Arts

Name: Conversations with the Curator: Arlee Mains
Start: 2025-10-23T11:00:00-04:00
End: 2025-10-23T12:00:00-04:00
Location: Blowing Rock Art & History Museum

October 2025
August 6 @ 11:00 am - October 19 @ 6:00 pm

Exhibition: Daingerfield & The Tonalist Instinct

Blowing Rock Art & History Museum 159 Ginny Stevens Lane, Blowing Rock, NC, United States

Daingerfield & The Tonalist Instinct explores the development of Tonalism, a distinctly American artistic movement responding to early modernist impulses in painting. Emerging in the latter half of the 19th century, Tonalism was characterized by subtle color harmonies, soft atmospheric effects, and contemplative, mood-driven scenes. Often emphasizing twilight or dawn landscapes, tonalist works evoke introspective, serene, or even ominous atmospheres, prioritizing mood and emotional resonance over detailed realism.

Free Entry
August 6 @ 11:00 am - December 27 @ 6:00 pm

Exhibition: The Shape of Color – Understanding Color Theory in BRAHM’s Collection

Blowing Rock Art & History Museum 159 Ginny Stevens Lane, Blowing Rock, NC, United States

This exhibition explores key milestones in the history of color theory through seven case studies, each centered on a single work of art from BRAHM’s Permanent Collection. Alongside these works, diagrams and historical models illustrate how color has been classified, studied, and understood over time. By examining these varied approaches, The Shape of Color invites us to consider the ways in which color influences our perception, emotions, and the visual world around us.

Free Entry
August 6 @ 11:00 am - November 15 @ 6:00 pm

Exhibition: Mary Lou Higgins – Sibylline Faces

Blowing Rock Art & History Museum 159 Ginny Stevens Lane, Blowing Rock, NC, United States

This exhibiton presents a selection of ceramic works and drawings by MaryLou Higgins (1926–2012), an artist active in North Carolina throughout her prolific career. Best known for her illustrative approach to ceramics, Higgins worked across multiple media, creating a body of work defined by intricate draftsmanship and a focus on the female figure.

Free Entry
August 6 @ 11:00 am - November 29 @ 6:00 pm

Exhibition: Arlee Mains – A Life in Watauga

This intimate installation of ten “memory paintings” by Arlee Mains (1935–2019) offers a vivid and affectionate portrait of early 20th-century life in the mountains of western North Carolina. A lifelong resident of Watauga County and a self-taught artist, Mains drew upon family stories, personal recollections, and regional traditions to create painted scenes of everyday Appalachian life.

Free Entry
August 6 @ 11:00 am - November 29 @ 6:00 pm

Exhibition: Andrea Keys Connell- Pattern Mapping

Blowing Rock Art & History Museum 159 Ginny Stevens Lane, Blowing Rock, NC, United States

At the heart of Andréa Keys Connell’s work is a question: how can the things we make help us hold time, memory, and care? Her ceramic sculptures—often fragmented, patterned, and emotionally charged—explore what it means to endure, to remember, and to repair.

Free Entry
October 9 @ 10:00 am - October 12 @ 4:00 pm

Broom Making Demo at Moses Cone Manor

Moses Cone Manor Blowing Rock, NC, United States

Peter Werner will be demonstrating traditional Appalachian broom-tying, which is how he creates his whisks, cake testers, and large sweepers. This demonstration will be held on the front porch of the the Moses Cone Manor from 10am-4pm.

Free
October 9 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Camp Catawba: The Groovy Camp

Blowing Rock Art & History Museum 159 Ginny Stevens Lane, Blowing Rock, NC, United States

Less than a mile from the Cone Estate, the camp sprung up each summer so young boys could learn about Homer’s Odyssey, hike in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and discover music and art. Vera and her partner, Tui St. George Tucker (the camp’s music director), ran the camp from 1944 to 1970.

Registration Required
October 10 @ 9:00 am - October 12 @ 2:00 pm

Exploring Tonalist Painting with Kyle Buckland

Blowing Rock Art & History Museum 159 Ginny Stevens Lane, Blowing Rock, NC, United States

Immerse yourself in the captivating world of Tonalism, taught by nationally acclaimed landscape painter Kyle Buckland. This workshop will guide you through the core principles of this evocative style, including limited palettes, close values, and creating a sense of mood and atmosphere through subtle color variations.

$349.00
October 11 @ 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

7th Annual Apple Butter Festival

Saunders Old Country Store 3637 Blowing Rock Blvd., Lenoir, NC, United States

Saunders Old Country Store is excited to be hosting the 7th Annual Apple Butter Festival — a free, family-friendly event happening on Saturday, October 11th from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

FREE
October 17 @ 10:00 am - October 19 @ 4:00 pm

Cottonwood Bark Carving Demo at Moses Cone Manor

Moses Cone Manor Blowing Rock, NC, United States

Tom Gow will be demonstrating how he carves whimsical cottages out of the thick bark of fallen cottonwood trees. This demonstration will be held on the front porch of the the Moses Cone Manor from 10am-4pm.

Free
October 19 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Daingerfield Docent Focus Tour

Blowing Rock Art & History Museum 159 Ginny Stevens Lane, Blowing Rock, NC, United States

Get an in-depth look at one of BRAHM’s most ambitious exhibitions yet: “Daingerfield and the Tonalist Instinct.” We feature extraordinary works by Blowing Rock’s own Elliott Daingerfield, including some from private collections that have rarely been seen publicly, as well as works borrowed from major museums.

Free Entry
October 23 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Conversations with the Curator: Arlee Mains

Blowing Rock Art & History Museum 159 Ginny Stevens Lane, Blowing Rock, NC, United States

Join BRAHM on Thursday October 23 at 11 am when curator Ian Gabriel Wilson will be in conversation with Pam McKay, guest curator of the exhibition Arlee Mains: A Life in Watauga. We will learn about Arlee, her relationship with Pam, and what it is about Arlee's paintings that still captivate us today.

$8.00