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April 2017 Vol. 20 No. 8
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2 Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017
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CONTENTS 15
COLUMNS / DEPARTMENTS
WE LOVE THEATRE FEATURES
(Detail) ‘I Will Rise’ Grace Bomer
6
Grovewood Gallery debuts ‘Visions of Nature’ by Brad Stroman April 15
9
Ghosts, bad neighbors and love problems? Raven & Crone in North Asheville now listening
14 8 10 13 15 16 21
AmiciMusic presents “April in Paris” with Jason and Dilshad Posnock Greg Vineyard
310 Art: Engaging the Inner Critic – Creatively Virginia Pendergrass is still Seeing the World Cover Artist: Grace Bomer brings beauty and grace to her powerful artwork “Imageries of Life” this April at Asheville Gallery of Art Get your chocolate fix April 15 in Maggie Valley for 18th Annual event
14 18 25
‘The Nerd’ arrives at NC Stage April 7 Appalachian Pastel Society brings “Big Little Paintings”
Publisher/Layout and Design/Editor: Dennis Ray Poetry Editor: Carol Pearce Bjorlie
The cover image is a detail of a larger oil and cold wax painting called, “I Will Rise” from Grace Bomer’s Pilgrim Series.
Website updated Daily Check out: Film Reviews, Upcoming Festivals, Music, Food and more!
www.rapidrivermagazine.com Online NOW
27
Female Southern Highland Craft Guild makers rekindle their sisterhood
22 23 24 26 27 28 30 31
VAVAVOOM adds romance and spice to your love life
26
Bill Walz
Health
Poetry
Books — Environmental journalist Ellen Hannibal at Malaprop’s April 6 By ghostly light, artists interpret the dark night 20th Annual Greening Up the Mountains Festival April 22 in Sylva
Comics
CONTACT US: Rapid River’s Arts and Culture Magazine is a monthly publication in WNC. Mail: 85 N. Main St. Canton NC 28716 Email: Info@rapidrivermagazine.com Phone: (828) 646-0071
15
Volume 20, NO. 8
NEXT MONTH
APRIL 2017
ON OUR COVER
MAY I HAVE THIS DANCE? April Showers brings May Flowers. Our annual ‘Outdoor Festivals and Outdoor Events guide’ Maybe our best issue yet!
Distribution: Dennis Ray/Rick Hills Marketing: Dennis Ray/Rick Hills
All Materials contained herein are owned and copyrighted © by Rapid River Arts & Culture Magazine and the individual contributors unless otherwise stated. Opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ADVERTISING SALES: Rapid River Arts and Culture Magazine or the advertisers Downtown Asheville and other areas — herein. Dennis Ray (828) 712-4752 • (828) 646-0071 © ‘Rapid River Arts & Culture Magazine’ Dining Guide, Hendersonville, Waynesville — APRIL 2017, Vol. 20, No. 8 Rick Hills (828) 452-0228 rick@rapidrivermagazine.com
Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017 5
FINE ART
Grovewood Gallery debuts ‘Visions of Nature’ by Brad Stroman April 15 by something commonly created by man – a string, barbed wire, a piece new acrylic paintings of rusted iron tool. from Santa Fe-based These objects, artist Brad Stroman, which have the opens at Grovewood illusion of being 3D, Gallery on Saturday, are placed against April 15. a backdrop of An opening beautifully balanced reception, with the colors that have artist in attendance, been textured and will take place from 2 stained to create – 5pm (free and open the appearance of a to the public). Visions Pearl Heart, acrylic on wood panel time worn surface. of Nature will remain in floater frame, 24”x12” by Brad The natural and on view through Stroman man-made items Sunday, May 21. play out their balancing act on the Brad Stroman’s work focuses painted stage. on the small, incidental natural A common element found in all objects that we often pass over of Stroman’s paintings is a circle. in our everyday activities – a “The circle has been and crinkled leaf, a torn feather, an continues to be a very profound abandoned nest, a worn stone. symbol for indigenous peoples He makes a conscious effort to honor the mundane and incidental around the world,” says Stroman. “It stands for unity and harmony and to capture the simple and and because we seem to have understated beauty in nature. lost a connection with nature Stroman’s acrylic paintings that primitive cultures enjoyed, I contain exquisitely detailed deliberately break up or wear away renderings of these natural the circle in the painting to show objects, usually trapped the disconnection we now have or otherwise held in place Visions of Nature, an exhibition featuring 10
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with nature.” A recent move to Santa Fe has also influenced Stroman’s latest body of work. He says, “It’s been less than two years since I left Asheville for Santa Fe. My new environs have influenced my paintings with the intense colors of the Southwest — the dazzling reds and oranges, the adobe tans, and those luscious turquoise and sky blue hues.” Stroman’s nature-inspired paintings have garnered acclaim from environmentalists and art lovers alike. His work has been exhibited throughout the US and can be found in nearly 100 private and corporate collections worldwide, including the permanent collection of the Cherokee Indian Hospital in Cherokee, NC. About Grovewood Gallery Established in 1992, Grovewood Gallery is
“Now and Then”acrylic on wood panel in floater frame, 24”x24”by Brad Stroman
a nationally recognized gallery dedicated to fine American-made art and craft. The gallery is part of Grovewood Village, housed in the historic weaving and woodworking complex of Biltmore Industries, adjacent to The Omni Grove Park Inn. The 11-acre property, celebrating its centennial this year, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is also home to working artist studios, a sculpture garden, Golden Fleece restaurant, the Biltmore Industries Homespun Museum, and Asheville’s only antique car museum.
Show opens April 15. Opening Reception: Saturday, April 15, 2 – 5pm. For more information www.grovewood.com or call (828) 253-7651. IF YOU GO
Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017 7
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By Greg Vineyard
his own style developed. We can study his style, and When I was in college – back when humans still incorporate how that makes us lived in caves, and the year 2000 FEEL as they develop our own. seemed an unimaginable concept On the learning curve in life, we – one of my apartment mates go from Study, to Absorption, painted large canvases. Which is to Incorporation, to Flying on fine, although maybe somewhat our own. unusual, as he was a Marketing Or we don’t. I’ve seen major. Also a bit strange was people copy, reproduce and that he painted … exact replicas sell creations that look exactly of works by illustrator and artist like the works of their teachers Patrick Nagel. Remember that and friends, or are barely Duran Duran album cover? Jet derived from obviously famous black hair, white face, red lips. (Yes, photographs, which violates that also perfectly describes the copyright owners’ rights (in band, but I do mean the artwork.) most cases, the photographer). And even that was OK in itself, as “Your Inner Uniqueness”, mixed-media Many ideas are not unique. this guy wasn’t violating copyright illustration ©2017 Greg Vineyard There’s nothing wrong with by reproducing and selling his populist concepts, like “put a bird creations. Décor overload, mind you, on it” (or “Asheville”), but one would be a whole ‘nuther column. must find one’s own way to do so. What’s the point However, this guy also claimed that he INVENTED the look and style. While there is proof of the simultaneous of being an artist if one just style-browses, as if other peoples’ portfolio and minds were a salad bar. Building invention phenomenon (particularly in the sciences), integrity takes work. Not just on skill-building, but Nagel had died two years before this dude ever even INSIDE, where we mentally sculpt a unique voice that picked up a brush. And he was trying to argue this brings something to the art table, the jobsite, or the claim with a Duran-Duran-loving art major. I think it’s better to be unique rather than a “copyist.” executive meeting. Some don’t realize they do this, but others do, and they hide behind their own technical fouls. And they Some considerations to gauge Personal Uniqueness: double-down in weird ways, like claiming they were 1.) Observe your evolution. Know your influences. first in the face of easy evidence that they were, quite Honor your Masters with both acknowledgement and plainly, not. Copyists don’t evolve. This happens differentiation. in business, too. Of course, globally we all share 2.) Research techniques, and the stories of your strong recipes for success, bringing everybody up, heroes. What are their paths that make them so but sometimes companies will stoop to stealing uniquely identifiable? elements of identity. These violators reveal they know 3.) Overnight success can take all the decades of your the difference by using words like “proprietary” when life. It’s very wax-on, wax-off. the issue was really just about basic propriety. They see technical stealing as a strategic win rather than 4.) Only compare to learn, not to amputate your own as just pathetic. Back more specifically to the art style. world. To find one’s own story and style (or brand), of 5.) Know the laws. The “Graphic Artist Guild’s course there is a mimicry phase where we study our Handbook of Pricing & Ethical Guidelines” is very art heroes, and practice techniques using reference handy for creatives. we can relate to. Picasso’s early years involved classic study and reproductions of masters, and over time Continued next pg.
8 Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017
SHOP TALK
Ghosts, bad neighbors and love problems? — Raven & Crone in North Asheville now listening It’s incredibly hard to describe exactly what we do at Asheville Raven and Crone. The short answer I give to anyone who hasn’t visited us is, “We sell spiritual supplies to the urban witch on the go.” Have a ghost in your house? Come get some advice about it. Need a job? We’ve got an oil for that. Need some love? We’ve got a candle for you to use. Need another perspective? We have a cultivated selection of accomplished readers for you to work with. Don’t need anything? Well then, you should just stop by for some tea and witchy
community with some of the area’s most erudite and knowledgeable witches. A proper witch store is an incredibly rare and special thing. The kind of local shop that doesn’t exist in most places. We are a one stop witch shop for anyone tired of ordering magical supplies online, and we are also a welcoming place for new witches to discover their own unique avenues and a supportive community. We make our own magical oils, candles, teas and wide assortment of other items. We also make things you wouldn’t look for in other stores, like a “Raven Continued next pg. 17
6.) Avoid Copyists. Befriend others who are actually evolving. 7.) Draw every day. Finding the storyline might be in the 10th drawing, or the 100th. Never Give Up. 8.) Trust that it all works out. We only get a few decades to
become either unique interpreters or banal regurgitators, so which will it be? Wishing you all the Uniqueness you can do! Greg Vineyard is a marketingcommunications professional, artist and writer living in Asheville, NC. Find his works at ZaPow Gallery on the South Slope, and on gregvineyardillustration.com.
Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017 9
310 ART
Bridget Benton
Engaging the Inner Critic – Creatively
By Bridget Benton
Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, you probably know what I mean when I mention the “Inner Critic” – that uncooperative little voice in our heads that criticizes us.
RV
It’s the voice that plays on our fears and insecurities, and works to keep us in check. It’s the voice that says whatever we do won’t be good enough or says people will laugh at us if we try that. It may even be the voice that’s keeping you from making art in the first place. As a working artist I often feel making art is just practice for living life. And one of the many things making art lets me practice is engaging the inner critic. Most folks I know, especially artists, talk about banishing the critic. “I need to just lock it in a closet!” And I’m here to tell you that approach doesn’t work. You can ignore that voice for a while, but like most things you ignore (a bad sound coming from the car’s suspension,
10 Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017
tension in a relationship) it will get worse until something happens that you CAN’T ignore. And that “something” is generally not pleasant. I tried to ignore that voice telling me I wasn’t good enough to be a “real” artist all the way through an undergraduate degree in studio art, all the way through a failed business making batiked and silkscreened clothing, and all the way through to getting summarily rejected by every M.F.A. program I applied to. I tried to ignore that voice right up until the moment it was proven absolutely correct and I gave up and got a job working at a market research firm. Another way we often deal with the internal critic is by trying to do everything right. After all, if I’m perfect, the critic won’t have anything to blather on about. Will it? But the critic is rarely satisfied. Part of what the critic does is attempt ‘Art’ continued pg. 12
River Arts District
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Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017 11
Shop, Eat, Explore. . . Everyday, All Year Round ‘Art’ continued from pg. 10
‘Anxiety Golum Behind the Mask’ (detail) Bridget Benton, collage papermache 12x18
‘How the Critic Appears’ Bridget Benton, collage 9x12
force it to sit quietly in a closet. to track everything that’s going on both inside A friend can help. Find a color or an object and outside of you. The critic will ignore the that seems to represent the voice of the critic three awards you’ve won for public speaking, and step into that – hold the object or the color and focus on the one person who seemed to and change where you’re sitting so that you be nodding off when you stood up during the are fully embodying that voice. Your friend can meeting last week. The voice will disregard the five people who enjoy your vegan pot roast while hold the space of you, and ask questions of the critic. This accomplishes a number of things: It gazing suspiciously at the one person who is helps you step in and control the situation rather listlessly pushing the tofu around on their plate. than your critic. It allows your critic to be heard So why is the critic so persistent, never giving so that it’s not shouting and trying to shut you up? Why is it so observant, noticing every little down. It allows you to learn more about what thing and then blowing it way out of proportion? the critic is really wanting. And, finally, it allows Why is this voice so determined to stop us in our tracks and keep us from doing the things we you to set some boundaries with the critic – you may be able to both do what you want to do and really want to do? Why is it so darn judgmental? satisfy the critic’s concerns, creating a win-win Curiosity is the best antidote to judgment I situation. Here are some great questions to start know. Try stepping into conversation with your with: What’s the most important thing you want critic. I’ve done this by journaling, physically writing down the conversation with my critic and to share with me right now? What, if anything, are you hoping I’ll do differently? If I keep doing what my full self. This can be way more useful than I’m doing, what’s the worst that can happen? And just letting it chatter on in my head – or trying to 12 Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017
how will that make you feel? And how might we handle it if the worst thing does happen? I’ll let you in on a secret. The vast majority of the time, the critic is scared. It was trying to stop me from being an artist because it was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to make a living, that people wouldn’t like my work, that I’d be laughed at and end up broke, crazy and alone. The critic was actually trying to be a kind of protector. It was just using really outdated strategies. The critic might be using strategies that worked when I was 5 (don’t show anyone what you made because they won’t understand) or it may be using a message it heard from someone close to me “You can’t make a living doing that.” Even when the critic is saying things like “You’re stupid, you can’t do that, no one will like that” it may well be doing it so that we keep ourselves in line and don’t take the risk of hearing that message from anyone else. After all, if we’re saying it to ourselves – or even turning it around and saying it to someone else – we’re less likely to get hurt by it. So if the critic is a scared child, even a scared child who has turned into a bully, and you’re an adult, what’s the best course of action? To use a rather crude metaphor, I don’t want the scared kid driving the car, but I don’t want to lock them in the trunk, either. You’ll notice the last question is, “And how might we handle it if the worst thing DOES happen?” You and your critic will probably discover that it’s not really life or death, even if it feels like it, and that you’re actually pretty well equipped to deal with a little rejection or even a moment of failure. Maybe you can even negotiate a different strategy. And when the voice comes up again, because it will – it’s there to protect you, you can take a moment to reassure it. You’ve got this. Bridget Benton is an artist and creativity coach living in Asheville. She teaches workshops and shows her work at 310 ART in the River Arts District. Her book The Creative Conversation has won numerous awards and is available at 310 ART, 191 Lyman St. #310, Asheville. Hours Mon-Sat 11-5pm, Sun 124pm. For class info and to see artist’s work go to www.310art.com
IF YOU GO
ART AND MORE
ART CLASSES ARROWHEAD GALLERY
Call (828)668-1100 or come by 68C Catawba Ave. Old Fort NC to register.
Fine Art Classes with Lorelle Bacon. First two Tuesdays 9:30 - 11:30am. Two classes $35 for members and $45 for nonmembers. Classes need not be consecutive. For beginners through advanced students. Students choose the medium and subject. A non-threatening atmosphere lets students work at their own pace. Call Lorelle at (828)595-6007.
BEGINNER THROUGH ADVANCED CLAY CLASSSES with Mathilda Tanner. Weds from 1-3pm. $115 for 4 classes for members; $125 for non-members. Includes all materials, clay, glazes, firing and more. Hand building and throwing on a wheel are taught.
FUSED GLASS MOUNTAIN SCENE with Instructor Teena Stewart April 1 from 2 to 4:30pm. $75 Members $85 Non Members plus $8 supply fee MOSAIC PICTURE FRAME with Instructor Teena Stewart Saturday April 22, 10:30 to 12:30pm. Registration Deadline April 11. Adults and Teens, $25 member $35 Nonmembers, Plus $20 supply fee All Classes held at Arrowhead Gallery and Studios, Arrowhead Gallery and Studios 78C Catawba Ave. Old Fort. For more information go to www.arrowheadart.org (NOTE: If you’d like to teach a workshop in 2017 Contact Education Chairperson Lorelle Bacon (828) 595-6007 or email lorelleartist@hotmail.com.)
310 ART AT RIVERVIEW STATION
Marvelous Mondays with Lorelle and Nadine
Beginner and Up! Open art studios Mondays with instructor to guide you - start and continue year round in our Monday classes, 9:30-12:30pm and 1-4pm. Come the dates that work for you! See 310art.com for schedule and sign up. Beginners welcomed! Workshops:
Coming in April — • Apr 7 & 8 — Paint Metal and Crystal look • Apr 12 & 13 — Wabi Sabi Mixed Media • Apr 22 — Safe Printmaking Tiny Studio • Apr 29 — Demystifying Watercolor • May 6 — Alcohol Ink • May 19 — Liquid Acrylics • June 2 — Encaustic Jewelry
Classes for adults at 310 ART, 191 Lyman Street, #310, Asheville, NC 28801 www.310art. com gallery@310art.com
(828)776-2716 Adult classes, beginner and up, most materials provided. Register online or at the studio.
ART CLASSES: Want to list your classes coming in 2017? $35 includes 12 lines, each added line is then $2.00 INTERESTED? Call (828) 646-0071 • info@rapidrivermagazine.com
‘Asheville Fire’ by Virginia Pendergrass
‘Heian Shrine - Kyoto,’ by Virginia Pendergrass
‘Parasails - Orient Beach by Virginia Pendergrass
Virginia Pendergrass is still Seeing the World By Staff Reports
Virginia Pendergrass is still ‘seeing the world, one drawing at a time.’ An exhibit from April 1 to May 31 at Trackside Studios will feature new watercolor and ink sketches inspired
Japan, St. Martin, France, and Quebec, as well as destinations in the US. by her travels in
After 3 years experimentation with watercolor and ink sketches, Pendergrass considers them essential in her travel. “Drawing for my watercolor sketches helps me to truly pay attention to my surroundingsto note delightful details of architecture or behavior of people in public places. In Asheville, I enjoyed seeing firemen on a break from chores; in Japan, a geisha making tea; sunbathers in St. Martin watching parasails on the beach; and a Savannah street busker, to mention a few.” Major influences on Pendergrass’ watercolor and ink techniques are Mark Taro Homes, a Canadian illustrator, and Charles Reid, a master American watercolorist. She says, “Holmes has an efficient method of creating an appealing ink drawing with which
even the so-so sketcher can succeed. He begins with what he calls a ‘pencil scribble.’ This merely means drawing lines lightly one on top of the other until he is satisfied he understands the shapes. Then he puts ink on the lines which work best, and erases the pencil. “Charles Reid also makes life easy for the so-so watercolorist. His watercolors are famous for uncorrected blobs, blooms, drips, and spontaneous drifting and mixing of colors at edges. He advises students to never correct mistakes. As the watercolor drifts, blends and dries, it will often produce wonderful fluid effects a painter could never achieve by trying.” Pendergrass, who paints landscape and still life oils as well as watercolors, lives in Brevard, NC.
Her oil paintings can be seen in Art Works in Brevard, Silver Fox Gallery in Hendersonville, NC, and on her website: virginiapendergrass.com. She teaches oil painting classes at her Trackside studio. Trackside Studios is located at 375 Depot Street in Asheville’s River Arts District. Hours are 11-5pm daily.
IF YOU GO
Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017 13
PERFORMING ARTS
AmiciMusic presents “April in Paris” with Jason and Dilshad Posnock
By Staff Reports
AmiciMusic is Asheville’s award-winning chamber
performs regularly with the Asheville Symphony Orchestra. She was also a founding member of the Sangat Music Festival in Mumbai, India.
music organization dedicated to performing great chamber music in
intimate spaces and nontraditional venues.
In April AmiciMusic will take audiences on a musical journey to “April in Paris” with Amanda Horton and Jonathan Ross Amanda Horton and Jonathan Ross Amanda Horton and Jonathan Ross the husband and wife Service Radio. team of Jason and Dilshad There will be three dates and venues for the IF Originally from Mumbai, Ms. Posnock Posnock, violinist and flutist, along with pianist/ YOU concert: GO completed her undergraduate studies with Artistic Director Daniel Weiser. 1) Friday, April 14 at 7:30pm at a beautiful Honors at the Royal College of Music, London, They will perform beautiful music by Saintprivate home in the hills of Hendersonville ($35pp and her Masters Degree at Carnegie Mellon Saens, Poulenc, Gaubert, Ibert, and Martinu includes food and drink). University in Pittsburgh, where she studied as they evoke the sights, sounds, tastes, and with renowned flutist and pedagogue Jeanne 2) Saturday, April 15, 7pm at Isis Restaurant and smells of the romantic French capital at the turn Baxtresser, former Principal Flute of the New Music Hall in West Asheville ($20); and of the 20th century. Dr. Weiser will also give York Philharmonic. brief talks about each composer and highlight 3) Sunday, April 16, 3pm at White Horse Black Ms. Posnock later served as Artist Lecturer in the new flowering of chamber music in Paris as Mountain ($20/$18 in advance). To purchase Flute, and Director of the Artist Diploma Program a musical response to the disastrous Francotickets or for more information, visit www. at the Carnegie Mellon School of Music. Ms. Prussian War of 1870. Dilshad Posnock, flutist, amicimusic.org/upcoming_show.aspx. has appeared as a soloist and chamber musician Posnock currently lives in Brevard with her husband Jason, and two young children. Reservations are required for the Friday House in concerts and festivals across the United She serves on the faculties of the Brevard Concert and strongly recommended for the Isis States, England, Puerto Rico and India, and Music Center and Brevard College, and show as well. has been featured on BBC TV and BBC World
‘The Nerd’ arrives at NC Stage April 7 Attic Salt Theatre Company is proud to once again team up with NC Stage Company as part of their Catalyst Series for Larry Shue’s crazy comedy, The Nerd. Attic Salt is the company who last produced the acclaimed How I Learned to Drive in 2016 at 35below, as well as the hits God of Carnage and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. They’ve also previously partnered with NC Stage for 2015’s The Underpants and last year’s smash, All in the Timing. NC Stage is located at 15 Stage Lane in Downtown Asheville. The performances will be
By Staff Reports
through the NC Stage box office at ncstage. org or by calling (828) 239-0263. The Nerd, by Larry Shue Produced by Attic Salt Theatre Companyat NC Stage Company as part of their Catalyst Series April 7-23 Wednesdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Cast of “The Nerd” Sundays at 2:30pm held Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm NC Stage Company and Sundays at 2:30pm, from April 7-23. Tickets 15 Stage Lane downtown Asheville cost between $14-$28 and can be purchased
14 Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017
IF YOU GO
COVER ARTIST
Grace Bomer brings beauty and grace to her powerful artwork
By Staff Reports
Grace Bomer’s oil and wax paintings have been described as visual poetry. They are beautiful and imaginative. Her abstracted images capture the grace that is life—a brief interlude of time in the vastness of eternity. The timeless Creator God brings eternity and time together at the Incarnation. This mystery informs her work. She attempts to bring abstraction and realism and Word and Image together. She believes life is sacramental in that we are created in the image of God to give him glory. Her studio is named: Soli Deo Gloria (To God alone be the glory – J. S. Bach who signed his music SDG.) Grace attributes the success of her artistic career to her Christian liberal arts education at Dordt College in Iowa.
“Angels Manipulated” by Grace Bomer
“My degree in English (Secondary Education) taught me to think biblically about culture and reality. Poets like T.S. Eliot continue to influence my artwork as do contemporary writers and poets.” But she acknowledges that the most important influence in her life and work is God’s living Word. She has just finished teaching a study on the rich imagery of the book of Revelation at her studio and looks forward to teaching both painting workshops (April 4-5) and another Bible study soon. She taught for six years in her native Alberta, Canada, before pursuing her study of art at UNC Asheville. Her quest for a biblical apology for the arts also led her to study Biblical Narrative in Italy with Gordon College, as well as a monthlong study in the Netherlands to re-enforce her Dutch artistic heritage learning from Rembrandt ‘Cover’ continued on pg. 17
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Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017 15
isit
V
Asheville’s Longest Established Fine Art Gallery with 31 Regional Artists
Asheville Gallery of Art 's April Artist
“Sunday Afternoon” oil on canvas, 24” x 24” by Sahar Fakhoury
“Greetings” oil on canvas, 24” x 24” by Sahar Fakhoury
“Red Dress”, oil on canvas, 12” x 12” by Sahar Fakhoury
“Imageries of Life” this April at Asheville Gallery of Art By Staff Reports
Asheville Gallery of Art’s April show, “Imageries of Life,” features the work of well-known figurative artist Sahar Fakhoury. “I am exploring the art of portrait with a twist,” Fakhoury says. “I maintain the likeness and essence of the subjects while infusing the paintings with vivid light and color. As my work evolves, I explore how much depth I can achieve by layering the figure and overlapping positions, pushing some layers in and pulling others out. I take my subjects out of their original context, which leaves room for the viewer’s interpretation and imagination as to where and why this took place.” Fakhoury says the majority of her subjects are people she encounters on the street. “Sometimes I have a certain idea in mind,” she says, “and I look for people to match. And at other
times I see a person who sparks an idea for a painting.” While the artist also paints landscapes and still lifes, she continues to be fascinated by the human figure. “Figures in motion represent the instability of our life,” she says. “Moving to another city or country, starting new jobs, and experiencing a sudden change in health are just some examples. Some of us put on several hats daily.” Fakhoury has been a resident of the Asheville area for the past 27 years. She has a BFA from UNC Asheville and teaches oil painting from her studio in Asheville’s River Arts District. She has exhibited her work in solo and group shows in several states and abroad. Her work hangs in both public and private collections around the world. Fakhoury’s work, as well as the work of the
16 Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017
other 30 gallery members, will be on display and for sale through the month of April. Asheville Gallery of Art’s April show, “Imageries of Life,” features the work of wellknown figurative artist Sahar Fakhoury. The show runs April 1-30 during gallery hours, 11-6pm. Monday through Saturday and 1-4pm. Sundays. The gallery, located at 82 Patton Avenue in Asheville, across from Pritchard Park, will host a reception for the artist on Friday, April 7, from 5-8pm. Everyone is cordially invited to stop by. The show will present a series of the artist’s new work. For further information about this show, you can contact Asheville Gallery of Art at (828) 251-5796, visit the gallery website at www.ashevillegallery-of-art.com, or go to the gallery Facebook page. IF YOU GO
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we will be present with your process and try to help you work your own personal mojo. Asheville Raven & Crone, LLC 555 Merimon Avenue, Suite 100 Asheville, NC 28804 (828) 424-7868 • www.ashevilleravenandcrone.com IF YOU GO
‘Cover’ continued from pg. 15 and Van Gogh. Grace Bomer has shown nationally and internationally in universities, museums, and galleries—from the Asheville Art Museum in her home city of Asheville to the Karas Gallery in Kiev, Ukraine. About the Raid River Magazine’s April cover: The cover painting is a detail of a larger oil and wax painting from a series called “Bending
to Love- In him was life and the life was the light of men.” Images and text in her cold wax and oil paintings point to a spiritual reality! This month, we celebrate Easter and the God who bends to make his grace and glory known. Visit her studio in The River Arts District at #6 The Warehouse Studios (170 Lyman Street). The cover image is from a 12- x 12-inch workshop demo at her studio located at #6 Warehouse Studios. It will be reproduced as a larger 36- x 36-inch manipulated giclee limited edition. It is titled “I Will Rise.”
In the House of my Pilgrimage (detail) by Grace Bomer
IF YOU GO
For a complete CV see her web site www.gracecarolbomer.com. The Warehouse Studio #6 in the River District of Asheville. (828) 545-2451
ARTS AND CULTURE NOTE:
ARTS HAVE SOCIAL IMPACT University of Pennsylvania researchers have demonstrated that a high concentration of the arts in a city leads to higher civic engagement, more social cohesion, higher child welfare, and lower poverty rates. A vibrant arts community ensures that young people are not left to be raised solely in a pop culture and tabloid marketplace.
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Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017 17
More of what Makes Asheville Special: Dining • Shopping • Galleries • Music
D ow n tow n A s h ev i l l e
Appalachian Pastel Society brings “Big Little Paintings” The Appalachian Pastel Society will present a show of small works,
“Big Little Paintings”, BlackBird Frame & Art from May 4 - June 17. at
Some of the region’s finest award-winning pastel artists will be represented, showcasing their talents in an intimate format. Although sizes vary, artists are charged with creating works close to a 9” x 12” configuration, making them more affordable and easier to place than larger paintings. Soft pastel is the most archival of all painting media. While using most of the same pigments as
either blended by hand or left with visible strokes and lines. Either way, it is the vibrancy and depth of layered pigment that makes pastels so special to many collectors. Their use in fine art dates to the late 15th century, Leonardo da Vinci being among “Joy Ride” by Pamela Winkler the earliest to employ pastels. Since the 19th paint, soft pastel is a dry medium century, many famous artists, with a much higher concentration most notably perhaps Edgar of pigment, and therefore is the Degas, have used pastels to a closest to pure color. It can be certain degree, some for complete
Diana Wortham Theatre’s April Line-up APRIL Diana Wortham Theatre’s Mainstage Series presents: The Máirtín O’Connor Trio, Saturday, April 1 at 8pm at Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville. Music Video Asheville, presented by Prestige Subaru, Wednesday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville. Diana Wortham Theatre’s Matinée Series for Students and Families presents Theatreworks USA in “Charlotte’s Web,” Thursday & Friday, April 20 & 21, at 10am and 12pm at Diana Wortham Theatre “From Seed to Oak: The First 5 Years Change EVERYTHING!” featuring keynote speaker Dr.
By Staff Reports
“Illuminated” by Susan Sinyai paintings, others for under painting or finishing. Artists who favor pastels often cite the immediacy of the medium, its receptiveness to
FIRST FRIDAY ART WALKS – APRIL THROUGH DECEMBER – 5 TO 8 PM
Kathleen Gallagher and reception with NC Governor Roy Cooper, Thursday, April 20 at Diana Wortham Theatre. Reception at 5:45pm; Keynote Program at 7pm. Liz Carroll, John Doyle, and Billy McComiskey, Saturday, April 22 at 8pm at Diana Wortham Theatre in downtown Asheville. “The Ripple Effect: Your Actions Create Positive Change,” featuring TED Talk presenter Mia Birdsong, Tuesday, April 25 at 6pm at Diana Wortham Theatre. Free and open to the public. RSVP For more information or to purchase tickets, please call the theatre’s box office at (828) 2574530 or visit www.dwtheatre.com
18 Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017
Downtown Asheville — Dining • Shopping • Galleries • Music their spontaneity and the intimacy of its hands-on connection to the artist as reasons for their choice. The Appalachian Pastel Society promotes and elevates the art of pastel painting in the region through education, exhibitions and other events. Centered in Asheville, the organization serves members in North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia. The APS is a member of the International Association of Pastel Societies, and APS members have “Round the Bale” by Beverly Kies received national recognition. All work at the show will be available for purchase. BlackBird is once again honored to host the talented members of the Appalachian Pastel Society, dedicated artists who take their craft seriously. Come experience these “Big Little Paintings”, small but lavish treasures from artists bringing new perspectives and techniques to an ages-old medium.
IF YOU GO
An opening reception will be held on Thursday, May 11 from 6:30-7:30pm. BlackBird Frame & Art is an independent gallery and custom frame studio owned by Pat and John Horrocks and located at 365 Merrimon Avenue in north Asheville. Hours are 10-6pm weekdays and 10-3pm on Saturdays.
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Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017 19
Drinks&Dining Guide
Too many people just eat to consume calories. Try dining for a change. —John Walters
pg.
26 WB
20 Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017
Drinks&Dining Guide “I was eating in a Chinese restaurant downtown. There was a dish called Mother and Child Reunion. It’s chicken and eggs. And I said, I gotta use that one.” – Paul Simon
Get your chocolate fix April 15 in Maggie Valley By Staff Reports for 18th Annual event Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate will be available for your taste buds at the 18th annual ‘Taste of Chocolate’ sponsored by First Citizens Bank on April 15, 6-8pm at the Maggie Valley Club. Professional and amateur baking categories as well as nonchocolate and showcase items will all be available. If you love chocolate, this is the place to be. They already have 23 culinary delights that will be baked for the event.
Along with chocolate and more chocolate, a silent auction (with more than 80 items), a milk fountain and wine bar will delight guests. Entertainment is by Ray Lyon on the piano. Proceeds from the Taste of Chocolate go to the Haywood Jackson Volunteer Center to assist in connecting volunteers to the community as well as helping people with Medicare through the SHIIP (Senior Health Insurance Information Program). Last year they helped 576 people with
Medicare save over $255,000 in prescription costs. Come join for a relaxing evening of fun and chocolate. Bring a friend and help share in the community. Tickets are available at Quilters Quarters, Blue Ridge Books, Maggie Valley Club and the Haywood Co Senior Resource Center(81 Elmwood Way) or call John at 356-2833 for more information. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. IF YOU GO
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Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017 21
SHOP TALK
VAVAVOOM adds romance and spice to your love life
By Staff Reports
VaVaVooom has been quietly providing lovely lingerie, romantic and comfort apparel, and body safe and luxury adult items in an elegant boudoir boutique in the heart of downtown
2008.
Asheville since
Our mission at VaVaVooom is to encourage women, and those they love, to live fully and imaginatively within the paradox of love & desire. In an fast-paced world, we promote lingering touch and caring communication. Many couples find the addition of intimate role play, bedroom “theater” and various playthings can enhance sexual sophistication and mutual satisfaction. Our wearables include pretty bras, corsets, garters and thi-hi stockings in standard and luscious sizing, and costuming accessories. The adult “novelty” industry is unregulated as to safety, so we carefully curate our selcction and carry only the specific brands that strategically monitor the production of their toys. The materials used are so important, because of the direct contact with highly absorbitive intimate areas. The brands we love are the Swedish Lelo toys, which are extremely well designed, engineered and
warrantied. Sliquid is a line of wonderful lubricants, free of glycerine, parabens, and unhealthy preservatives. Sliquid even has an organic line of lubricants and massage oils, and all are vegan friendly. Liberator is an American company, all their product is made in an Atlanta based factory. The company provides wonderful positioning pieces are highly recommended by local physical therapists for help with relaxing comfortably into various positions during playtime. We also carry the company’s selection of “bedroom gear” for restraint and sensory play, for more adventurous couples. We are fortunate to also offer the creations of
several independent local fashion and jewelry designers and crafts persons, including the Accentuate’s Clothing line and Heavenly Body Wear, produced here in Asheville. At VaVaVooom, our all-female staff enthusiastically encourages women and couples to reclaim a space of intimate delight.
VaVaVooom 57 Broadway St • Asheville, NC 28801 (828) 254-6329
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DISSOCIATION “Who
we are is awareness.
centered thinking.”
But we block it with our self— Charlotte Joko Beck, Zen Master
Take a step back in your mind. Become aware of being awareness seeing, hearing, feeling, thinking. Be the awareness. Do the previous statements seem nonsensical? This is only because our culture is egocentric rather than consciousness centered. I assure you, you CAN become aware of being awareness seeing what you see, hearing what you hear, feeling what you feel, thinking what you think. You CAN become aware of awareness, of BEING awareness. This is of the utmost importance if you wish to evolve into a clearer more centered and peaceful person, if you wish to be centered in consciousness rather than your wild and sometimes crazy mind, in your ego. Now, importantly — who is there? Who is this that is seeing, hearing, feeling, thinking? Who is this awareness? It is you and not you. Yes, there is a very definite experience of a “me” — AND — there is no one. Welcome to paradox. Westerners don’t take well to paradox, and this is a problem, for paradox is reality. Existence is everything. It is not this OR that, it is always and can only be this AND that. And the this AND that we are exploring here concerns being both a person and that which a person emerges from — like we have bodies that appear and function as separate entities, AND these bodies emerge from a field of energy where there are no boundaries, only varying degrees of density of atomic structures. We are separate AND we are not. Welcome to paradox, but the paradox we are exploring here is not concerning physical energy and bodies, but rather consciousness energy and individual minds. Returning to taking a step back in your mind: if you sincerely explore this, there will be the realization that when in the experience of being awareness, there is no “me” there. Yes, there is a “me” that experiences DOING the seeing, hearing, feeling and thinking and this “me” is centered in the body and in the experience of mind and it is very personal. AND there is the “me” WITHIN WHICH the amalgam of seeing, hearing, feeling, and thinking OCCUR and it is impersonal, it is just processes of seeing, hearing, feeling and thinking. In this perspective, “You” are the field of experiencing consciousness. As is said in Zen, “There is no one there.” This is where the personal me steps back and the direct experience of awareness comes into the foreground. There certainly is this personal and separate “me;” this sense of self does not disappear, it is not, however, center-stage, so to speak. This is what Joko Beck means about “self-centered thinking.” The experience of separate self is no longer at the center of consciousness imagining itself as the source of consciousness. Continuing this exercise, having taken a step back in your mind, I ask you to next step OUT from your mind INTO what is seen, heard, felt, and even thought as experiences not “in here,” rather as just what is occurring in the field of experiencing consciousness. I also ask you to take note of the spacious felt-sense of comfort, ease and well-being that occurs with this perspective. This is not how we typically relate to experience. We typically relate to experience as if it is happening to someone called “me” inside this body and mind experiencing the world “out there.” This is the sense of ego-self, all of experience tied together along with a hidden
ZEN PHILOSOPHY WITH BILL WALZ backdrop of unconscious factors psychologically conditioned into us giving us identity and preferences and prejudices and opinions and subtle levels of security or insecurity, confidence or anxiety, optimism or pessimism and a whole host of other factors giving the flavor of the sense of “me.” But who is this that is the conscious awareness that is the primary experiencer of all that is experienced? Who is this experience of awareness? Can you take that step out — to be the pure experience that doesn’t need to hang itself onto an identity? This may seem like a crazy proposition, and perhaps it does have something to do with what we conventionally describe in this culture as “crazy,” but I assure you it is about being absolutely and completely sane. Here, I am introducing the phenomenon of “dissociation,” defined in psychiatry as detachment from the personality that sees, hears, feels, thinks, etc. in this matrix of experience we call “me.”Generally, this dissociation is understood as a psychiatric symptom of some very serious mental disorders, and it is when we remain fixed in identity with the contents of mind, with the ego. It is a withdrawal of the sense of self from the usual contact with the world that is considered normal. The term is generally associated with rather severe psychiatric disorders, the most extreme example being catatonia — where there is a total withdrawal of the personality from any contact with the external environment, or Multiple Personality Disorder, where there is the withdrawal of the primary personality into alternative personalities. Lesser, but still significant examples of pathological dissociation are periods of loss of time, or orientation, what is called “fugue” — and this can be on a spectrum from momentary to extended periods of amnesia. What marks these states as mental illnesses is that they are steps BACK WITHIN the mind — a withdrawal — from the contact interaction with the me-in-the-world that is the balance between inner and external realities, and these disorders are usually “self” protective psychological defense actions in response to overwhelming trauma of some sort. They are, again paradoxically, healthy and unhealthy — healthy in that they are protective, and unhealthy in that they become, in a sense, alternative ego-states, places in the mind where we live that are not in any remotely accurate contact with reality I am suggesting a very different kind of “dissociation” or detachment from the personality as has been conditioned as the sense of “me” that is a very healthy form of dissociation. It is a detachment from identity in the personality in which rather than a withdrawal of consciousness energy into a walled off or even completely alternative “me,” there is very healthy detachment of identity from the contents and activity of the mind as we project the sense of self OUTWARD Into the space of consciousness within which all the activity, the senses and thoughts and emotions arise. In other columns I have addressed this experience that everyone has and is identified as a “peak” or “zone” or “flow” moment, where the sense of separate self dissolves into the direct experience of seeing, hearing, feeling, acting in the moment, as the moment, and these moments are very satisfying and pleasurable. “Our suffering is in our resistance to what is.” — Eckhart Tolle We have all experienced being ensnared in painful “self-centered thinking” when our lives are confronted with some degree of difficulty or trauma, and as long as our sense of “me” is caught in the
whirlwind of self-centered thought and emotion that accompany these experiences, we are in distress. I want to point to how the resolution of our distress always comes when we allow a letting go of holding our identity in the distress, when we step back from the identification, and then step OUT into acceptance, when we become the “what is” without resistance, as Eckhart Tolle would instruct us to do. There is this moment when we just become the moment as it is — the relationship, health, financial, or professional crisis — and there is no longer a beleaguered “me” there. We surrender our selfcentered thinking into pure awareness of what is. Only then can we regather our lives and move on in a healthy manner centered in whatever action is necessary to address the “what is.” The radical practice I am suggesting is to live all our life in this manner — not needing peak or calamitous circumstances to let go, to dissociate, self from the egoistic personality. Learn to use the egoistic mind as a tool, just the same as the body is a tool, for engaging and working with the world. It is not who you are. You are the awareness that HAS a body and mind. Learn to not block it with “selfcentered thinking.” A skillful craftsperson takes good care of their tools – so too, it is important that we take good care of the tools of body and mind - just don’t confuse them for who you are – any more than you would confuse yourself for a hammer or a skillet if you function as a carpenter or a cook. Dissociate self from the tool of mind and you can become a master crafts-person of life – awareness personified.
Bill Walz has taught meditation and mindfulness in university and public forums and is a private-practice meditation teacher and guide for individuals in mindfulness, personal growth and consciousness. Information on classes, talks, personal growth and healing instruction, or phone consultations at (828)258-3241, e-mail at healing@ billwalz.com Learn more, see past columns, video and audio programs at www.billwalz.com
Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017 23
HEALTH
What Health Care do you need?
By Max Hammonds, MD
One of the major concerns in the US is the everincreasing cost of health care.
In 2015 health care cost $3.2 trillion or approximately $9,990 per person in the US. This is 17% of our GDP (gross national product) and 30% of our federal budget. Much of this cost is due to chronic illnesses – heart disease, cancer, chronic lung disease, stroke, diabetes – that have occasional flare-ups of acute crises. In 2014, heart disease killed 610,000 at a cost $207 billion. Those who don’t die must live with chronic heart disease. About 47% of adult Americans have at least one of the three major risk factors of cardiovascular disease – high cholesterol, hypertension, or smoking. The sad fact is
90% of cardiovascular disease is preventable. In 2014, cancer diagnosis and treatment cost $87.7 billion and 600,920 American lives. It is the second most common cause of death in US and is 80% preventable. In 2014, Chronic Lung disease affected 35 million Americans, costing $154 billion annually. Most live for years before they succumb to the number three killer – behind heart and cancer. Chronic lung disease is 90% preventable. In 2010, people suffered 795,000 strokes and 137,000 died. Stroke is the #4 cause of death, which means the rest do not die but have significant disabilities at a cost of $73.7 billion annually. Strokes are 90% preventable. In 2015, people spent $245 billion treating diabetes – which is a precursor to heart disease, stroke
24 Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017
and cancer. Diabetes is notorious for causing slow, chronic debilitation before death. Type 2 diabetes is almost 100% preventable. And seven of 10 deaths in the US are caused by chronic diseases. Logic would say that avoidance of chronic disease would make good sense. However, we in the US do not concentrate on disease prevention, neither in terms of financial resources or in terms of institutions involved. Instead of concentrating on wellness promotion and disease prevention, most health care resources are concentrated on acute care, rehabilitation, and chronic care. But we don’t need to wait for reallocation of resources by the government or the health care system. We can begin by developing and adopting our own wellness lifestyle – and avoid being part of the chronic disease statistics and the rising cost of health care. When we consider the alternative, this is not hard – but it is vital.
CRAFT
Female Southern Highland Craft Guild makers rekindle their sisterhood
By Staff Reports
On Saturday, April 15, 1-3pm, nine female makers of the
Southern Highland Craft Guild will host an opening reception for their ongoing exhibition in the
Folk Art Center’s focus gallery. The reception is free and open to the public as each of the members will share work, as well as discuss the influence of Guild membership in their creative journeys. “Roots in the Guild: 9 Women Artists Today” opened last month with pieces from Jimmie Benedict, Ellen Crandall, Bernie Rowell, Gina Anderson, Pat Herzog, Judi Gaston, Ann Hughes, Diane Tunkel Hanson, and Rosa Kennedy. These nine makers joined the Guild in the 70s as styles and designs were transitioning from traditional to modern and contemporary in craft. “A number of these individuals represented that change and growth,” says member Jim Gentry, and past Executive Director. “Women who were linked by geography, youth, creativity, a love of visual arts and an organization,” he goes on to say, “Southern Highland Craft Guild routinely gathered to share work, inspiration and, no doubt, day-to-day concerns.” The catalyst for this show and sisterhood reunion started with Ann Hughes finding a
As members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, the group of nine inherited numerous opportunities. The Guild offers history, administration, education, sales opportunities, national status, fraternity and an enormous opportunity to participate. The Guild is second in age in the country only to the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts. Craft guilds of this magnitude are rare. “In the early days of our group, the Guild brought us together through shows, committee work, and annual meetings. We incubated deeply into these years ... active and growing like weeds,” says Diane Hanson. “Having so much in common drew Stoneware Tureen Set by Rosa Kennedy us together and we in many ways became sisters.” photograph taken in 1980 of the group at a party at her Friendsville, Tennessee home. These women met informally several times a year to Admission to the Folk Art Center is free. IF YOU The Folk Art Center is located at Milepost 382 share accomplishments and struggles as a GO way to combat the isolation of working alone in on the Blue Ridge Parkway in east Asheville. the studio. It also was a space for support and Headquarters to the Southern Highland Craft Guild, accountability. the Center also houses three galleries, a library, a “Participating in this show has craft shop and a Blue Ridge Parkway information provided an opportunity to look desk and bookstore. critically at our time together,” says The Southern Highland Craft Guild is a nonHughes. “I began by looking at profit, educational organization established in 1930 Guild history and something stirred to cultivate the crafts and makers of the Southern inside me as I read about Frances Highlands for the purpose of shared resources, Goodrich and Lucy Morgan. I became education, marketing and conservation. The Southern personally connected with the WNC Highland Craft Guild is an authorized concessioner of Craft Revival ... a movement inspired and the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. administered for a large part by women. Without The Folk Art Center is located at Milepost 382 of the being conscious of this at the time, I realize now Blue Ridge Parkway, just north of the Highway 70 that I was able to move forward in a profession entrance in east Asheville, NC. that welcomed women with open arms.”
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Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017 25
THE POET'S VOICE
National Poetry Month Hurray! It’s is finally April, National Poetry Month. Go to the library and check out a poet you have never read. When I go to the library the check out librarian will say something like, “Oh, my! All poetry!” Yes, indeed! ALL POETRY. I will take the liberty of sharing a few of my favorite poets and their poems. ‘BEING A PERSON’ by William Stafford Be a person here. Stand by the river, invoke / the owls. Invoke winter, then spring. / Let any season that wants to come here make its own / call. After that sound goes away, wait. / A slow bubble rises through the earth / and begins to include sky, stars, all space, / even the outracing, expanding thought. / Come back and hear the little sound again. / Suddenly this dream you are having matches / everyone’s dream, and the result is the world. / If a different call came there wouldn’t be any / world, or you, or the river, or the owls calling. / How you stand here is important. How you / listen for the next things to happen. How you breathe. ‘HOW TO BE A POET BY WENDELL BERRY’ from Given New Poems How To Be a Poet / (to remind myself) / Make a place to sit down. / Sit down. Be quiet. / You must depend upon / affection, reading, knowledge, / skill—more of each / than you have—inspiration, / work, growing older, patience, / for patience joins time / to eternity. Any readers / who like your work, / doubt their judgment. / Breathe with unconditional breath / the unconditioned air. / Shun electric wire. / Communicate slowly. Live / a three-dimensioned life; / stay away from screens. / Stay away from anything / that obscures the place it is in. There are no un-sacred places; / There are only sacred places / And desecrated places.
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By Carol Bjorlie — “The Poet behind the cello”
SPRING BY Mary Oliver Somewhere / a black bear / has just risen from sleep / and is staring / down the mountain. / All night / in the brisk and shallow restlessness / of early spring / I think of her, / her four black fists / flicking the gravel, / her tongue / like a red fire touching the grass, / the cold water. / There is only one question: / how to love this world. / I think of her / rising / like a black and leafy ledge / to sharpen her claws against / the silence / of the trees. / Whatever else / my life is / with its poems / and its music and its glass cities, / it is also this dazzling darkness / coming down the mountain, / breathing and tasting; / all day I think of her — / her white teeth, / her wordlessness, / her perfect love. BIG YELLOW TAXI lyrics by Joni Mitchell They paved paradise, / Put up a parking lot / With a pink hotel, a boutique / And a swinging hot spot. / Don’t it always seem to go / That you don’t know what you’ve got / ‘till it’s gone. / They paved paradise / Put up a parking lot chorus: They took all the trees / Put ‘em in a tree museum / And they charged the people / A dollar and a half just to see ‘em. Hey farmer farmer / Put away that DDT now / Give me spots on my apples / But leave me the birds and the bees / — please! Late last night, / I heard the screen door slam And a big yellow taxi / Took away my old man JAZZ FANTASIA by Carl Sandburg Drum on your drums, batter on your banjos, / sob on the long cool winding saxophones. / Go to it, O jazzmen. / Sling your knuckles on the bottoms of the happy / tin pans, let your trombones ooze, and go husha-husha-hush with the slippery sand-paper. / Moan like an autumn wind high in the lonesome tree-
tops, moan soft like you wanted somebody terrible, / cry like a racing car slipping away from a motorcycle / cop, bang-bang! you jazzmen, bang altogether drums, / traps, banjos, horns, tin cans — make two people fight / at the top of a stairway and scratch each other’s eyes in a clinch tumbling down the stairs. / Can the rough stuff. . . now a Mississippi steamboat pushes up the night river with a hoo-hoo-hoo-oo. . . / and the green lanterns calling to the high soft stars. / A red moon rides on the humps of the low river hills. . . go to it, O jazzmen BRENDEL PLAYING SCHUBERT by Lisel Mueller We bring our hands together /in applause, that absurd noise, / when we want to be silent. We might as well / be banging pots and pans, / it is that jarring a violation of the music we’ve listened to without moving, almost holding our breath. / The pianist in his blindingly / white summer jacket bows / and disappears and returns / and bows again. We keep up / the clatter, so cacophonous / that it should signal revenge / instead of the gratitude we feel / for the two hours we’ve spent / out of our bodies and away / from our guardian selves / in the nowhere where the enchanted live. From T. S. Elliot’s ‘FOUR QUARTETS — LITTLE GIDDING , VERSE IV’ And every phrase / and sentence that is right (where every word is at home, / taking its place to support the others, / The word neither diffident nor ostentatious, / An easy commerce of the old and the new, / The common word exact without vulgarity, / The formal word precise, but not pedantic, / The complete consort dancing together) / Every phrase and every sentence is an end and a beginning, / Every poem an epitaph. And any actions a step to the block, to the fire, down the sea’s throat / Or to an illegible stone: and that is where we start.
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26 Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017
BOOKS Environmental journalist Ellen Hannibal at Malaprop’s April 6
By Melanie McNair
Malaprop’s Bookstore & Café presents Mary Ellen Hannibal, award-
be our last, best, hope in slowing an unprecedented mass extinction. With rates of extinction winning environmental accelerating, ordinary people journalist, author, and are increasingly taking part in thought leader, on extraordinary scientific efforts. Thursday, April 6. Hannibal traces today’s Hannibal will discuss her new tech-enabled citizen science book, Citizen Scientist: Searching movement to its for Heroes and roots: the centuriesHope in an Age of long tradition of Extinction. amateur observation Joining her in by writers and conversation will naturalists; then be Mallory D. with an abiding zeal McDuff, Professor, for protecting the Environmental planet, she turns her Studies/Outdoor gaze to the wealth of Leadership, at species left to fight Mary Ellen Hannibal Warren Wilson for. College, Asheville. “Mary Ellen Hannibal is a Citizen Scientist is Hannibal’s thoughtful and engaging voice in story of the flourishing community the citizen science movement and of volunteers who help conserve her book is both timely and relevant nature. Alongside this heroic cast of for our region,” said Melanie fellow “citizen scientists” Hannibal McNair, Malaprop’s Director of wades into tide pools, follows Marketing and Author Events. hawks, and scours mountains to “We’re excited to have her here, collect data on threatened species, and to complement her appearance and finds the makings of what may
with one of our local authorities on environmental issues, Warren Wilson’s Mallory McDuff.” A veteran journalist, Hannibal has stated: “I consider it my job to understand the science, then translate it for more general readers. This frequently involves contextualizing science within a framework of art and literature.” Hannibal’s previous books include The Spine of the Continent, described as “the biography of a big conservation idea,” and Evidence of Evolution, a collaboration with the photographer Susan Middleton that has been described as “a natural history museum between two covers.”
IF YOU GO
Mary Ellen Hannibal, awardwinning environmental journalist, author, and thought leader, on Thursday, April 6. Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe 55 Haywood St. Asheville. (828) 254-6734 www.malaprops.com
Seeing Angels Clearly: Richard Allen Taylor’s Armed and Luminous By Grace C. Ocasio Armed and Luminous is Poet Richard Allen Taylor’s latest poetry collection. A fairly recent volume, it was released in September 2016. Those of us who come to Taylor’s volume with preconceived notions of how angels function will be wise to drop them. Perhaps, at least initially, we may draw from the well of pop culture: Hallmark
channel Christmas movies featuring angels and Hollywood movies like It’s a Wonderful Life and The Bishop’s Wife that have endeared generations of movie goers. But what Taylor offers us is a tabula rasa: he compels us through his deliberate, visionary verse to contemplate angels with open minds. When we
willingly and willfully disavow all cultural baggage associated with angels, we find that how angels navigate their interactions with human beings is an overarching trope that predominates in Taylor’s work.
IF YOU GO
APRIL
PARTIAL LISTING
We host numerous Readings & Book clubs, as well as Salons! Visit www.malaprops.com
READINGS & BOOK SIGNINGS BREN MCCLAIN presents ‘ONE GOOD MAMA BONE’ 04/01, 7pm SHOBHA RAO presents ‘AN UNRESTORED WOMAN’ 04/03, 7pm MARY ELLEN HANNIBAL presents ‘CITIZEN SCIENTIST’ 04/06, 7pm ERIKA CARTER presents ‘LUCKY YOU’ 04/07, 7pm JOHN KESSEL presents ‘THE MOON AND THE OTHER’ 04/15, 7pm PAULA ROBBINS presents ‘ON STRAWBERRY HILL’ 04/18, 7pm HANNAH PALMER presents FLIGHT PATH 04/22, 7pm JOHN COX presents TO KILL A PEOPLE: GENOCIDE IN THE 20TH CENTURY 04/24, 7pm SETH HAWKINS presents VERTICAL AID 04/28, 7pm HAPPY SPRING!!!
55 Haywood St.
(828) 254-6734 • 800-441-9829 Monday-Saturday 9AM to 9PM Sunday 9AM to 7PM
To read the complete review please visit www.rapidrivermagazine.com.
Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017 27
(Detail) Bobbie Roberts “Moon Splendor” in oil takes the viewer into the moonlit country night.
By ghostly light, artists interpret the dark night
By Staff Reports
Swannanoa Valley Fine Arts League Member’s Art Show Red House Studios and Gallery Now through May 7th, 2017 The Swannanoa Valley Fine Arts League celebrates its 50th anniversary with the first members’ art show of 2017, entitled “Moonlight Becomes You”, now thru May 7
at the Red House Gallery in Black Mountain. This show will lure gallery visitors to the “World After Dark,” from the oceans to the mountains, inside or outside; life after dark takes on a particular look and feel. The artists participating in this show will interpret the theme using a variety of media; ‘Ghostly Moon’ continued next pg.
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Cindy Chenard’s contemporary mixed media work “Dancing in the Moonlight” uses texture and color to express movement. from watercolor to oils to fiber to encaustic. Moonlight and Mood just go together, according to curator Jack Williams. Come and have your emotions tantalized. A separate exhibit will showcase the artwork of 15 new league members, along with a biography of each artist. The Swannanoa Valley Fine Arts League (svfalarts.org) has provided a venue for art and artists in the valley since 1967, and will be
Go
Rhanna Nyman’s “Near and Far” is a painterly application of color through the use of small bits of fabric and thread. celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2017. The Red House provides artist studios, ongoing workshops, and free programs about the arts. The Red House Studios and Gallery, is located at 310 West State St. Black Mountain, next to the historic Monte Vista Hotel. Hours: Tues.-Sat. 11-5pm. Sun. 1-4pm. IF YOU GO
Find Art and you will Find Yourself
— Dennis Ray
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FESTIVALS 20th Annual Greening Up the Mountains Festival April 22 in Sylva
By Staff Reports face painting, with many booths featuring fun games, arts & crafts and much more. At least 12 featured demonstrators and vendors will be participating including wood carvers, cane chair makers, corn shuck doll crafters, basket makers, crochet artists, knitters, and more. Traditionally-made mixed pickles and old fashioned ice cream will be at hand. An open mic for those wishing to share their musical talents is held at the southern end of the festival. “Greening Up the Mountains focuses on local community connections and shines a beautiful light on all of the great things that make living in WNC a truly unique experience,” said Festival Coordinator Amy Ammons Garza.
The 20th annual Greening Up the Mountains festival fills the streets of downtown Sylva with thousands of visitors Saturday, April 22, 104pm. Greening Up the Mountains features more than 180 vendors representing arts, crafts, demonstrators, local schools, businesses, communities, environmental and health groups, and safety organizations. The festival will also provide many food options, children’s activities and regional musical acts performing on two stages. Greening up the Mountains began as an Earth Day celebration, and continues to keep its focus on environmental protection, sustainability and promotion of local businesses and civic groups. Before the festival officially begins at 10am a 5K Run and Walk starts at 9am at Mark Watson Park. For the kids, also at 9am, a Cub-mobile Downhill Race is hosted by the Boy Scouts of America, Cataloochee District. Open to all registered Cub Scouts. Registration at 8am.
A family enjoys the day at Greening Up the Mountain Music begins at 9:30am with the 20th annual Mountain Youth Talent Contest. To enter the contest, contact heather_gordon@ncsu.edu. Music will be held throughout the day.. Over 100 arts, crafts, demonstrators and community booths will line Main Street, with 80 more on Railroad Avenue, plus a full Farmer’s Market. “Kid’s Zone” where children can enjoy an inflatable slide, the “Balloon Coon,”
For more info call Event Coordinator Amy Ammons Garza at (828) 631-4587, e-mail greeningupthemountains@gmail.com, visit the website at www.greeningupthemountains.com. IF YOU GO
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2016/2017 Season • Thomas Wolfe Auditorium • Daniel Meyer, Music Director Mozart Violin Concerto No. 3
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CALL FOR TICKETS: 828.254.7046 • ashevillesymphony.org 32 Vol. 20, No. 8 — RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — APRIL 2017