A new show with an emphasis on raw materials is scheduled to open on Friday, Aug. 23 at Tryon Arts and Crafts School.

The show will run until Sept. 28.

The “Natural Wonders” exhibit will feature artists who create works from wood, metal or clay. The display will feature the raw materials that each sculpture or painting has been derived from to show the transformation of the materials under the artist’s hand and with their imagination.

A member of the woodcarvers’ group at Tryon Arts and Crafts School is Bill Davin. He has a large sculpture that measures almost 5

feet carved from a Cypress knee, which is the pointed eruption at the base of a Cypress tree. It depicts a gnarled portrait of a male face and is entitled “Spirit of the Cypress Swamp.”

Another woodcarver/member is Don Blackwell, a well-known instructor and artist from Columbus. His carving from an old stump is a dual portrait entitled “El Anciano Espera La Muerte,” which translated means an old man waiting for death. It is carved from a black gum tree stump and will take a few moments for the viewer to decipher the image.

Local artist Bob Neely has a couple of metal sheet pieces that give reference to the mathematical symbol “Pi”. Neely’s work shows his accurate and technical skills in a gridded wall piece that reflects light in an unusual manner.

Christine Mariotti, gallery director, said she is excited for visitors to view the show as it represents the best of work created by the school’s craftspeople over the last few months and she believes everyone will be amazed at the transformation of the materials by talented artists.

The exhibit, the first of the fall season, is located in the newly air-conditioned gallery of the Tryon Arts and Crafts School at 373 Harmon Field Road, in Tryon.

The public is invited to meet the artists at an opening reception on Friday, Sept. 23 from 6-8 p.m.

For more information about our organization, please contact the office at 828-859-8323 or visit www.TryonArtsandCrafts.org.

– article submitted by Christine Mariotti