Recent visit to Asheville

Joe and I recently took a weekend trip to Asheville, NC. The trees were just changing, so it was a beautiful ride there.

We stopped at The Westbend Vineyard on the way up, then spent a leisurely time roaming through some of the galleries of Asheville. We were driving across the bridge and stumbled upon a party in the River Arts District, so we thought we'd check it out. Turns out we found The Wedge, one of the (surprisingly) many breweries in North Carolina.

So we treated ourselves to a couple homemade brews and hung out with some of the locals. Went to a noodle shop for dinner, then called it a night. Saturday morning we hit the galleries once more. We were looking for a little inspiration, a little something new, fresh air, great surroundings, etc. Asheville is certainly the place for all of the above! We went to the Blue Spiral and other assorted galleries downtown. This is one of my favorite paintings there...

We ending up at Curve Studios, again in the River Arts District. We had visited a couple years ago, but wow! Everything in the city is actually kicked up a notch. We were very impressed with the amount of new galleries, the upgrades the older ones had made and just a new surge of energy overall. Nice! We bought a piece from Jenny Mastin. Both Joe and I agreed this is a fabulous sculpture! A nice addition to our collection.

Later that afternoon, we found ourselves somewhere between Black Mountain and Asheville looking through this HUGE warehouse of antiques. We spent a couple of hours digging through some fantastic furniture. Too cool but very exhausting!

Back to relax for a bit before dinner. We opted for this great little restaurant. I forget what the name of it was, but it was perfect. Great food, great atmosphere and just fabulous spending time together!

I also did a photo shoot with Kitty a couple days ago. Here is one of the shots:

He's not been feeling so great lately. I guess that's what happens when you're a cat and you're 20 something. Hang in there buddy!

On the Road Again...

Here we are again…Lots of updates to do, as once again this is the busiest time of year for me. Art of the Carolinas preparations are going strong. Don’t forget to make your plans and reservations and come and join us for a fantastic artist getaway. November 10th will be here before you know it!


Works of Heart auction has come and gone. The festivities were a little bleak this year, but Joe and I did our part in donations. Joe and Don Mertz did a collaborative piece as well. Here are a couple of photos from the event:

One of my favorite things to do is judge the K-12 entries in the NC State Fair. Jerry’s offers a series of Outstanding Student Awards to the best in K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and high school, plus individual awards in those same categories. I always love especially the youngest group of artistic flair. They are the most original and delightful presentations of all. Here are some of the finalists of the awards. You’ll have to go to the exhibition to see the actual winners. You won’t be disappointed!

If you're ready to celebrate Halloween, here is a spooky treat for you: Legacy Farms Haunted Halloween.
Venture through the haunted house and corn maze. Check out the link for details...if you dare!
Dougy found this spider out at the farm and I thought it was a pretty cool photo the way the sun was creating this wonderful shadow on the side of the house...Just in time for Halloween.

Cindy and Doug arrived on Saturday from Key West. After that long drive, we will be back in the car on the road to Michigan to attend Fr. Dave’s funeral. Fr. Dave was a huge part of everybody’s life that is an Adams. He was loved by so many. The greatest part of the memories we all have is that he was never a judgmental person. He always loved us in spite of ourselves and every time we got together, it was always a huge celebration. Fr. Dave had a knack for really loving life and the people around him and he knew how to bring out the best in us all. That always included Budweiser, good food, stupid jokes and tons of laughing. Not just laughing, but laughing so hard that your gut hurts and your neck feels strained in the morning from solving all the problems in the world and then laughing about it all. Jim, Carol, Mike, Emily, Cindy and I all attended the festivities. And boy what a celebration. There were probably close to 1000 people in attendance including about 100 priests and two bishops. It was truly an honor to have this down to earth loving guy right in our own family. It was also so fun to see all of our relatives. It’s been a while since our last family reunion. When the Adams’ get together, it is no small affair. I’m just so proud to be a part of this wonderful family. Seriously.

R.I.P. Fr. Dave! Keep the beer cold up there and save us a spot!

It's all about Layers

I love the excitement of this time of year. This is what I work so hard for. It seems like all the stokes I put in the fire earlier in the year or all the seeds I sow start sprouting all at once. I work like a crazy woman to make it all mesh together in a wonderful weaving. And I love every second of it! I got up early this morning so I could get a load of laundry going, then get out to the studio to straighten up. I counted five projects as I was cleaning up: CanvaSynergy with my girls from the Carolina Mixed Media Art Guild. The final project will be revealed at Art of the Carolinas 2011 at the Hilton North Raleigh. That's number 1. Still a work in progress, but here it is so far. Not due until next week!

 Project number 2 is the SketchbookProject. I'm just about finished with that one, but I keep adding just one more thing almost every time I step foot in the studio. Here are a couple of shots - again in progress:

Project number 3 is a piece for the White Show at VAE. The problem is, as I was leaving work last evening looking forward to getting back in the studio and working some more on this piece, I get an email from VAE and the subject reads, "White Show Results". Huh? Wait, did a week go by and I actually missed it? Well, so now, maybe I won't make this thing all white after all!

Project number 4 is some silk scarves. Thanks Roberta for this new addiction! I'm just saying, this is way too much fun. I have everything all staged and ready to go. I just need a bit of time and need to make sure that my boiling pot is actually aluminum...No photos of this yet, but I will post as I get going on #4.

And lastly, project number 5: I have this idea in my head and it concerns one of my obsessions: baby dolls. That's all I'm going to say right now. It's just an idea at this point, but I think it might turn out to be a fun one, so we shall see! Let's just say this is one of my inspirations:

Art of the Carolinas is going strong. I just keep plugging away on all the little projects. This year I will definitely NOT be hand dyeing 750 shirts like I did last year, but I do have some fun surprises in store for the workshoppers, staff and instructors! You'll just have to show up and add to all the fun we're going to have. Until next time...