Imagine a 10-day Fall festival of Shakespearean plays. In the theatre and in the park. With college and local talent partnering with professional actors. Like the idea? 
Serious Ceramics
IF YOU THINK of ceramics as pottery, think again. But to do so, you may have to visit Bakersville, North Carolina, some 15 miles south of the Tennessee border in Mitchell County. Yes, it’s worth the drive for the ceramics and other works of art, not to mention the stunning beauty of this remote spot in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Mountain Orchard by Sarah Faulkner
The shop is Crimson Laurel Gallery which specializes in studio ceramics but also has some of the region’s best hand-crafted art jewelry, furniture, glass, and fine paintings by more than 100 artists. The piece above—approximately 36 inches wide by 18 inches high—is a delicate, tenderly painted scene of young orchard trees amidst rolling hills at sunrise (or is it sunset). As you stand in front of it, artist Sarah Faulkner transports you to a world of ultra-simple beauty and mystery. Her unique technique involves painting on textured board with acrylic paints and then coating the entire painting with a layer of clear wax.
Glass bowl by J.J. Brown
The owners of Crimson Laurel Gallery are John Lara and David Trophia who are both jewelers with a passion for ceramics. Since moving to Bakersville 8 years ago from Texas and New York, they have converted what was originally a silent-movie theater into a tranquil gallery that displays some of the most original art works you have probably ever seen. And their taste is evident at every turn. Each piece is exquisitely crafted, beautifully painted, and handsomely displayed—as in the case of the brown and white bowl at left, which is about 8 inches square and rests alone on top of a long, narrow table with a cloth runner. It is actually a glass piece by J. J. Brown, a retired fireman who moved to the Bakersville area from Miami.
Even if you don’t intend to buy, the experience of walking through this shop and soaking up the beautiful objects is wonderful. It could easily be called the Bakersville Museum of Art. The small building, which is deceptively simple on the outside, has been impeccably renovated—complete with original wood floors and some well preserved historical relics.
Sculpture by Lisa Clague
Encaustic painting by Kerstin Davis
One of the nice things about this gallery is its variety of styles and mediums. For instance, this novel rendering of stuffed animals by Lisa Clague who is a nationally recognized sculptor and Bakersville resident who moved from California. She currently has a special exhibit at the gallery entitled, “Down the Rabbit Hole.”
The painting below in celestial, molecular colors includes eggs shrouded in maps of the world (aren’t planets really eggs?). It is not only beautiful; it uniquely combines an abstract design and a symbolic message that, like Sarah Faulkner’s painting, transports you to a different view, if not to another world—and all in a colorful, 8-inch-square encaustic painting by Kerstin Davis from Burnsville, N.C. (Encaustic is a technique that uses hot colored waxes to create the image.)
Jar vase by Natalie Blake
Why so many ceramics artists in Bakersville, you may ask? One reason is the Penland School of Crafts just up the road. The school offers a variety of workshops in books and paper, clay, drawing, glass, iron, metals, photography, printmaking and letterpress, textiles, and wood. It also sponsors artists’ residencies, community education programs, and a craft gallery. And they have a very informative web site.
One final example from Crimson Laurel (it was hard to choose which ones to include with this post) is the elegant vase below, with a dramatic bird-like design painted in soft, subtle tones by Natalie Blake who is a potter from Vermont. The beautifully detailed jar includes a complex bronze-colored lid that looks metallic but is actually ceramic. This piece, which stands about 10–12 inches high, is just one of many pieces that you can linger in front of, look at, and appreciate as though in a museum.
You can see more pieces on the Crimson Laurel Gallery web site, but there is no substitute for witnessing first hand the rich variety of colors, textures, and materials in this sumptuous shop.
When you get to Bakersville, don’t miss the Saturday Farmers Market where you’ll find Richard Schulman’s hand-forged (and super sharp) carving knives along with creatively painted gourds and so-fresh-you-can’t-believe-it vegetables from local farmers. And remember that just a 30-minute drive up Highway 261 is the Appalachian Trail that straddles the North Carolina-Tennessee border. The trail is easy walking and the views are breathtaking. •
· Learn more about Bakersville (nice web site)
