Henry Gardner, artist
On Friday, May 22, from 5-7 p.m., Mica Gallery hosts Sip and Browse, with both established and new artists presenting work for the spring season. Each year, Mica welcomes visitors with open hours seven days a week beginning April 1 and running through the end of December. The gallery’s Bakersville location is nicely situated for a stopover on the way to Roan Mountain or from a visit to the Penland Gallery. Mica Gallery will also take part in this year’s Toe River Studio Tour June 5–7, with tour maps available at the gallery in advance.
In 2026, four Western NC artists will add their work to the gallery. Henry Gardner, of Saluda, creates carved wooden chess pieces as well as specialty carved spoons; Deb Karash, of Asheville, produces colorful jewelry using Prismacolor pencils drawn atop silver and copper surfaces; Marian Miller, of Mars Hill, makes jewelry using precious and semi-precious stones and Connie Karleta Sales, of Bakersville, works in mixed and digital media.
Lisa Joerling, a Mica member who works closely with the guest artists, met Henry Gardner at the Hellbender Festival in Spruce Pine and found his work to be elegantly simple and sensitive. “I also liked inviting a young artist to be part of Mica,” Joerling says. “Deb Karash is someone I studied with. She is an incredible teacher with a strong sense of color and design and impeccable craftsmanship.”
Marian Miller’s work had previously been part of Mica before she moved from the area. “We were thrilled when she and her husband returned to the mountains and established studios in Mars Hill,” Joerling says. And when Joerling visited Connie Karleta Sales’ studio, she says, “Her work took my breath away. I found the work haunting and mysterious, simple and powerful.”
Mica’s six member artists, combined with more than 40 invited artists, continue to show their sculptural and functional works in ceramics, prints, drawings, paintings, jewelry, textiles, wood, collage, metals, mixed media and books. Each artist’s work is featured on Mica’s website, which was updated and refreshed recently by graphic designer Randall Landry.
Mica is an artist-run gallery of fine art and contemporary craft located at 37 North Mitchell Avenue in Bakersville. Learn more at MicaGalleryNC.com, and follow on Facebook at Mica Gallery NC or on Instagram @micagallerync.
