Art a la Carte


Upcoming Events at Artsville Collective at Marquee

Art a la Carte: Friday, April 22:  “Ukraine Through the Eyes and Pysanky Eggs of Andrea Kulish.”  Meet this artist and marketing guru for the RAD who will brings stories of her Ukrainian heritage to life through her crafted Pysanky eggs. Design symbols reveal meaning with this tradition dating back to Pagan times. Andrea will also demo and sell pysanky eggs with proceeds to benefit Ukraine’s hospitals. Read More: https://sandhillartists.com  and https://sandhillartists.com/andrea-kulish-design/. Meet + Greet at 11:30; presentation from noon-1 pm at Artsville Collective at Marquee. 36 Foundy in the RAD.

Andrea provides workshops to carry on the egg tradition of making and giving pysanky eggs. Photo by Matt Rose.

Art a la Carte: Friday, May 20: “Olmstead Inside Out: Discovering the Genius of Place” with Steve Frowine, horticulturist, author, Road Scholar guide and raconteur. Steve will reveal Olmstead’s deep beliefs and noteworthy actions that formed the foundation of his work as America’s first landscape architect. His contributions like Central Park, Biltmore Estate, Niagara Falls and more bring insight to the beauty and art of landscape architecture. Meet + Greet at 11:30; presentation from noon-1 pm at Artsville Collective at Marquee. 36 Foundy in the RAD.

Painting of Olmstead

STORIES

About Andrea Kulish
Presenting at Artsville Collective on April 22

“Ukraine Through the Eyes and Pysanky Eggs of Andrea Kulish.”

Local artist Andrea Kulish will introduce Artsville Collective guests to the magic of pysanky eggs on April 22 at Marquee. Symbolic graphics written onto the eggshell provide messages of love, life, and family. This Easter season, they will remind us of our good fortune as we help others in great turmoil. 

These Ukrainian Easter eggs are decorated in densely saturated colors and designs using a wax-resist, batik dying method. “All of the symbols on the eggs bring intentions for health, abundance, happiness, and other good wishes,” says artist Andrea Kulish and the creative process provides for an almost magical reveal upon completion. The pysanky egg tradition has pagan roots, with the egg originally symbolizing the natural rebirth as the earth transitioned from winter to spring. Pysanky later evolved into Easter eggs. The eggs tell “stories,” using a graphic language and colors like blue for good health, orange for endurance, pink for success and more.  Learn more at www.pysanky.info

Andrea showed talent early at the age of five, spending afternoons in her mother’s shop (her mother was also an artist) in upstate New York learning how to make pysanky eggs. She now honors the traditional designs, but also incorporates modern graphics, especially for holidays like Christmas or for commissioned eggs for special occasions. At her Studio A at Pink Dog in the River Arts District, Andrea shares the pysanky egg creation process with others through workshops, keeping the tradition alive and honoring her late mother.

Andrea’s time has been occupied fundraising for Ukraine, and she has sold out of her embellished eggs with few hours to make more. But, her friends and students have donated beautifully decorated eggs for Andrea’s “Community Pysanky,” making more available for Easter and Mother’s Day gifting. All proceeds go direct to the UNWLA Humanitarian Aid Fund, in addition to sales from her “Stand With Ukraine” stickers and handmade craft items from Ukraine that were donated to her shop. Funds continue to pour in at Musicians for the Greater Good (www.tinyurl.com/MGG2021) where Andrea organized a two-hour concert to build more support. Still available for your listening pleasure, all donations will be directed to Ukrainian civilians who have been displaced or injured, as well as to four military hospitals (Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv and Zhytomyr) caring for injured soldiers.

Andrea’s Website: https://www.ashevillestudioa.com/ 

Andrea’s Instagram: @avlstudioa      

Pysanky eggs will be available with proceeds to help Ukraine.

Showing at Artsville Collective through Easter

Jill Lawrence, Abstract Landscapes

“I am most alive when I am creating, and I have learned to give myself the gift of time and commitment to my art. Like life, my art is layered and ever changing, expressing through color, texture, and a sense of depth”  – Jill Lawrence 

Jill Lawrence is a painter through and through, but she wasn’t always. She started as a ceramicist and teacher. Her ceramics changed from functional to decorative, and then grew larger in size. Creating physical stress on her small frame, Jill turned her creative talents to painting.

Jill found oil and cold wax (or oil and cold wax found Jill) through a workshop at Western Carolina University. Inspiration struck. “Oil and cold wax felt the most natural to me. It has similar qualities to clay — the creaminess, varied dimensional aspects, movement, and flexibility. I enjoy moving the paint around on the canvas as I used to enjoy moving the clay through my fingers,” says Jill in an article for Asheville Made . Jill skillfully layers the oil and cold wax, building it up and scraping it away.

Inspiration also comes in the form of Jill’s four-legged friends—her Golden Retrievers. Hiking with her dogs is where she gets her best ideas, as there’s always something to be inspired by out in nature.

It’s evident in Jill’s paintings that she is intentional with color, texture, and depth. Come see for yourself as her work is on view at ARTSVILLE Collective through April 24, 2022. 

Jill Lawrence: Rise Up, oil and cold wax on board, 30×30

News and More at Artsville and Sand Hill Artists Collective

Exhibit at Artsville Collective through Easter: “Reading Between the Lines” includes paintings from Jill Lawrence and Micah Mackenzie, pottery from Rhona Polonsky, mixed media from Louise Glickman and pop art and animation from Daryl Slaton. Read More: https://sandhillartists.com/featured-artists-2/

Artsville NC Podcast: “How Asheville Became Artsville” Listen to all six episodes in our first series with Asheville area’s arts and crafts doers, movers and shakers. Hear all six at https://sandhillartists.com/4226-2/

Artist Daryl Slaton: New podcast available on Daryl’s retro pop cartoons with animated augmented reality. Listen at  https://notrealart.com/daryl-slaton/.  See them on display at Artsville Collective.

SHAC Connection: Events, news and stories arrive in your inbox generally once per month. 

Current and past issues at https://sandhillartists.com/news/