Douglas James Ferguson was born in Possom Trot, Yancey County, NC in 1912. He received a degree in Art Design Studies from Mars Hill College. From 1935 to 1947 he worked in the Ceramic Research Laboratory for the Tennessee Valley Authority in Norris, TN, where he acquired an interest in pottery experimenting with local clays. In 1946 he started Pigeon Forge Pottery ...
Isn't it incredible how a chance encounter can influence life's direction? Several years ago while visiting the Folk Art Center and considering a move to western North Carolina, Joan Berner met Liz Spear. Liz Spear was weaving in the Folk Art Center lobby. Through their conversation Liz shared with Joan what a wonderful professional crafts program Haywood Community College ...
(shown left to right: Julie Merrill, Peggy Epton, Reiko Miyagi, Peter Alcott, Elle Henderson, Judith Heyward, Jenny Mastin) The following artists successfully passed the image and object jury process to become members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild in February, 2013: Peter Alcott Gatlinburg, TN GLASS Ben Caldwell Nashville, TN METAL Peggy Epton Hayesville, NC FIBER Elle ...
Now that March has arrived so have daily craft demonstrations in the Folk Art Center lobby. One of our first artists on this schedule was Pam Etheredge who has been here the last three days. Having become a member in the Fall of 2012 Pam Etheredge of Afton, TN is new to the Southern Highland Craft Guild, but she is certainly not new to her craft. She ...
On Friday several SHCG staff from the Folk Art Center took a road trip to the Open House for Haywood Community College's new Professional Arts & Crafts Instructional Facility. We have been following the progress of the construction and were so excited to see the new studios. Hundreds of people were in attendance - community members, former students and faculty, and friends ...
This article is the first in a new series on the blog called Teaching Artists. Featured here, Guild member Leo Monahan shares his collage expertise in a series of workshops at Grovewood Galley in Asheville. Article by April Nance. Leo guides students through the design principles of collage. On the first day of Leo Monahan's workshop The Unexpected ...
Earlier this month the quiet of February was pleasantly disrupted by over one hundred first graders from a local elementary school. Working with the education committee, Deb Schillo organized a craft demonstration field trip to the Folk Art Center. Over the course of three days groups of students rotated through craft stations that included weaving with paper and yarn, broom ...
Come to the Folk Art Center to see the debut of the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s expanded retail space, Allanstand Interiors, on the second floor beside the Main Gallery. Studio furniture alongside art and sculpture for the home will be featured in a variety of media including wood, metal, fiber, glass and mixed media. Combining an innovative mix of traditional and contemporary, ...
Mary Frances Davidson was born in 1905 in Middlesboro, KY, into a family of third generation spinners and weavers. She remembered her grandmother who "spun on the high wheel" and "wove 'jane." Davidson attended West Virginia University during the early 1930s receiving a degree in education concentrating on mathematics, social science, and French. In 1941 she completed ...
