The Southern Highland Craft Guild will be hosting the New Members Exhibition and OpeningReception to celebrate 39 artists who, in the past two years, have been juried in by a
panel of judges to the nation's oldest craft guild.

The Opening Reception will run from 1-3 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 26, in the Folk Art Center Gallery. It’s free and open to the public. The New Members Exhibition will run from Sept. 26,
through Jan. 20, 2027.

This is an opportunity to celebrate the artists for this accomplishment and introduce them to
other Guild members and the community. Their artwork ranges from clay, fiber, metal, jewelry,
glass, mixed media and chair caning to brooms, wood, and leather work. Several of the artisans
will talk about their pieces and answer questions. Light refreshments will be served.

The Guild is partnering with ArtsvilleUSA, a non-profit promoting artists and art professionals
and educators in Western North Carolina to host an online version of the New Members
Exhibition. The online exhibition will be available at https://www.artsvilleusa.com/
Membership in the Southern Highland Craft Guild is open to dedicated artists working in
traditional and contemporary craft who successfully complete a two-part jury process focusing
on technical skill, originality, and professional presentation. The process typically takes about six
months. To be eligible, artists must live in specific counties in a nine-state region of the Southern
Appalachian Mountains. Presently, the Guild has about 800 members.

For more information, contact the Folk Art Center at (828) 298-7928.

The new members are:

• Rae Bachus, wood carving
• Julie Bagamary, textile art pieces
• Ashley Bangert, cork bags and accessories
• Sharon Bass, wire crocheted jewelry
• Bob Bragg, furniture
• Theresa Clower, mixed media sculpture (skeletonized flax leaves)
• Maggie Connolly, clay
• Charles deVries, mixed media sculpture (bronze casting)
• Leslie Fawcett, beaded jewelry
• Cathie Fitzjohn, fused glass
• Sherry Green, fiber (weaving)
• Amanda Hayes, metal
• Max Hendry, brooms
• Karen Hovis, fused glass
• Jill Howell, jewelry
• Suzanne Hrytzik, jewelry
• Aaron Iaquinto, wood (hand carved spoons, accessories)
• Sharla Kaufman, clay
• Nina Kawar, jewelry
• Doug Lowman, chair caning
• Shannon Lucas, jewelry
• Dalleen McClasky, clay
• Cindy Morgan, fiber (felting)
• Cheryl Munyan, clay
• Vickie Napoli, jewelry
• Denise Phillips, clay
• Amy Pike, jewelry
• Janet Purcell, fiber (quilting)
• Rebecca Regal, clay
• Deborah Robertson, leather (footwear)
• Lorie Russell, beaded and wire-wrapped jewelry
• Kelsey Smith, clay
• Judy Spark, fiber art/quilting
• Martin Stankus, clay
• Maya Stansbury, clay
• Eleanor Trollinger, fiber (dolls)
• May Lyn Wake, kilts
• Jeff Ware, wood sculpture
• Lyle and William Wheeler (Wheeler Forge), blacksmithing

The Southern Highland Craft Guild is a non-profit, educational organization established in 1930
to cultivate the crafts and makers of the Southern Highlands for the purpose of shared
resources, education, marketing and conservation. The Southern Highland Craft Guild is an
authorized concessioner of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.