Artist Lyle Wheeler
Visitors to the Folk Art Center on Saturday, August 9, will find more than just skilled hands at work during the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s annual Wood Day. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., more than two dozen regional artists will showcase the beauty and versatility of Appalachian woodcraft through live demonstrations, interactive displays and a friendly carve-off competition from 1—3 p.m.
“I grew up about a mile from the Folk Art Center, so Wood Day is always homecoming, visiting my roots,” says Derek Hennigar, founder of Ordinary Furniture. This year, Hennigar will be steam bending and laminating strips of wood into a table base, a technique that began with chair components and evolved after a unique commission. “As with most of my innovations, I was challenged by a patron to build an entire table base of a continuous bentwood lamination,” he says. “I have since built many of them in several woods and several shapes.”
The process Hennigar uses speaks to the fusion of artistry and engineering that defines much of the region’s woodworking. “Glue joints add strength and integrity, as seen in the roof beams of the Folk Art Center,” he says. This year’s materials also carry symbolic weight. “I’ll be steaming and bending wood from Helene fallen trees,” he says. “I remember my first windfall wood supply from Hugo in 1989.”
Fellow demonstrator and woodworker Joe Waldroup also draws heavily on his connection to place. “Almost all of my wood material is harvested/salvaged from my hometown in Western North Carolina,” he says. At Wood Day, Waldroup will demonstrate the tools and techniques he uses to create his bowls and abstract sculptures, and he plans to share albums and storyboards so visitors can better understand the transformation from tree to table.
“This has always been an enjoyable event to take part in because it brings in visitors for a close-up view of the art and those who create it,” he says. “It is especially important this year as the Asheville area recovers from the devastation of Helene.”
The Folk Art Center is located at Milepost 382 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, just north of the Highway 70 entrance in east Asheville. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Learn more at SouthernHighlandGuild.org.
