"When you do shows like this for years, it's like going to a family reunion," says local artist Elizabeth McAfee.
Best known for her whimsical depictions of cats (her designs have long graced the annual posters of Asheville's other summer arts festival -- August's Village Art & Craft Fair), McAfee has been showing her work in Bele Chere's juried-art area for nearly two decades.
"My first show was Bele Chere in 1988," she remembers.
Though the festival has grown increasingly geared toward live music, with a secondary emphasis on food and family fun, art still has its three days in the sun. This year, 140 artists from around the country will exhibit pottery, painting, jewelry, ironwork, furniture, fiber art and more.
Offerings range from life-sized, animal-shaped lawn sculptures to intricately crafted wooden instruments. And artisans can be found throughout the festival -- although "it's a little more special in the juried section," McAfee says of the prestigious Arts Park, so-named since 2001, and displayed in the parking lot of Asheville Savings Bank and the Drhumor building on Patton Avenue.
"You know that everyone there is selling their own work," she points out.
This year, Arts Park -- a competitive arena where participants apply for coveted booth spaces -- features 60 exhibitors. Locals include jeweler Suzanne Evans, ceramist Steve Turner and photographers Greg Wrenn and Darcy Holly. (And there's no shame in enjoying the non-juried displays. Vendors will hawk silks, baskets, beads, bonsai, calligraphy, wind chimes, soaps, walking sticks and many more creations you never knew you needed. In lieu of a true Christmas-in-July sale, think of Bele Chere -- at least the arts-and-crafts part of it -- as a chance to get all your holiday shopping done half-a-year early.)
McAfee's brightly hued works run the gamut, from the fanciful "Tabby Road" (four felines strut across a crosswalk while Fab Four lookalikes watch in the background) to the dreamy "Seaside Santa" (raccoons and seagulls replace cats in this mystical rendering).
"I have my niche," the painter admits with a laugh. "It's with animal lovers and people who like wit. I guess that rules out some people, but it attracts others."
And, even if you're not in the market for a full-sized feline fresco to hang in the living room, this artist has a little something for all budgets. "I have a lot of note cards and smaller prints," she promises. "I know that with the heat and the crowd, what sells are the smaller items that will fit into a backpack."
2005 Arts Park artists
Jewelry
• Espinoza (Norcross, Ga.)
• Dolores Fawkes (Atlanta, Ga.)
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I would like to know where I can buy the Tabby Road print by Elizabeth McAfee - Thank You. |
Debbie Barranger Nov 10, 2007 |
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Where can I buy the Tabby Road print please? |
Karen Sands May 19, 2008 |
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Where can I get reprints of the early cat paintings featuring the downtown Asheville skyline in the background? |
Patti Johnston May 23, 2008 |
