Haywood Community College crafts graduates debut at Folk Art Center
Learning how to make a Mid Century Modern lounge chair from wormy maple is one thing. Learning how to make a living making that chair is another.
Fortunately, the Professional Crafts Program at Haywood Community College (HCC) teaches enrollees to do both. “Entrepreneurship is a huge focus,” says Brian Wurst, a wood instructor at HCC. “We try to help people develop their design voice while also developing business skills.”
Ergo, when students aren’t throwing pots or weaving quilts, they are taking marketing classes, building a social-media following, and creating professional portfolios. After two years, their studies — both in the studio and out — culminate in an exhibit in the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s main gallery at the Folk Art Center.
Running through Wednesday, September 7, the 2022 Graduate Show features the creations of a dozen makers including Annah Bible-Sullivan, a woodworker who specializes in simple yet sophisticated furniture pieces. There’s also Leslie Jill Howell, a jewelry student who branched out with a cosmic-inspired light fixture she calls the “Galaxy Family Moon Cruiser — Year Model 2095.”
For these graduates, the show is a major debut — their first big break, if you will. “The exhibit provides exposure in a professional venue,” notes Robert Blanton, a jewelry instructor at the college. “It’s not unusual for gallery owners to pass through the Folk Art Center and then contact students about carrying their work.”
The exhibit also reinforces the college’s relationship with the Guild. Since 1977, when the professional crafts curriculum was put into motion, HCC has produced scores of Guild members. Wurst estimates well over 100, himself included.
Wurst graduated from HCC in 2000. Before then, he was working a “straitlaced, white-collar, tie-wearing sort of job” as a commercial architect in Asheville. The position involved drafting plans for clients (mostly colleges, ironically enough). Though it paid the bills, Wurst’s career didn’t satisfy his “itch to create.” So, he left it behind to pursue woodworking.
Today, he counsels aspiring creatives who also want to carve out a living from cherry or black walnut. Many are like him — leaving behind a professional career. Others are coming straight from high school.
Regardless, Wurst is brutally honest. He tells students: “This isn’t a path to riches or glamor. It’s tough.”
But few are deterred. “Students come to the program not because it’s lucrative, but because they have an abiding love for their medium,” says Wurst. “At Haywood, we give them the skills they need to make a living following their passions.”
The 2022 Graduate Show will feature work from 12 graduates of Haywood Community College’s Professional Crafts Program (haywood.edu). The exhibit will be on view until Wednesday, Sept. 7, on the second floor of the Folk Art Center (Milepost 382 on the Blue Ridge Parkway). Free admission. For more information and hours, visit southernhighlandguild.org.