Stay: Asheville Studio and East Fork Farm
Asheville, North Carolina
In high school, I traveled to France with the sole purpose of visiting the Henri Matisse museum in Nice (his hometown!). As my mom and I approached the red museum doors, we we were devastated to find it closed for renovation–and we still talk about it to this day. Imagine my surprise when the farmer hosting us in the foothills of the western North Carolina mountains told me that the artist Alex Matisse, the great grandson of Henri, lives down the road, where he makes beautiful, functional pots in a wood-burning kiln. We took a self-guided tour of Alex’s outdoor studio, nestled in a clearing, surrounded by trees and wildflowers. He left some pots on his front porch for us to view and maybe buy. Walking in the huge kiln, smelling the wood ready to fire up pots not yet molded, seeing the cream hues of clay pots waiting to be glazed, and knowing that all the materials, tradition and craft in his art were rooted in North Carolina brought me so much joy. It was so inspiring to witness the preservation and exploration of traditional American craft.
Before traveling to the East Fork Farm, we stayed in a sweet, light-filled studio in downtown Asheville with 15-foot tin ceilings, a grand piano, a wall of mirrors, dozens of beautiful green plants and the best sunlight. The studio is one of many on an old market alley that used to be full of merchants, farmers, butchers, crafters and wholesalers. Today, the street is occupied by artists, dance studios and galleries. We ate several meals at the Early Girl Eatery, a from-scratch restaurant that gives children a bucket of toys upon arrival (genius!). Around the corner from our studio, a mural depicts a family of honeybee and poultry farmers, and a Parsons-dropout opened a cool shop called Royal Peasantry, which sells handmade clothing, jewelry and accessories made from feathers, leather and beads.
On the way home, we drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped in Virginia to admire the New River and eat at the Palisade Restaurant, a local food eatery housed in a former general store with all the dark wood shelving, tin ceiling and exposed brick intact.
The Details
East Fork Farm is located 25 miles northwest of Asheville. Two cottages (sleeping 2-4, $125/nt or 2-6, $150/nt). Cottages feature handmade stoneware, outdoor cedar soaking tubs, views of sheep grazing on rolling hills, a dozen farm fresh eggs, and a taste of mountain farm life.
11 November 2011 | Robin Hamric Said:
Kelly,
Jim and I stopped in Asheville last summer and went through the artsy galleries. They had all kinds of pottery. We bought a couple small pieces for our living room. We ate at a little cafe there. We had a great time. Beutiful place.
25 May 2012 | Chuck Said:
A link to the Asheville studio would be nice.
27 June 2017 | http://muzichitz.xyz Said:
I truly enjoy looking at on this website , it has good blog posts. “One doesn’t discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” by Andre Gide.
27 June 2017 | http://notioncoiffure.xyz Said:
Thank you for sharing superb informations. Your web-site is so cool. I’m impressed by the details that you have on this website. It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for extra articles. You, my pal, ROCK! I found simply the info I already searched all over the place and simply could not come across. What a perfect site.
27 June 2017 | http://muzichitz.xyz Said:
Just wanna say that this is handy , Thanks for taking your time to write this.
27 June 2017 | http://notioncoiffure.xyz Said:
It is really a nice and helpful piece of information. I am glad that you simply shared this useful information with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
27 June 2017 | http://pkraw.xyz Said:
I truly appreciate this post. I have been looking everywhere for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You have made my day! Thanks again!
27 June 2017 | http://pkraw.xyz Said:
I like what you guys are up also. Such intelligent work and reporting! Carry on the excellent works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it will improve the value of my web site :).
28 June 2017 | vypadávání vlasů léčba Said:
I like what you guys are up too. Such clever work and reporting! Carry on the superb works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it’ll improve the value of my web site :).
28 June 2017 | androgenní alopecie Said:
I want to point out my respect for your kindness giving support to those who actually need help on in this subject matter. Your very own commitment to passing the solution along was particularly functional and have always made girls like me to get to their aims. This insightful help and advice denotes a great deal to me and somewhat more to my peers. Regards; from all of us.
28 June 2017 | hair loss products review Said:
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
28 June 2017 | hårväxt piller Said:
you are truly a just right webmaster. The web site loading pace is amazing. It kind of feels that you are doing any distinctive trick. Also, The contents are masterwork. you’ve done a excellent process in this subject!
28 June 2017 | få ditt hår att växa snabbare Said:
Real nice pattern and excellent subject matter, absolutely nothing else we require : D.
29 June 2017 | chute cheveux traitement Said:
I do agree with all the ideas you have presented for your post. They are really convincing and can certainly work. Still, the posts are very brief for newbies. Could you please extend them a little from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.
29 June 2017 | meilleur anti chute cheveux Said:
Its excellent as your other blog posts : D, thanks for putting up. “Before borrowing money from a friend it’s best to decide which you need most.” by Joe Moore.
29 June 2017 | haren sneller laten groeien Said:
Very interesting info!Perfect just what I was searching for!
30 June 2017 | haarwachstum Said:
Its fantastic as your other content : D, regards for posting . “Slump I ain’t in no slump… I just ain’t hitting.” by Yogi Berra.
30 June 2017 | productos de rebrote de cabello Said:
I think this site holds some rattling good info for everyone :D. “We rarely think people have good sense unless they agree with us.” by Francois de La Rochefoucauld.
30 June 2017 | hiustenlähtö forum Said:
I will immediately take hold of your rss as I can not to find your email subscription link or newsletter service. Do you have any? Please allow me realize so that I could subscribe. Thanks.
30 June 2017 | miten paksuuntua hiukset Said:
I was examining some of your articles on this internet site and I think this internet site is rattling informative ! Keep putting up.
07 April 2020 | brgrlube Said:
buy cialis daily online buy real cialis online cialis tablets side effects
09 April 2020 | Scotty Bocker Said:
My partner and I absolutely love your blog andfind nearly all of your post’s to be exactly what I’m looking for.Does one offer guest writers to write content to suit your needs?I wouldn’t mind composing a post or elaborating on a few of the subjects you write concerning here.Again, awesome web site!
09 April 2020 | glass front mini refrigerator Said:
the area comes with a desk, bed, microwave, mini refrigerator, and closet
06 July 2020 | cbd stores Said:
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I have truly enjoyed surfing around your
blog posts. After all I will be subscribing to your feed
and I hope you write again very soon!
cbd stores
12 July 2020 | cual es el cialis generico Said:
This design is spectacular! You definitely know
how to keep a reader amused. Between your wit and
your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well,
almost…HaHa!) Excellent job. I really loved what you had to
say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!
cual es el cialis generico
15 July 2020 | malin+goetz acne treatment daytime Said:
Wow, superb blog layout! How long have you been blogging for?
you make blogging look easy. The overall look of your web site
is great, as well as the content!
malin+goetz acne treatment daytime