Not Your Average

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Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands

The Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands isn’t your average art bazaar; it’s a world where fine, folk, and functional art are indistinguishable from one another.

This past weekend, more than 200 artisans from across Appalachia spilled into the Asheville Civic Center for this bi-annual art exhibition, bringing with them the high quality work that sets them apart as members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild.

Take, for example, doll maker Rebecca Kempson, who searches the globe in search of rare fabrics to dress her figurines. Intricately detailed with thoughtful countenances, each figure has a unique name and personality. “They’re people, but you can call them dolls,” she said with a wink.

Kemspon was just one of many doll makers and seamstresses with work on display at the fair. From hand-bound brooms, ornate kaleidoscopes, fine-spun ceramics, and hewn furniture, each booth presented a highly cultivated vision of traditional artistry.

For wood carver, furniture and birdhouse maker Walt Cottingham, creativity is always at hand. The wood for his elaborate birdhouses is derived from abandoned houses and barns, and the oak, cedar, walnut, and pine he finds around his Henderson County home. “This tree fell on my house,” he says, tapping a florid, pink-roofed birdhouse.

During the fair’s three-day run, patrons can wander the maze of exhibitors, take breaks for regional music entertainment, and participate in craft demonstrations. It’s also an opportunity for artists to take in the newest reworkings of traditional craft. “We’re the sum of all we see,” woodcarver Tom Wolfe told me. “I get my inspiration here.”

While the fair will return to the Civic Center October 20-23, the work of guild members can be found at the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway year-round. For more information about the guild, visit www.southernhighlandguild.org.