Mountainscape. Jo-Ann Jensen, artist
After skipping a year during COVID, the popular Henderson County Self-Guided Studio Tour is back with 65 artists ready to open their studios to visitors from Friday, October 21, through Sunday, October 23. This year’s theme, Fall for Art, references both the many works on display and the scenic autumn drive through the county to view them.
“We have veteran participants and 31 artists who are doing the tour for the first time,” says Art League of Henderson County president Diane Dean. “Most of those first-time artists are also new residents in our growing arts community.”
Anne Murray, artist
Bookbinder and papermaker Anne Murray joins the tour for the first time at her studio in East Flat Rock. Murray will demonstrate papermaking, marbling and bookbinding on a rotating basis throughout the weekend.
“One of my favorite activities is educating people about the work I do,” says Murray. “I am excited to have people see what is possible and perhaps be inspired to learn some aspect of these crafts themselves.”
Other mediums represented include textiles, clay, glass, jewelry and painting in oil, pastel, watercolor and acrylic. Styles range from traditional to contemporary. At Dalleen Jackson’s Peaceful Pond Studio, in Hendersonville, visitors will see work inspired by the busy natural environment of the pond outside her studio window.
“For the first time in several years, I am looking forward to again sharing with others the varied skills involved in creating pottery,” says Jackson. “From the mathematics of calculating different firing times in the kiln to the science of blending different chemicals to create glazes, the act of making pottery can be considered a practice of art meeting science and math.”
Prairie Storm. Laura Bell, artist
At Laura Bell’s Flat Rock studio, visitors will see acrylic landscape paintings that gravitate toward the power of nature, including motion and intensity of storms, windblown grasses and water. Bell’s current work explores abstract impressionism and incorporates texture. She has recently begun painting urban landscapes and cityscapes as well.
The Art House, in East Flat Rock, will show the work of several artists including Lynn Padgett, Bill Abel, Veronika Hart, Susan Johnston, Judith Kolva and Jo-Ann Jensen.
“It will be very gratifying to get firsthand feedback and to see how people respond to my work,” says Jensen, a fiber artist whose current focus is on creating fabric landscapes with silk painting and stitching.
In addition to the self-guided tour, several plein air painters, who work outdoors in natural light, will be demonstrating their process around the grounds of Marked Tree Vineyard in Flat Rock. Marked Tree was recently named Number 5 of the top vineyards in the US by USA Today.
A comprehensive Fall for Art tour guide features artist profiles and photographs of work by each participating artist. The companion map of studio locations enables visitors to plan their own custom tour. Studio hours and days vary, and are listed in the guide maps available at the County Visitor Center, a variety of galleries and at each studio. Tickets are not required.
Learn more at ArtLeagueHVL.org.
