The 2026 season gets under way at Mica Gallery on Wednesday, April 1, as the artist-run gallery resumes daily hours and presents new works by a variety of Western North Carolina artists. Among them are Melisa Cadell and Tom Spleth who individually explore our humanity figuratively through observations of those who surround us.
Faces From the Crowd. Melisa Cadell, artist
Melisa Cadell, who is a fulltime teaching artist at Mitchell County High School in Bakersville, works in clay with underglazes and graphite, depicting people she discovers in her daily routines. Titled Faces from the Crowd, her series of clay tile portraits capture her interest in observation and the emotions of her subjects. Her works are evocative, and often introspective, encouraging viewers to reflect on the everyday complexities of lived experiences. Some of the work she produces is not for sale but rather used to create exhibitions of the ephemeral and the non-permanent.
“I am in awe of human beings,” Cadell says. “We walk on this earth in the midst of difficult situations and against impossible odds, yet we still have the capacity to see the good that exists and to do good.” Her latest work, she says, considers the scarcity of empty spaces in human lives, sacred spaces for reflection and quiet. “I am interested in communicating how we function in such a busy and information-laden realm,” she says. “As humans, we need to dwell in a place that is not exhausted of its empty spaces.”
Man Recognizes His Own Sadness. Tom Spleth, artist
Tom Spleth’s career in art has also been enriched by sharing his knowledge with students at universities, arts centers and, regionally, at Penland School of Craft. Once deeply committed to ceramics, Spleth now spends his time drawing and painting. “At my age of nearly 80,” he says, “I am not thinking about promoting my work but rather of rigorously making work. I do enjoy having people see it and getting their feedback.”
His subjects range from people to plants and sometimes into storytelling narratives. He works with both brush and pigment and, more recently, with digital tools such as Procreate. “These works are deeply personal,” he says. “They are not specific people but a culmination of human experience. I want viewers to see my use of color to convey emotion. I hope they appreciate the intensity of the color and emotion, the saturation of color.” Some of his newest watercolors are printed on metal both to offer him a way to control the size and because he likes the flatness and the contemporary look of the medium.
On Sunday, April 12, at 2 p.m., join Mica artist Jim Cooper of Crickets Forge Studio for a program on raising copper and inlaying enamels.
Mica is an artist-run gallery of fine art and contemporary craft located at 37 North Mitchell Avenue, Bakersville. The gallery is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12–5 p.m. on Sunday. Follow the gallery at MicaGalleryNC.com, on Facebook at Mica Gallery NC or on Instagram @ micagallerync.
