Artists in Asheville February 23, 2018 – Posted in: Uncategorized

Whenever I go to an art fair to sell my work, customers come into my booth exclaiming how many artists are at the show from Asheville. I joke that we should all rent a bus and drive to the show together. But seriously, there are a lot of great artists in Asheville! But since a lot of them work from home, or sell their work mainly outside of town, a lot of visitors to Asheville only know about a few of the artists here. And if these visitors stay downtown, they may only see art geared towards tourists, like pictures of mountains or beer (not that there’s anything wrong with that!) but there’s a lot more going on with art-making here if you dig a little deeper. So I’ve compiled a list of just some of my favorite artists in town. If you are planning a visit here, consider making a special trip outside of downtown to find these talented people in their studios:

Kreh Mellick: spotteddeerMy studio mate, Amber introduced me to Kreh’s beautiful and strange ink drawings. I like that her work looks like an old folk tale, but I’m not sure what the story is. It’s very mysterious and charming.

 

 

 

brennaBrenna Dee Ceramics: I love Brenna’s new vases of crystalline pottery. I have one in my office that I look at everyday. It looks like a giant magical seed pod. I’m super excited about her new matte glazes too that I think will highlight the feeling of her work being a nature object.

 

 

 

juliecovingtonJulie CovingtonHer pottery designs look a bit like cyanoptypes, the sun prints you would make as a kid. Simple, but capturing the essence of a plant. I also like the colors she uses, muted blues and greens make the pieces look comforting, like a well-loved sweater.

 

 

 

akiraAkira Satake: Everybody in Asheville knows about Akira, but I had to add him because he’s one of my favorite artists here. I bought one of his cups for my husband and I end up using it almost everyday because in this age of smooth screens, it’s refreshing to hold on to something with a pleasing rough texture.

 

 

lorisAbacus Corvus: This is actually a collaborative business between two sisters, Jocelyn and Corina. I bought their playing cards with protective spells on them. I leave the cards in special places throughout my house to remind me of intentions. They also make delightful patches, like this giant slow Loris print that still makes me smile every time I see it.