Sallie Taylor: Cover, revisited

Simple, Powerful Images

Welcome Art Aficionados, to our second Laurel Anniversary Cover, revisited. This month we’re traveling back to 2005, when fine artist Sallie Taylor, was Highlands School art teacher. She’s now retired and a full time painter, but let’s peek in on where she was artistically nearly two decades ago.

School teachers, then and now, have little time to devote to passions outside the classroom, so producing 2-3 paintings a year was Sallie’s optimum. Artists often do series paintings on a single subject. In the early two-thousands Sallie did studies of eggs. They are challenging, for replicating their perfect, physical form is a lot harder than it might seem. Eggs are also richly iconic, historically-drenched in symbolism. Around the world eggs epitomize birth, spring, fertility, circle of life, Easter, good fortune, creation, wealth, and much more. In this issue’s critique, take a few moments to reflect on what the egg means to you. Then immerse yourself, with both left and right brains, in Sallie’s painting. Make note of what strikes you on first scan. Crisp lines? Sterling brushwork? Unpretentious elegance? The painter’s message? What do you take away in your analytical and emotional brains? As I looked at the organic shapes, I let my eyes travel to the secondary forms, those created by shadow, bounced light, and overlap. Ordinarily that’s regarded as negative space between the subjects, but, in this case, those shapes make their own positive statement. I am taken with the way light plays on the surfaces. The gradations are so subtly layered, it’s impossible to tell where one tone bonds to the next.

These simple forms from an eye-to-shell perspective, appear mountain high and canyon deep, sturdy, powerful, yet my logical brain knows eggs are one of the most fragile objects on the planet. This anomaly is the essence of egg – life in a supremely

fragile encasement that’s survived since the beginning of time. It gives us hope. “Eggs are a meditative experience/process (because the form is so simple), and they are my go-to subject matter when I’m not sure what I’m painting next,” says Sallie. “To me, they are a symbol for ‘ideas.’” “The ones on the cover were a study for a larger egg. Then I did the one egg, then seven. Then three eggs. The last three were Meditation I, Meditation II, and Meditation III, pushing paint around in a beautiful form.” Sallie continues, “An egg is a remarkable structure of Nature. On the equinox an egg will stand on its end without aid. And, held a certain way, you can’t crush an egg in your hand.” Sallie’s egg exploration led to other studies in the years since 2005, images also metaphorical: bridges, towers, and clouds. All these can be seen on her website, www.sallietaylorart. com. Email: salltaylor@me.com; Instagram: @salltaylor.

by Donna Rhodes

Emanuel Carrero and Lindsay Garner Hostetler

A Year of Growth

Just in time for a rollicking season, Mountain Theatre Company enlarges its troupe by two.

Mountain Theatre Company at the Highlands Playhouse promises their best year ever, featuring a line-up of first-run movies in the spring and fall and a dazzling mainstage season of live theater, July through December. MTC recently hand-picked two exceptional visionaries who know how to fan the promotional flames here at home and ‘round the region. Joining the troupe are full-time team members Lindsay Garner Hostetler, Director of Marketing and Outreach; and Emanuel Carrero, Company Manager. Friends and patrons, this season is gonna sizzle! With 15 years of marketing and performing arts experience, Lindsay brings a unique understanding of the theater, both onstage and behind the scenes. After studying stage management at the University of Central Florida, she moved to the Western North Carolina mountains where she honed her skills as performing arts director, marketer, staff and program manager for theater, dance, and, music at Camp Merrie-Woode, and in similar capacities at Flat Rock Playhouse and Asheville Community Theater. Lindsay is thrilled to help launch a record-breaking year. She says, “Any strong community invests in their local arts. It is the arts that remind us all what it means to be human. Live theater allows us to sit together and experience something that makes us laugh, cry, and feel collectively. After a global pandemic and time of isolation, that feels more important now than ever.” Emanuel Carrero, cast in his new role as Company Manager, will oversee 80-plus performers this mainstage season. He’ll handle all artist contracts, secure production licensing and royalties, schedule the season audition tour, and arrange travel and housing for nearly 100 performers, designers, and technicians from all over the country. No stranger to the MTC’s spotlight, Emanuel starred in last fall’s hit productions, Music in Motion and Scott and Patti’s Holiday Spectacular. He graduated from the University of Tampa, and spent the past decade working professionally in the arts, serving as a company manager for Tampa’s Patel Conservatory, one of the Southeast’s largest conservatories. He says, “I’m excited to play a significant role in the creation of this new era for Mountain Theatre Company, and to continue the 84-year legacy of live theater at the Highlands Playhouse. This will be our biggest and most ambitious season yet. Thank you to all of our patrons for keeping the arts alive during these trying times.” Welcome Lindsay, a gal who can build buzz, and Emanuel, the guy who sets the stage in a thousand ways. Catch their genius at MTC and visit mountaintheatre.com for more info.

by Donna Rhodes

May’s Warming Up at PAC

Highlands Performing Arts Center hosts an ambitious slate of performances and deep dives into the mysteries of feminine beauty and the world’s most famous boy-king, plus a healthy dose of laughter. Highlands PAC is located at 507 Chestnut Street.

Nadine Sierra

The Live via Satellite Series has a full schedule for May with productions from the Metropolitan Opera and Great Art on Screen. On Saturday, May 7, a revival of Puccini’s Turandot. Ukrainian soprano Liudmyla Monastyrska as the icy princess, who has also sung Turandot previously at the Ukrainian National Opera and at the Bolshoi. Tenor Yonghoon Lee is the prince, alongside soprano Ermonela Jaho as the devoted servant. Marco Armiliato conducts Puccini’s stirring opera and ever-popular production by Franco Zeffirelli. On Saturday, May 21, we’ll present the new production of Donizetti’s Lucia Di Lammermoor. Soprano Nadine Sierra takes on the haunted heroine of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, in an electrifying new staging by Australian theater and film director Simon Stone, conducted by Riccardo Frizza. Tenor Javier Camarena as Lucia’s beloved, Edgardo, with baritone Artur Ruciński as her overbearing brother, Enrico. Both operas begin at 12:55 P.M. with a pre-opera discussion at 12:30 P.M. Join us for Great Art on Screen’s Tutankhamun: The Last Exhibition at 5:30 P.M. Friday, May 13. To mark the centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, this documentary offers audiences an extraordinary opportunity to meet the Pharaoh, with exclusive coverage of how 150 of his treasures were moved to become part of the biggest international exhibition ever dedicated to him.

Raphael: The Young Prodigy tells the story of the Italian Renaissance artist from Urbino, starting from his extraordinary portraits of women. From portraits of his mother to the female admirers who helped him on his road to success, Raphael, (1483-1520), was able to portray an ideal of celestial beauty, and to focus his gaze more on the psychology of his subjects’ features than on their physical form, so that their personalities emerge in a striking manner. We’ll screen this story at 5:30 P.M. Friday, May 27. And coming at the close of two-years of pandemic, is there anyone among us who doesn’t need an easy laugh? Join us for live comedy at the PAC, 7:30 P.M. Saturday, May 28. That’s when comedian Lucas Bohn will bring his hit multimedia show, Lesson Plans to Late Night, to Highlands for one night only. This family friendly show combines stories from the classroom and stand up comedy. Tickets for all shows are available at HighlandsPerformingArts.com.

by Mary Adair Trumbly, Highlands Performing Arts Center

The Best of Beethoven

Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival will stage Beethoven at The Bascom, featuring the dynamic Amernet String Quartet, at 5:00 P.M. Sunday June 26. Reservations are required – call (828) 526-9060.

Amernet String Quartet

Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival and The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts will present The Best of Beethoven at The Bascom at 5:00 P.M. Sunday, June 26. The performance will feature The Amernet String Quartet, the Ensemble-in-Residence at Florida International University in Miami. Their sound has been called “complex” but with an “old world flavor.” In 2019, they were the Chamber Festival’s Quartet in Residence. Their appearance was sponsored by Cullasaja Women’s Outreach, and included programs at the local schools, Chestnut Hill, and a concert at First Presbyterian Church of Highlands. Internationally, the quartet has appeared at major festivals around the world, including Cervantino, San Miguel de Allende, Aviv (Israel), and Colima (Mexico). While in Germany a critic commented that their playing was “fascinating, with flawless intonation, extraordinary beauty of sound, virtuosic brilliance and homogeneity of ensemble.” (Nürnberger Nachrichten). Refreshments will be served at The Bascom concert. Cost is $75 per person – call (828) 526-9060 for required reservations.

The performance is sponsored by Peggy and J. F. Bryan. If your schedule doesn’t allow you to join the Amernet String Quartet at The Bascom, you can still catch them at Their sound has been called Bach at Bucks, set for 2:00 to 4:00 P.M. “complex” but with an “old world flavor.” at Buck’s Coffee Shop at the Cashiers Crossroads, Saturday, June 25. The performance is free and, since reservations aren’t required, you’ll want to arrive early.

by Luke Osteen

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Beth Bowser Glass Act

The dazzling creations of glass artist Beth Bowser will take the spotlight at the May 23 meeting of the Art League of Highlands-Cashiers.

The Art League of Highlands-Cashiers will hold its May meeting at The Bascom on Monday, May 23. Refreshments will be served at 4:30 P.M., with the meeting at 5:00 P.M.. We are pleased to have as our guest speaker, local glass artist Beth Bowser. Beth was interested in glass art from an early age, when she became fascinated with the stained glass windows in her church. She began to formally study this art form in 1980 when she enrolled in her first class. There she learned the basics of creating stained glass pieces, including the techniques, terminology, tools and the challenges of producing high quality work. For many years Beth created and sold her own designs. Having mastered stained glass, she decided to invest in a kiln to experiment with other glass forms created by applying extreme heat. She found it to be a complex process with surprises each time she opened the cooled kiln. Beth enjoys experimenting with various techniques in her creative process. The kiln adds its own final touches, often with unexpected results. She jokingly says there are two outcomes: pieces that are happy accidents and those that are waiting to be redeemed. Today Beth works with three electric kilns, ranging in size from the small first one to a very large, imposing one. In the next evolution of her work, she intends to rake and comb through multiple pieces of molten stained glass to create new patterns of color and depth. Beth’s stunning pieces, including pendants, plates, urns, vases, sculptures, and more may be found in The Bascom gift store, Gallery 1 in Sylva, and the Tsartistry Gallery in Franklin. We hope to see you at the social and presentation, both of which are free and open to the public. See more of the Art League’s activities at artleagueofhighlands-cashiers.com.

by Zach Claxton, The Art League of Highlands-Cashiers

Magic, Musings, & Majesty

Entering the Ann Lea Gallery is a leap, a romp, a dance, a passage to another realm, one in which magic, musings, and majesty reign. The artists’ paintings and sculptures are the Gallery’s core, but the full encounter is an immersion in the ultimate Aesthetic encounter … art demos, book signings, art talks, meet-the-artist, trunk shows, and so much more.

ALFAG has done its homework, consulting with leading professionals, designing a custom marketing blueprint, and re-vamping and expanding the gallery interior by an additional 1,500 square feet. That brings the total gallery expanse to 5,000 square feet. With this additional gallery, work, and office space, ALFAG stands alongside the largest, finest gallery show-spaces of the South. In addition, this rentable floor space is available for rehearsal dinners and weddings. This past winter, ALFAG closed its doors to survey clients, visitors, and community asking their preferences, opinions, favorites. Based on the results, the interior was transformed into a visual delight, a perfect setting for a variety of abstract, impressionism, and multi-media creations focusing on cool (blue and green) jewel tones. Complementing the paintings are hand-dyed fabrics, dramatically draped ceiling to floor. Finishing the display are wood sculptures coupled with fanciful and elegant jewelry. They contrast the soft folds of fabric and the oil, acrylic, and watercolor paintings, any of which would make an eye-popping focal point for a room’s design. Ann Lea, owner and the creative inspiration behind this exceptional gallery show-place says, “This season, we will feature a diverse collection of outstanding artists. Each of the events on the 2022 calendar will help our customers to understand and appreciate how these experienced individuals find inspiration and emotion on each and every one of their canvases. We are very excited to share the exceptional talents of such a wonderful group of artists!” Don’t miss our Summer Celebration Open House to celebrate our artists, clientele, and the launch of the season. Art, Wine, Cheese and Fun, May 26 from 4:00 to 7:00 P.M. Call (828) 743-5499 for more information or visit: AnnLeaFineArtGallery.com.

by Donna Rhodes

Taking His Turn

For Madison Minus, the artistry lies in revealing the beauty and mystery embedded within a block of wood.

Madison Minus grew up in an enthusiastic woodworking family. But there came a magical day when this 2-D craftsman turned into a 3-D artist.

That was the moment, after watching scores of online woodturning videos, he committed to a lathe purchase. Since then, he’s filled his studio and sales displays with everything from utilitarian to art exhibition pieces: vases and hollow forms, bowls, spurtles (round stir-sticks for soups and porridge), wine bottle stoppers, rolling pins, and more. This young Highlands native has already lived in Vietnam, Thailand, and Australia. He knows wood worldwide, though it’s only here that his art matured. He says, “While I’ve enjoyed my adventures, I am the happiest I have ever been right here, turning wood.” Madison is fascinated with wood.

“Wood’s wonder is hiding behind the bark,” he says. “I am always amazed by its configurations, particularly within the burls. Burls are knots on the tree’s exterior. When turned, mind-blowing abstracts in the grain are revealed. Sometimes burls remind me of faces or other iconic images. Wood’s color, smell, and texture intrigue me. Revealing the secrets inside a block of wood as I shave its layers is soul-satisfying. It’s a harvest of design, and I can’t stop smiling at the revelations.” He works primarily with local, already down wood. In case you

Madison Minus

thought a turned bowl was a single afternoon creation, it is much more than that.

First a green (fresh wood) block is placed on the lathe and shaved down to a basic form. It’s then coated in wax to keep the wood fibers moist and avoid cracking. “I weigh it fairly often to see if the weight lightens,” he says. “When the numbers stop going down, I know it has dried. Then it is ready for the final phase of turning and finishing.” One of his favorite life refrains is: Progress, not perfection. You can see some of Madison’s creations at Instagram: @madison_minus. You can email him at madminus@ gmail.com. You can purchase his work at Secret Garden Restaurant and Unfurl Massage and Bodywork in Highlands. Inquire online for a studio appointment.

by Donna Rhodes

Trusting in the Work

For Diane McPhail, art is a complex blend of faith, experience, and wisdom born of years of observation.

Diane McPhail

Any time the conversation turns to the Plateau’s dynamic artistic and cultural scene, it doesn’t take long for the name Diane McPhail to pop up. Diane wears a mantle of many masteries, among them art, painting, writing, and ministry. When she’s not painting, bookmaking, writing, drawing, or meditating in a dwelling powered, literally and metaphorically, by a water wheel, she’s planning her next event, party, travel, or garden design. Everything and everyone around her are part of the magical web she weaves. That web becomes the fabric of her mantle and her life, her inner circle of family, her extended circle of companions, and others who are drawn into her healing web, touched by her writing and homilies. All of this plays into her second novel, The Seamstress of New Orleans, coming out at the end of this month (you can find it at Shakespeare & Company and The Book Nook). Against the backdrop of the first all-female Mardi Gras krewe in 1900 New Orleans, Diane’s mesmerizing historical novel tells of two strangers separated by background but bound by an unexpected secret —and of the strength and courage women draw from and inspire in each other. “Long before I began writing, perhaps in graduate school for painting, I happened upon a book by Madeleine L’Engle (A Wrinkle in Time), who years later became my first writing teacher,” Diane says. “It was entitled Walking on Water: Reflections on Art and Faith. My copies have become so underlined that I think I’m on my third copy of it. L’Engle’s premise, in a nutshell, is this: The work knows more than you do. It comes to you from somewhere else and, like an Annunciation, asks you to give it birth. If you say ‘yes,’ your job is to follow the work where it knows it needs to go. The concept both freed me and sometimes frightened me to death. To follow the work means that you must develop the skills that allow you to do so, but then to be ready to go in directions that require you to venture into totally unknown territory without a map, following one step at a time without predetermination. It’s led me to some surprising places that I could never have visualized, in image or in word, on my own. “I never actually set out to do any of the things I have done in my life. I have just seen the next beckoning step and taken it. That element of trust has led to some of the most surprising “coincidences” in my serial careers. The richness of experience that has come as a result of simply going ahead with the next thing has filled my life with excitement, joy, adventure, and a recurring sense of inadequacy. When I feel at a loss or inadequate, I remind myself to go back to trusting the work instead of myself.”

by Donna Rhodes

Tactile Connections

There’s an element of magic at the core of Annell Metsker creations.

Some are convinced there’s a magnetic vein of creativity, powerfully pressed into the heart of our mountain, so intense artists near and far happily succumb to its compelling pull. That explains the abundance of painters, sculptors, musicians, writers, actors, and architects on the Plateau. One of the most inventive is Annell Metsker.

Annell is drawn to more than one artistic mode of expression. Years ago, she began with photography, capturing the souls of her subjects, people and animals, in perfect light. Over time that wasn’t satisfying enough. She needed to have more tactile connection to her images, so she pursued oil and digital painting. Those are about as far apart as art media can be, yet the subjects’ souls were the common thread. They shone through, whether she used camera, paintbrush, or computer to do the creating. Annell found her Muse in Lake Glenville, a vista never-ending, from lake to sky to mountain to river to forest. While she paints and photographs whatever pleases her clients, she specializes in capturing the essence of those who have passed – heirloom paintings of loved ones, pets and people, to lock away memories of life’s loves.

Annell’s happiest portraying a human or pet, capturing bold color, shape, form, and texture at peak light. She paints a dramatic story, establishing the subject’s true character with daubs, layers, and textural smears of impasto in photo-realism, impressionism, or abstraction. While many of her portraits, particularly those of pets, are often an homage to a cherished four-legger now waiting at the Rainbow Bridge, one of her most poignant works of art is that of a child. Annell shares the experience, “I painted a first-time mom (at age 42) and her newborn. Every six months I created photo-realism paintings of her daughter. By age two-and-a-half the mom was satisfied with my process and allowed more creative freedom for what I call my Angel Portrait. As I studied the daughter’s face I kept thinking, ‘This child is truly an angel.’ “Months after unveiling the Angel Painting, I received a call from her grandmother. She said her daughter and baby were casualties in an auto accident. She said the paintings were a great comfort, for they captured her loved ones’ spirits. She felt their presence. I still get gooseflesh thinking of the foreshadowing of that sweet Angel.”

by Donna Rhodes

Darlene Conley Double truck

Darlene Conley Doubletruck

photo by Susan Renfro