week of 4/3/02
 
 
 

The art of spontaneity
SMN
Ever wonder how a painter gets the colors of the sky just right? Or maybe you’d like to watch a metal sculptor at work. Or a jeweler. Or a potter. But then, some of those pieces of art take hours, maybe days to create, and you don’t have the time to stand and wait.

Well, some local artists have just the event for you. It’s called “Quick Draw.” Yes, the idea might sound like one of those gunslinger movies with a lightning fast desperado pulling out his six-shooter, but this particular Quick Draw is for artists. On Saturday, April 13, about 40 area artists will converge at the Waynesville Country Club, a gun will go off at 7 p.m., and the artists will have exactly one hour to create and finish a piece of artwork. At 8 p.m., the gun will go off again to end the process and artists will have 15 minutes to sign and frame or mount their 60-minute masterpiece.

In addition to painters, potters, sculptors and some of the traditional crafting skills you might expect to find, there will also be artists making stained glass, puppets, mosaics, jewelry and gourd work. There’s even a storyteller and a glass blower. Area artists have been invited from Waynesville, Tuckasegee, Sylva, Hot Springs, Hendersonville, Clyde, Murphy, Fletcher, Maggie Valley and Asheville.

After the artists complete their pieces, they will be promptly offered up for auction at 8:15 p.m., with the artist receiving half the proceeds. The other half will go toward other Waynesville art events throughout the year.

The following day, Sunday, April 14, nearly a dozen Waynesville studios and galleries will host artist receptions where the public can learn more about the artists and their work. These studios and galleries include Earthworks, Burr Studio, Ridge Runners, Cedar Hill, the Grace Cathey metal sculpture gallery, Twigs & Leaves, Deja View, North Main Street Studios and Mud Dabbers.

It’s a unique, up-close opportunity to see art as it’s being made and a chance for art novices and enthusiasts to learn more about the arts and crafts they enjoy purchasing. Tickets for the Quick Draw event are $25 per person and $50 for a couple, and this includes a delicious selection of hors d’oeuvres. Quick Draw tickets can be purchased at the Lomo Grill or at any of the downtown Waynesville art galleries or artist studios. Gretchen Clasby, a Waynesville artist and owner of Cedar Hill Studio, is the coordinator for Quick Draw, which is being billed as a first-time event that organizers hope to turn into an annual show to mark on the calendar.

For the past few weeks, artists participating in Quick Draw have been arduously practicing for the event. The trick is to produce a quality piece that challenges the artist without dragging on past the hour limit, so the artist has to stay focused so as not to waste precious time.

Kaaren Stoner, pottery artist at Twigs & Leaves, decided to create a leaf-strewn fountain out of clay, but her first attempt took about three hours.

“So I had to scale it back considerably,” she said.

Subsequent attempts were closer to the hour limit, but she’s still working on finishing under an hour. The piece will still have to be fired, of course, so technically it won’t be finished within an hour, but Stoner will offer it up to be auctioned and whoever wins the piece will get it after it’s fired.

Other than minor exceptions like that, Quick Draw will be emphasizing the idea that a piece must be completed within one hour. For some artists, it might seem like a stress test, but for others it’s a way to hone concentration skills and create in a different frame of mind.

“It’s a good exercise to go through,” Stoner admits, relishing in the challenge of testing her techniques under pressure. “It’s really going to be a ton of fun.”

For more information about Quick Draw or to reserve tickets, call 828.452.4128.