River Arts’ Kokol Gallery in Spruce Pine. And then there’s First Friday Burnsville and the always gorgeous pairing of art and flowers at The Gallery of Flat Rock’s Art in Bloom.
Mark calendars for the Carolina Mountains Literary Festival coming up in September and featuring as keynote speaker Jason Mott (Hell of a Book), and the East End/Valley Street Heritage Festival, a celebration on August 26 of community, history and culture in one of Asheville’s oldest neighborhoods.
With summer, as we know it, drawing to a close, don’t forget to dance, drink some wine, get out on the water, watch the birds and, importantly, care for yourself.
See you in September!
Gina Malone can be reached at gina@thelaurelofasheville.com