It’s not an everyday thing to spend an afternoon with acclaimed ceramics and mixed media sculptor Michael Sherrill — whose work has been shown at the Smithsonian and the White House — at his studio near Bat Cave. Or with paper sculptor Leo Monahan, wood sculptor Darrell Copeland or painter Dale McEntire. These artists and many others from the impressive Rolodex of Sherry Masters, former general manager and buyer of Grovewood Gallery, are opening their studios for private tours curated by Masters via Art Connection Tours, her new business venture.
Masters spent 21 years at Grovewood Gallery, from the gallery’s opening in 1992 until January of this year. Two of those years, the gallery won national distinction as retailer of the year by NICHE Magazine. A native and lifelong resident of Western North Carolina, Masters always knew she wanted to work with artists. “It’s all about what each of us are really drawn to,” she says. “I am doing what I was made to do. We have things in us that guide our paths.”
She got her start right out of college assisting quilter Georgia Bonesteel in Hendersonville, and then spent four years at the Folk Art Center before Grovewood Gallery opened. Through the years, Masters has met a myriad of talented artists and wanted to share that experience with others. In 2010, she took on organizing American Craft Week in Western North Carolina. This year she co-chairs the national event.
When Masters turned 50, she says, “More than anything, I was ready for a change.” She wanted to spend more time with her husband, Mark, an architect, and their two sons, Eli and Ian. “I wanted to have the chance to be at home with the boys before they’re grown and gone,” Masters says.
She put a lot of thought into what she would do next. “How can I use my experience, my skills in my realm of influence that isn’t being done now?” she wondered. “I started asking friends ‘what do you think of this idea,’ and everyone was so positive. I just kept taking steps forward until Art Connection Tours fell into place.”
Masters is offering a two-day tour the weekend of October 26-27. That Saturday, the tour heads south of Asheville in a luxury Young Transportation van to Saluda to wood sculptor Stoney Lamar’s studio, followed by lunch at The Purple Onion. Then the tour stops at the studios of painter and stone sculptor Dale McEntire and ceramicist Michael Sherrill. On Sunday, the tour travels north to see jeweler Suzanne Q. Evon and potter Alex Matisse, great-grandson of Henri Matisse.
The two-day tour includes two lunches, one dinner and a gift bag from the artists. Private group one-day tours are also available.
Five or six artists have already volunteered for the spring tours, Masters says. “They’re looking at it as an opportunity to meet a new client, a collector.”
For details visit www.arttoursasheville.com.