Arts Galleries

New Work, New Members at Mica Gallery in Bakersville

Camellia Japonica Woodcut. Jean McLaughlin, artist

Mica, a cooperative gallery of fine art and contemporary craft in Bakersville, is now open for its 2022 season. Mica displays the work of its members and invited guest artists on a rotating basis. Founding member Jenny Lou Sherburne will take Mica’s spotlight in May. A potter for more than 30 years, Sherburne makes colorful, functional works. Through her pottery, she strives to reflect her ideal that “our lives can be imbued with a sense of energy and joy which grows when shared.”

Double-spouted Vase. Jenny Lou Sherburne, artist

Member Lisa Joerling’s work will be featured in June. Joerling works in jewelry and ceramic sculpture, creating whimsical animal sculptures that have developed an enthusiastic base of regional followers. Joerling describes hearing from collectors that her pieces “make them laugh every time they see them,” as one of her greatest joys.

“We need more laughter in our lives and animals so easily evoke joy,” she says.

Work by Jean McLaughlin, one of two new gallery members, will also be highlighted in June. McLaughlin works with a variety of printmaking techniques from woodcuts and lithographs to painterly and stencil-based monoprints. Her subject matter links a love of landscape, family history, language and pattern.

“Everything is a self-portrait in some way,” she says.

McLaughlin was director of Penland School of Craft for 20 years and a program director at the NC Arts Council prior to that. Although she completed a printmaking program in the early 1970s, she waited until 2018 to bring her own studio practice into focus.

“I was in studios with artists for 45 years, all the while looking forward to spending each day in one myself,” she says.

Nathan Favors, also new to Mica, is a woodturner of functional and sculptural objects who moved to the area five years ago from a small community near Philadelphia. Prior to woodturning, Favors made scientific machines and ran a landscaping and tree removal business. In 1998, after attending a woodturning convention, he knew he had found his calling. Each piece he makes reflects his love of nature and takes, on average, a year to dry before he turns it on the lathe. Favors’ work will be featured in November.

“I love to study a raw piece of wood and then expose the exquisite patterns hidden inside,” says Favors.

Located at 37 Mitchell Avenue in Bakersville, Mica is open daily, Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 12—5 p.m. For more information, call 828.688.6422 or visit MicaGalleryNC.com. Follow the gallery on Facebook at Mica Gallery NC or on Instagram at micagallerync.

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