Browse Toe River Artist Studios November 11-13

The Toe River Arts Studio Tour will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, November 11–13. This year’s free, self-guided tour features 83 studios and eight galleries. The Fall Studio Tour Preview Exhibition, which provides a glimpse into each studio and helps visitors plan their route for the tour, is now open in the Kokol Gallery and runs through the end of the year. There will also be a meet-the-artist reception at the gallery on Friday, November 11, from 5:30—7:30 p.m.

Deana Blanchard and Chuck Young have participated in the tour since 1996, doing their first three tours at the studios of other artists before opening their own studio in 1999 along with four friends. The tradition of hosting friends during the tour continues for the pair of glass and metal artists, with hopes that mixed media jewelry artist Donna Price will be joining them this year from Austria. “We’ll have all our current body of work, metal and enamel sculpture, gates, flowers and other fun things,” says Blanchard. “We don’t demonstrate per se, but we’ll have work in progress and we’ll be showing folks around the tools and accoutrements of our work. The tour provides an opportunity for local folks and tourists to meet artists and see how they work in their studios. We hope this gives folks an understanding of how our lives work and what we’re up to.”

This is the fourth tour for painter Allison Edge, who will be displaying her original oil paintings, watercolors and drawings as well as selling a selection of limited-edition giclée prints of her work. She will also be sharing studio space with photographer Ivaylo Georgiev. “The tour highlights the vast pool of creative talent our community offers, and allows the public to connect with artists and their work in a unique way,” says Edge. “Give yourself more time than you think you will need to see the studios you want to visit. If I weren’t participating, I’d spend all three days exploring studios myself.”

The Kokol Gallery is located at Toe River Arts in Spruce Pine at 269 Oak Avenue. Gallery hours are 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Find a mobile-friendly map at ToeRiverStudioTour.org. For more information, call 828.765.0520 or visit ToeRiverArts.org.