Toe River Studio Tour this weekend

Toe River Studio Tour
November 30 - December 2
10 am to 5 pm all three days

Artists reception
5:30 - 7:30 Friday November 30th
Spruce Pine TRAC gallery (269 Oak Avenue)

Twice a year, collectors of fine art and craft head to the mountains of Western North Carolina for the Toe River Studio Tour known for over a quarter century as an event of unsurpassed quality, beauty, and innovative thinking. And beginning November 17, a new excitement will crinkle through the air as the Studio Tour Exhibition opens at the Spruce Pine Toe River Arts Gallery (269 Oak Avenue). Each participating studio tour artist and gallery are invited to share two of their best pieces with the public in an exhibit mounted on the gallery floor. Displays are arranged geographically and coordinate with the Tour Guide. With only three tour days and so many studios and artists, choices are difficult. The exhibition allows a viewer an opportunity to plan their adventure. And if they aren’t able to be here for the tour, pieces may be purchased until the end of the year.

“This tour welcomes a record 18 new artists, 13 in their own studios. Every year is unique. The artists change; the work evolves. I’m always excited when the boxes arrive—to see a new artist’s work or the evolution of a more seasoned artist.” said Kathryn Andree, who has been Toe River Arts Exhibits Coordinator for over a decade. The participant shows are the biggest exhibits during the year averaging over 150 pieces on pedestals, tables, walls, with a few bigger pieces relegated to the floor. And they are the most diverse, with media ranging from 2-dimensional to glass to clay, wood, and fiber—something for every palate, every wallet. And it’s all just a sampling of what one will find during tour weekend, November 30-December 2.

Stop by and get a sneak preview of tour participant art at the Spruce Pine Gallery (269 Oak Avenue). Gallery hours are 10:30am to 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday. And don’t forget the “Meet-the-Artists” reception on the first evening of the tour, Friday, November 30. Join artists, staff, and all the volunteers who make the tour the best and one of the longest continually running self-guided tours in the country, as we toast the completion of another great year in the Toe River Arts Region of Western North Carolina. Complete information, including the guide, is available online at www.toeriverarts.org or by calling 828-682-7215.