Art and Community: Out of Isolation
By Louise Glickman
Last fall, I mostly stopped driving due to eye issues, stalling me on constant forays downtown for meetings, lunches, and errands. That also placed me a bit ahead of the curve on using my time creatively while at home. With Covid 19, my friends and neighbors have joined me in mostly isolation and I’m happy to say, surrounded by my devices (laptop, iPhone and desktop), I’m happily connected and still have time for art in my studio.
Anxious to meet neighbors who live in my neighborhood, I hoped to share our interests in art. Biltmore Lake Artists was born in mid-December so that we could communicate, congregate and extrapolate what we learn together through programs, studio tours and shared art activities. Artists, art enthusiasts and art professionals who live in Biltmore Lake are encouraged to join us by linking through the Biltmore Lake HOA website.
Branching out to surrounding neighborhoods was a natural next step with thoughts for creating and promoting a studio stroll. After long discussions with experienced “Stroll” community activists, we studied the history of the Weaverville Art Safari, and the Beaverdam and Kenilworth Art Studio Tours. Then, Covid-19 brought our efforts to a halt and we sought a work-around to virtually connect us to our creative neighbors.
This month, we launch the Sand Hill Artists Collective tagged SHAC for brevity, as a gathering place to learn more about art, art collecting, history, workshops, activities and more. For now, everything is done digitally and we are grateful to Zoom and our virtual networks for bringing us together; holding us together as we launch this great new endeavor.
It’s all NEW, so please JOIN US (link to Join) as we connect our creative neighbors and neighborhoods along or close to Sand Hill Road from the Ingles at Smokey Park Highway to Universal Joint at Haywood Road. See more by linking to About Us- Add link here) Or feel free to respond directly to lsglickman@gmail.com. (Important: Subject line must include SHAC).
We welcome you, your ideas and your enthusiasm for art,
Sand Hill Artists Collective 
Lift off! SHAC’s got legs!!! Let’s watch it grow.
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