Maters. John Sperry, artist
In celebration of the harvest season, American Folk Art & Framing presents Farm to Table, opening in the gallery Friday, October 2, at 11 a.m. with a reception from 5–8 p.m. “From practical pieces of pottery to paintings that create portals of pastoral bliss, Farm to Table has something to offer every gardener, homesteader and shepherd—no matter if those are realized dreams or not,” says gallery owner Julia Mills. “Ripe tomatoes, chickens scratching in the yard, long hikes through the woods and bucolic homesteads all await you in this cultivated collection.”
Plant a Seed. Church Going Mule, artist
Church Goin Mule is an artist who lives in the Mississippi Delta, but invites North Carolina into her work as well. “I spent summers as a child in Morganton, and so from Morganton to Mississippi, all of the memories and stories in between influence and inform my work,” she says. “Mules have a long history in both places, especially as it relates to farming. My grandfather plowed with mules in NC, and many of the bluesmen here played songs about the mules they farmed with.”
The bounty of her own garden, the pleasure of sharing with neighbors and the miracle of the growing season are themes she embraces. “One painting, titled Resilience, is a notion familiar to gardeners and storm survivors alike,” she says. “There is something amazing about the chance to begin again, to keep going, another year, another chance, to never give up on your garden or on your life. Okra is in that painting, because it starts producing early in the summer and keeps going long after the rest of the garden has played out. Our okra is about 12 feet tall right now, and still producing beautiful yellow blooms and hardy okra pods for eating.”
Minoan Bull Vase. Shawn Ireland, artist
Potter Shawn Ireland has been with American Folk Art & Framing for nearly 25 years. For this show, he plans to display pots that are made to be used in home and kitchen. “Some are simple in nature for eating from, serving or holding flowers, while others are what I call Animalware,” he says. “These pots with animal elements are more sculptural in nature but still functional.”
Ireland finds folk art and pottery from all over the world inspiring, and on a recent trip to Greece, Cycladic ware from 2600 BCE caught his eye. “I’m experimenting with some new wild clays local to Athens, GA that will be used in my pots and in new glazes having drier surfaces reminiscent of the Bronze Age Aegean pots,” he says, adding, “I like the less refined qualities of folk pots: the evidence of the natural materials they were made from and the marks burnt in by the kiln firing.”
Other artists contributing work to Farm to Table include Kent Ambler, Sonya Clemons, Winton and Rosa Eugene, Ellen Langford, John Sperry, Liz Sullivan and Trés Taylor.
American Folk Art & Framing is located at 64 Biltmore Avenue in Asheville. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit AmeriFolk.com or call 828.281.2134.
