• Garry Grubbs, stretcher-maker for many of Asheville’s artists, reports some painters are ordering stretchers which stand out as much as 6 inches from the wall. We will watch for these paintings.
• It’s great to have Paul Clark back in town to write for the expanded visual arts sections of the Asheville Citizen-Times. He’s not just a good writer; he has a real sense of adventure. He and Arnold Wengrow together will do a great job for all of us.
• You may not love all of it, but Linda Arbuckle has put together an interesting exhibition of ceramics as a guest curator at Blue Spiral. Everyone should have a Kathryn Finnerty teapot!
• Ben Betsalel may well be the most determined artist in town. His new work at the Wedge is somehow a little softer, and he is exploring street scenes with groups of people. There is a great portrait of sculptor John Payne, owner of the Wedge.
• Have you seen it yet? Ursula Gullow writes, films, directs, narrates and produces Art Seen Asheville on URTV. The show airs at 7:30 on Monday nights (OK, so you miss Jeopardy!) and each episode is better than the last. Last week, you could have gone on the River District Studio Stroll without getting cold. The camera work was professional, there was plenty of variety in the work shown, and the interview questions were great. Congratulations, Ursula!
