Shoppin' & Shakin'

12/2/09
The holidays always have a way of sneaking up on me. I’m usually left scrambling for gifts at the last minute (yes, guys, I’m with you). But this year I’m trying to do better, which is why I’m looking forward to two shopping opportunities this weekend, as well as a chance to shake that Thanksgiving turkey off my booty.

Toe River Studio Tour
December 4-6
Noon-4 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday & Sunday
Yancey & Mitchell counties
The Toe River Valley that sprawls across Mitchell and Yancey counties is chock full of artists working in many mediums. This biannual, self-guided tour takes visitors to as many as 70 studios and nine galleries, many of which decorate and provide refreshments. One thing I really love about studio tours is getting to meet the artists and see how they make their craft. The artwork somehow seems more valuable, to me at least, when there’s a story behind it—what inspired that piece or how it was created. Maps can be picked up at any of the studios along the route, the Toe River Arts Council’s galleries in Burnsville and Spruce Pine, or accessed online at www.toeriverarts.org.

The Big Crafty
December 6, noon-6 p.m.
Asheville
On Sunday, I’m really excited to attend The Big Crafty in Asheville. It’s a juried arts and crafts fair, voted the best of its kind in the Mountain Xpress’ annual readers poll, that features the work of 100 local indie crafters and handmade microbusinesses—funky salt and pepper shakers by Kung fu Clay, cards from Blue Barnhouse, everlasting flowers from The Button Florist to name a few. And the best part is that it’s all really affordable. And there’s even a “craffle raffle” where organizers have teamed up with Lark Books and asked artists to created belt buckles to be raffled off. It just feels so good to support local artists and give a gift that’s handmade. It’s held at Pack Place (www.packplace.org) in downtown and is free to attend. For more details, call (828) 242-5595 or visit www.thebigcrafty.com.

Celebrating West Africa
Myself and my boyfriend, who plays bass for local Afrobeat ensemble Afromotive (www.afromotive.com), along with a small group of other locals, will be traveling to the Ivory Coast in early January with front man Adama Djemble, who’s from there. In addition to traveling around, we’ll be studying West African music and dance. Now I’ve done my fair share of traveling to exotic locales, but I’m in for a culture shock, so I’m told. My jaw hit the ground when I learned that I’ll be showering in a bucket! Stay tuned to my blog as I’ll be posting about the sights, sounds, flavors, culture, and strange surprises during my trip.

Catch Afromotive this Saturday night, December 5, at the White Horse in Black Mountain (www.whitehorseblackmountain.com). Tickets are $12, and VIP tickets are available for $25, which includes transport to and from the show (departing from Asheville) via the LaZoom bus (www.lazoomtours.com), free drinks, and admission to the show. Visit www.afromotive.com for details.

Congrats to Libby & Jim Mijanovich
Marshall-based artists and winners from WNC magazine’s On the Verge emerging artists competition last year (www.wncmagazine.com/otv/2009), Libby and Jim Mijanovich have recently been named 2010 NICHE Awards finalists for one of their pieces titled Double Down in the Fiber: Art Quilts category. Sponsored by NICHE magazine, a trade publication for crafters, the Mijanoviches were one of about 160 finalists named out of nearly 1,000 submissions nationwide. Their work is just beautiful: large-scale textile wall art made from thousands of fragments of recycled vintage clothing. It’s abstract expressionism in fiber form. The winners will be announced during a ceremony in Philadelphia on February 12. Good luck Libby and Jim! See their work at www.mijafiberart.com.