Blue Ridge Arts in the Park Event a Success

Community

Blue Ridge held its 35th-annual Arts in the Park festival over the Memorial Day weekend. The weather was great and the event, which featured the work of over 170 artists, was a huge success. The Festival is hosted by the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association, a non-profit arts council that operates the Blue Ridge Arts Center. The association has only five part-time employees; the rest of the work is done by an army of volunteers. According to the BRAC website, the event draws somewhere around 15,000 visitors every year.

This year Arts in the Park featured a range of fun activities for the whole family, including a Children’s Area with face painting and balloons, a Euro-Bungy (see the photo below), a chainsaw sculpting demo, skits by the Blue Ridge Community Theater, and live music by Blue Ridge Grass and Open Mic Atlanta.

As Marketing Consultant Jennifer Danner explained, the association strives to showcase only high-quality work by screening each applicant with what’s known as a “jury” critique before they are accepted. The level of craftsmanship and talent on display was indeed quite impressive. I took the chance to meet a few of the artists and share some of their work with our readers.

Marshall Peterson of Murphy, NC had a unique set of wooden pottery on display, all made without the use of a lathe. Marshall uses a variety of exotic, beautiful woods, including Ambrosia Maple, African Padauk, Zebra Wood, and Canary Wood for vases, lamp bases, and nesting container sets:

Marshall Peterson
Marshall Peterson’s work
Marshall Peterson’s work

Warren Glover, of Cleveland, GA, had an impressive set of his custom-made knives on display. His work includes hunting knives, skinning knives, bird and fish knives, kitchen knives, and utility knives. Mr. Glover’s cutlery features a high level of detailing and craftsmanship:

Warren Glover’s work
Warren Glover’s work
Warren Glover’s work

Rick and Sue Malsney, of Woodstock, GA, had a booth full of quality, wheel-turned stoneware finished with their own home made glazes. The Malsneys are full-time potters who work out of their home, which includes two kilns and two pottery wheels.

Sue Malsney
Malsney pottery
Malsney pottery

Graham White, a retired gentleman from England who now lives with his wife in Murphy, NC, specializes in fine wood turning. Mr. White’s work is unique in that he likes to use burrels, or “knots” and worm-eaten wood from local forests for his creations. After turning his pieces on a lathe, Mr. White uses layer after layer of varnish to achieve a high gloss:

Mr. White’s woodwork
Mr. White’s woodwork
Mr. White’s woodwork
Mr. White’s woodwork

Dwight Matheny and his wife Jeanne brought an interesting change of pace to the festival with their Southeast U.S. outdoor adventure specialty maps. The Mathenys’ (who have both previously worked as artists) Backroads Less Traveled maps feature water falls, hiking trails, white water spots, fishing spots, campgrounds, restaurants, rivers, lakes, and many other features not found on standard maps or via GPS.

Dwight Matheny’s Backroads Less Traveled maps
Dwight Matheny’s Backroads Less Traveled maps (a corner of a 2 1/2 foot-wide map)
Dwight Matheny’s Backroads Less Traveled maps

The company currently has maps available for Northeast Georgia, Western North Carolina, and Southeast Tennessee, though other maps are in development. See the company’s website for more information.

Aside from dozens of artist booths, the festival had a kids’ area, plenty of Blue Ridge’s famous barbeque, and live entertainment. Make sure to come check out the next Arts in the Park event, scheduled for the second weekend in October.

Corey Brennan and Nia of Atlanta ride the Euro Bungy at the Blue Ridge Arts in the Park festival

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