WAC Gallery Information for September 2009

If you aren’t at the Jones House Community Center on Friday September 4th, you are missing the fun!

An evening of music, food, cake walks, and raffles begins at 4:30 with a special fundraiser of the Watauga Arts Council.  Bluegrass and Barbeque Bonanza will be held on the lawn under the shade of the maple trees until 7 p.m.

From 7 – 9 p.m. is the monthly gallery reception to welcome two exhibits to the galleries: Blue Ridge Fiber Guild and Framing the AIDS Crisis: A Photo Essay of Hope from Samaritan's Purse.

The Blue Ridge Fiber Guild exhibit in the Mazie Jones Gallery features the work of spinners; weavers, quilters, felters, and crocheters. Originally formed in 1983 with members from Avery, Ashe, Mitchell and Watauga Counties in North Carolina and some members from just over the state line in Tennessee, to share ideas and attend workshops, the group reorganized in 2004, after a few years of dwindling interest.

The group meets at Western Watauga Center in Sugar Grove where a class for weavers also meets the third Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. During the winter, meetings are held on the third Saturday morning so no one has to drive in the snow or ice in the dark.  

The meetings present opportunities for its members to share the knowledge and skill that members bring to the table. In addition to formal programs on such varied topics as paper cutting, knitting with beads, ribbon embroidery, and the exploration of color images using computer software, this exchange of knowledge is done through workshops and also through Show and Tell, which could also be called Show and Help! Members are always willing to suggest solutions and assist each other in problem solving. Some of the workshops have been chemical dyeing, silk scarf dyeing, braiding, spindler spinning, color studies and visits to various area studios. New ideas for activities are always welcomed. 

The Blue Ridge Fiber Guild finds as its mission keeping alive the traditions of fiber crafts. Demonstrations of weaving and spinning at Heritage celebrations help let the public know that these crafts are not gone and forgotten. There is nothing like watching the youngsters trying to figure out how that wheel REALLY works. Children and adults alike stand for long periods of time mesmerized by the wheel, its speed and collecting yarn on the bobbins. The Guild sets up looms so that visitors to the demonstration can get a hands on experience and understanding of how weaving works. Everything from hand dyed roving, to yarns, and finished woven and felted items can be found.

 Framing the AIDS Crisis: A Photo Essay of Hope from Samaritan's Purse is on display in the Open Door Gallery.  The photos, taken by Samaritan’s Purse photographers, document the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

HIV/AIDS is the largest pandemic this generation has ever seen. An estimated 33 million people currently are living with the disease, and 2 million die from AIDS-related illnesses each year,according to a UNAIDS, Report on the global AIDS epidemic, August 2008. To put this in perspective, imagine the deaths caused by the 2004 tsunami—and multiply them by 10. That’s how many people will die of AIDS-related illnesses in 2009.

This exhibit highlights some of the underlying issues that contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS internationally, but don't expect to see wasted bodies and hopeless faces here. With a focus on sharing the message that "There is hope," Samaritan's Purse sees HIV/AIDS as more than a disease. Rather, it is an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate Christ-like love, compassion and grace to people who may never otherwise experience it.  

Samaritan's Purse, a nondenominational Christian relief organization, responds to the HIV/AIDS crisis through Biblically based prevention education and compassionate care. Since 2003, the organization has equipped more than 4,200 leaders in 18 countries to address the issue in their own communities. Within six years, Samaritan’s Purse plans to reach nearly 700,000 people with basic facts about the disease and how to protect themselves from infection. Additionally, countless volunteer teams have been mobilized across the globe to provide home-based care for those with AIDS.

For more information on Samaritans Purse and its work with HIV/AIDS, please visit www.samaritanspurse.org/bethevirus

In the parlor, Maggie Bishop will be signing books. Stop by the Jones House and chat with this award-winning regional author of a mystery series, Appalachian Adventure Mysteries, and two romance novels set in the Mountains of North Carolina in the Boone area. "I started with romance and have turned to murder," She said.

In Perfect for Framing, greed and a lust for power led to murder in a clash of personal versus public needs. Murder at Blue Fallshas Jemma who leads trail rides on her parents’ guest ranch as a suspect in the murder of neighborhood dogs and well as a man. Emeralds in the Snow involves skiing at Sugar Mountain, an emerald mine, and a cold case murder. Award winning Appalachian Paradise takes place on a five-day backpacking trip in the spring amongst the bears, boars and girl scouts. Maggie's fun book is now available. Meow Means Me! Now! is a rhyming feline allegory with poetry and photos. This gift book is a departure from her novels but sprang from her love of cats. Think Dr. Suess meets Marley & Me.

Maggie Bishop hikes and writes in the mountains of North Carolina where she settled in 1993 with her husband and cat. Every time they travel, they seek out other mountains but none are as exciting as the ancient Appalachians. When asked, "What do you do?" her answer is, "Entertain with word pictures." Through her books, readers escape to the mountains.

She was chosen as one of "100 Incredible East Carolina University Women" for literature and leadership. She's an Air Force brat who put herself through ECU and received a MBA degree, a former manufacturing executive, founder and past president of High Country Writers, past Secretary of Central Pennsylvania Romance Writers, and is a member of Romance Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. Maggie's the current Treasurer of High Country Writers in Boone, NC

The concert and gallery reception are free and the public is invited and encouraged to attend.

This evening of the arts happily coincides with the downtown Boone First Friday Art Crawl.

For those unable to attend the opening reception, the Watauga Arts Council gallery exhibits are available for viewing Tuesday, September 1 until Friday, September 25 from noon to 5 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays. The galleries are also open Thursdays from 7:30 to 11 p.m. during the acoustic jams and on Fridays from 5 to 7 p.m. during the concerts on the lawn.

The Arts Council galleries are sponsored in part by Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff and Grassroots Funds of the North Carolina Arts Council. The WAC’s offices and galleries are located in downtown Boone at the Jones House Community & Cultural Center, owned by the town of Boone.