November with the Avery Arts: the skilled, the naïve, and the festive

LINVILLE – November may be the end of the leaf season in the High Country, but it is definitely not the end of a colorful season with the Avery Arts Council. This month, the talented Jessie Schmitt displays her work at the Arts Council’s main gallery and office behind the Old Hampton Store on Ruffin Street, in the aptly-named Avery Gallery. Jessie’s work was previously on view at the Crossnore Fine Art Gallery in Crossnore. The landscapes she paints are representational scenes of the High Country, yet idealistic and dreamy all at once. Most of the pieces she is displaying are in oil, though there are also three executed in graphite and one in pastel. The show will run through the month of November, and, weather permitting, into December as well.

Jessie’s artwork complements the ever-increasing variety of holiday ornaments and gifts on display at the Avery Gallery. Many local artists have hand made crafts especially for the season. What better to give someone who has everything something that is one of a kind? There comes with it the spirit of celebrating all that makes our region unique! The Avery Gallery is open Wednesday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm, and on Sunday from 12pm to 5pm.

Also in November, artwork by the late Morris Brown will be on display at the Dickson Gallery inside Cannon Memorial Hospital. Morris was a resident of Yellow Mountain Enterprises, which, in collaboration with the Avery Arts Council, put together this commemorative exhibit. Much can be learned about Morris’s life by viewing his artwork.  Although naïve in style, it is comprehensive and meticulous in its depiction of the details Morris considered important. The resulting art is colorful, personal, and highly expressive. This exhibit will open on Wednesday, November 9th and be on display through the rest of the month.