Honoring Women

HandMade in America
is an organization covering twenty-two counties
of Western North Carolina, dedicated to
promoting projects that support and promote
the Craft Heritage of the region and its contributions to the region's economy. 

Exhibit Curator:
Norma Bradley,
Arts and Education Director
.

"Seminole Skies"
Georgia Bonesteel

Georgia Bonesteel

"My inspiration is derived from a century of quilt making by our foremothers.  My mountain wall hanging is an original design inspired by the Blue Ridge range.  The technique is a piece and re-piece method so it is named Seminole Skies."

As creator and host of "Lap Quilting", produced since 1979 by The North Carolina Center for Public Television, Georgia Bonesteel has shared her enthusiasm and love of quilting through eleven series of the show.  She also shares her expertise through workshops, slide lectures, demonstrations, retreats, and judging of quilting shows.  "Teaching," Georgia says, "is my first love, since, in this way, I am able to do my small part to perpetuate the art of quilt making."

Cynthia Bringle

what is a pot
a pot is not
just any gray
little bowl of clay
a pot is a pot
for daffodils
or a porridge pot
or a pot for pills
cruets and goblets
jars and jugs
platters and plates
and trays and mugs
shallow pots
or dark and deep
pots to give
and pots to keep
touch them, hold them
pick them up
batter bowl
or saké cup
and feel the curve
of earth and sky
kitchen warm
or springtime shy
a pot is a mood
of many hues
but most of all
a pot is to use

Cynthia Bringle

Lynn Jones Ennis writes, "In her gallery you can't escape admiring the scope of her work and the way Cynthia's pots play off the colors and texture of (sister) Edwina's weavings."

Edwina Bringle

After 24 years of teaching at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC, Edwina Bringle has joined her sister Cynthia in Penland as a studio artist.  As a fiber artist she is known for her use of color and design in the creation of her woven textiles and free motion embroidered pieces.  Having enjoyed photography for many years the colors and designs from the lens often become part of the textiles.

Edwina Bringle

photo by Tom Mills

Paige Davis

"After almost 30 years of working with metal, I am still amazed by its vast potential to please.

My work has several origins:
...in experience and story, interpreted through simple forms
...function approached with a sculptural aesthetic
...the power of metal as material - its ability to be graceful, delicate, dramatic and strong."

Paige Davis makes both functional and sculptural metal art.  Her work is exhibited nationally and she has taught at numerous universities and craft centers.  She lives and hammers in Western North Carolina.

Mimi Schleicher

"I have been creating exotic marbled papers and fabrics for over ten years.  I continue to be entirely captivated by this unusual technique of surface design.  My desire to work with metallic pigments lead me to invent my own metallic formulas, finally developing a palate of marbling colors.

My interest is in contemporary marbling and pushing the limits of the process. This is where the challenge lies, rather than reproducing traditional work."

Patty Schleicher

"As an 'old' librarian, I've always loved books - so it has pleased me to learn how to make the marbled end-papers seen in antique  books.  One thing leads to another - from end papers to book - from book to writing - from writing to publishing.

As a craftsperson I love making something someone else will use.  I produce annual journals for several dedicated journal keepers."

Patty Schleicher has been marbling since 1978.

Mimi Schleicher
(daughter)
photo by Seth Tice-Lewis

Patty Schleicher
(mother)

"Illusions"

Billie Ruth Sudduth

"My baskets blend the historical with the present through color, pattern, surface embellishment, and form.  I am inspired by the classical shapes typical of Shaker and Appalachian baskets but I travel back over seven centuries for the most profound influence on my work: Fibonacci Numbers.  The weaving utilizes a mathematical structure of spiral growth found in nature to create baskets with a rhythmic, naturally flowing design."