Penland at SOFA Chicago

Nov 6-8, Chicago IL. Please join Penland School of Crafts at the 2009 Chicago Exposition of Sculpture Objects and Functional Art, a.k.a SOFA Chicago. Held at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, this year’s expostion runs November 6 - 8 with a gala premiere on Thursday, November 5. Penland will have an information table for the duration of the fair.Of special note at this year’s fair is a Ferrin Gallery solo exhibition booth by Penland neighbor and recent resident artist Anne Lemanski. There will be a reception for Anne at the booth at 6:30 PM on Thursday. She will also speak about her work in the booth at 11:00 AM on Saturday. Read more...

Fall Art Safari Tour

Nov 2-3, 10AM- 6PM. Self-guided driving tour of many of the various artists' studios tucked away in the countryside communities of Weaverville, Barnardsville, and Alexander. The self-guided studio tours are held the last full weekend in April and the first full weekend in November, coinciding with the beautiful spring and fall seasons in the magnificent Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina. The tours are free and open to the public, and some artists' studios are open year-round by appointment.  Read more...

Thread Through the Mountains, Quilt Trail Road Rally

Nov 7  in Burnsville NC. The Quilt Trails' Road Rally, Thread Through the Mountains,  is full of fun and prizes. Contestants will be given a list of 15 quilt blocks to find, along with maps. The goal is to find the blocks by driving the fewest miles. First, second and third prizes will be awarded along with a grand prize. All prizes are functional works by local artists. The grand prize was made by Rolf Holmquist and is a large, yard-art birdhouse made from old barn wood and contains a quilt block on the front of it. The Rally will take place rain or shine. Online registration at: (www.quilttrailswnc.org) for $25 until October 30, $35 after the 30th. 25% of the proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity. For details visit www.quilttrailswnc.org or call 828-682-7331.

Open House at Turtle Island Pottery

Oct 31, 10:00AM - 4:00PM, Turtle Island Pottery, Bat Cave Road Old Fort NC. A house full of individually handcrafted functional wares, art pottery and sculptures. Turtle Island Pottery produces a very popular line of functional stoneware. Bowls, mugs, baking dishes, pitchers, tumblers, utensil jars, serving platters and more. The pottery has become very recognizable with its opaque white glaze and hand brushed decorations of blue flowers with green and yellow accents and dragonflies.For more information, call 828-669-2713 or visit http://www.TurtleIslandPottery.com.