- [Narrator] Fire,
passion,
vision,
artistry,
toile,
experience.
It takes two artists working in tandem.
- This is a typical stop on an Art Connections tour.
I try to find artists that people
wouldn't normally find in Asheville.
It's wonderful to go in the galleries
and in the River Arts District as well.
What I like to do is specialized in coming to a home studio
where people wouldn't really find them on their own.
So I can make that introduction
and they can also learn a lot from the artist.
So Hayden say he will just show us the whole process.
- [Narrator] Depending on the length of your planned tour,
you will meet between three to six artists.
And sometimes, you were encouraged
to get engage in the process.
And you will find a connection
that can bond you to a piece of art.
- [Man] This way?
- [Artist] Yup, yup. And now the other way.
I'll flip it up, now drag it to the other way.
Yep.
- My tours are like an invitation to make a new friend
or an invitation to meet someone
that you can form a connection with.
So many times, tour participants find
that they have something in common with the artist.
Maybe they both lived in the same area previously.
So it's a great way to get to know behind the scenes
of the artist work, but to just meet them
and learn a little bit of their story and make a connection.
- [Narrator] Artist availability depends on the day
you choose and there are so many different styles of work
you will discover a new studio artist each time you tour.
- Every time I have a tour it's different.
Each participant gets to experience something new
and that's because Western North Carolina has a huge number
of artists and the participants like different things,
so I want to customized it so that they're enjoying
something that really interest them.
So I kind of ask questions and then I offer suggestions
and then we go from there.
- [Narrator] Studio tours can provide you a wealth
of new ideas from seeing different fabrications,
unusual constructions, details and applications
that can spark your imagination.
Calling corporates unique etchings within the stack layers
of glass for his unique commissioned works of art.
- [Sherry] Sometimes someone's looking
for a new piece for their home.
They might need a new painting or a sculpture
for remodeling their home,
so we would have a specific purpose when we went on a tour.
- What I do is I'd laminate it.
- [Narrator] Robert uses dichroic glass
that has colorful layers of glass incorporating thin coats
of metals or oxides, which he laminates
within globes and geometric forms of optic led crystal.
- [Sherry] This is the artist's life.
This is what they love doing and they are passionate
about sharing what they know, what they have studied,
what they have mastered over their career
or what they're learning that's new,
so seeing that from the artist is really wonderful.
You get a glimpse of kind of their thought process,
how new ideas come and how they experiment and try things
or just how their careers have developed over time,
and you really get to see what their life is like.
When you see a piece of art,
if it's in a museum or a gallery or on the street,
you might assume you know how it's created,
but when you come into his studio and hear from the artists,
you truly understand the steps behind it, the planning,
the preparation they have to do to create the piece.
One thing that people sometime say is
how long did it take you to make that piece.
Well, the best answer might be 40 years.
So, it's their whole life.
- [Narrator] Art Connections provides curated tours
throughout Western North Carolina all year round.
You can choose a scheduled tour
or have one personalized for you and your group.