Ever wonder why an artist choses certain images for a painting? Or how a piece of pottery is designed? Or why an art gallery charges the prices it does for a particular work of art?

If you’d like to learn more about the business and creation of hand-crafted art, this Saturday, June 16, downtown Waynesville welcomes you to the Sixth Annual Studio and Gallery Open House and Walking Tour. It’s a free tour through downtown Waynesville’s art district where more than a dozen art galleries and studios showcase local and regional artists.

The tour goes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be potters, weavers, painters, woodcarvers, sculptors and all sorts of artists on hand, so visitors are welcome to ask them questions. About 40 artists are scheduled to be set up throughout the day, and various stores will provide tasty treats and drinks.
According to members of the Downtown Waynesville Studio and Gallery Association, the open house tour is partly about celebrating art.

“First of all, we want it to be fun for everybody,” said David Erickson, co-owner of Twigs & Leaves, an art gallery on Main Street.

But the tour also attempts to educate the public about the business side of this seemingly silent craft industry. Citing estimates from the nationally renowned craft organization Handmade in America, Erickson said the arts and crafts industry generates about $15 to $16 million each year in Haywood County alone.

“People really aren’t aware of its economic impact,” Erickson said.

And gradually over the last several years, Waynesville has built a reputation as an arts friendly town thanks in part to the popularity of Handmade in America and tourism efforts to market so called “craft trails,” where people can plan vacations by looking through listings of art galleries and craft studios.

“We have so many artists and studios in downtown right on Main Street,” said MaryEtta Burr, a resident potter and co-owner of the Burr Studio in downtown Waynesville. “We’re getting better artists all the time.”

Saturday’s tour will bring people into the private art studios that are normally off limits to the public. While the public gets a better idea of how art is created with up-close demonstrations, the gallery owners and studio artists can also learn what kinds of art the public wants.

“They give us a lot of ideas,” Burr said. “We find out what the public wants.”

And hopefully, when people see all the time that goes into a piece of art being created, they can have a greater appreciation for the artist and see why a particular piece costs what it does.

Expect to see a broad mix of talents on Saturday. In addition to resident artists such as weaver Sheree White-Sorrells, potter Kaaren Stoner, watercolorist Jo Kelley, and woodcarver Dennis Ruane, there will be origami demonstrations from Karl Lanier, Native American dancing and singing from Mark Mounce, metal sculpting by Grace Cathey, and flute making by Kevin Shore. O.P. Taylor’s, a toy store in the downtown district, will offer art activities for children. And, as always, there’s a wide selection of local and regional handmade crafts and artwork for sale in the galleries and shops throughout downtown.

For more information, pick up a free Art Studios and Galleries brochure at the downtown Waynesville kiosks or in any of the downtown galleries and studios, or call the Hardwood Gallery at 828.456.3500.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News