Photo by Christine Grubbs
By Sue Wasserman
Come early spring, there’s always an excited buzz among the working member-artists of Toe River Crafts as they ready the gallery for its annual April 1 re-opening. This year, as the gallery reaches a milestone 50 years in business, that buzz is electrifying.
Reminiscences abound. First there’s the history of the sweet, albeit tiny shop, which is located in rural Celo, a community founded in the 1940s, 45 minutes northeast of Asheville. The intentional nature of the community coupled with its proximity to the Penland School of Craft attracted artists from across the country.
Potter Nancy Herman and fiber artist Joyce Johnson, two of the shop’s founding members, still remember when several artists who had moved into the community presented the idea of a shop where they could sell their work. “The community loaned the artists $10,000 for materials and a construction foreman,” Herman says. “Although there were concerns about how the loan would be repaid, community members stepped up and said they would be responsible should we default.” While Johnson knew defaulting wasn’t an option, she says, “never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined we’d still be here 50 years later.”
Toe River Crafts
Some memories, such as the torrential rainstorm of 1977 that caused the South Toe River to breach, come flooding back easily. According to a surveyor, the water rose 25 feet above its usual level. In an article in The Arts Journal from that time, potter and gallery designer Wanda Lea Austin writes: “a layer of shiny, dark brown mud covered the floor. Tiny mouse footprints, and the trails of some small creature imprinted it like a beach at ebb tide. One of Cindy Bringle’s pots lay in the mud. The lower shelves were emptied – the heavy desk was lying on its side.”
Thankfully, there was little damage to the crafts. The artists and community members quickly mobilized to make repairs. “People still remember,” says ceramic artist and Toe River Crafts vice president Carrie DeVee. “When we’re in the midst of heavy storms, we’ll get calls asking whether we need to move art from the lower shelves.”
To say ceramic artist Tria Turrou has a lifetime of Toe River Crafts memories isn’t an understatement. The current president of the shop, Turrou was 15 when she began helping her working member mom, ceramic tile artist Tzadi Turrou. “I grew up inside this building,” the younger Turrou says. “By the time I was a young teen, I could run the shop when help was needed. Once I turned 17 or 18, I became a working member, which felt amazing.”
More than 20 years later, that feeling of amazement remains. On her days working in the shop, she can’t help but admire the array of colorful pottery, glass, jewelry, handmade books and brooms, wood, fiber art, photography and more that line the shelves and walls.
“We have a waiting list of artists who want to be part of the gallery,” she says. “More than 90 percent of our artists live within 12 miles. The community is still behind us as we look at expansion to be able to serve more local artists and better serve the community through creative programming. It was, and continues to be, a magical place.”
While the doors open on April 1, the 50th anniversary celebration kicks off Saturday, April 6, with an ice cream social and book signing for member-artist Kate Smyre Meth. In July, the Yancey County Library will host a commemorative exhibit featuring photos, articles and more from the gallery’s archives.
To learn about anniversary events being held throughout the year, visit the gallery on Facebook at Toe River Crafts, or call 336.398.7201.
