Folk Art Center

We had a lot on our plate today and unfortunately we're unable to do everything we wanted to do. But that's OK--it just gives us a reason to return to Asheville, NC.  Our original plan was to relax all day. We have a lot of miles we will be covering in the next two days and we have been pretty busy. But there's just so much to see and do here that we couldn't resist.

First up was a walk. We try and make that a priority for health's sake, and too often we make excuses not to do it. This area is so beautiful. Campsites are far apart with lots of privacy and trees, which makes for a quiet and peaceful stay. Bob and I walked down to the lake which is small but is a big hit with families. You can see the small swimming beach on the opposite shore.

 Next we took a drive to the Folk Art Center, run by the Southern Highland Craft Guild. One of the camp host couples, Rob and Laura, recommended this place as a must-see. We were not disappointed.

  

This place is amazing. It features a museum of Appalachian crafts, a great store with the most beautiful locally handmade items, and the largest craft library in the United States. There were over 2,600 different weaving books in this library. Plus books on lace making, woodworking, beading, spinning, knitting, crochet, ceramics, and more.

These books, pamphlets, periodicals and videos have all been donated to the guild library. While these items do not circulate, people are encouraged to make copies of pages of these items. I had a field day in there and could have spent all day. Bob walked around the museum, talked to people, and browsed the stacks for woodworking books. Many of these items are long out of print ant cannot be found on the secondary market, so it was wonderful to have access to them.

On our way out we stopped to talk with Barbara Miller who was weaving on her Dorset loom.

As it turns out, Barbara used to RV and that loom has traveled all over. She gave us some great ideas on where we might want to volunteer at some point.

Bob and I really wanted to visit Cathy Gerson's studio to see her ceramic creations but it was getting late and traffic was bumper to bumper. We will put that on the top of our list to see next time through. So much to see, so little time. We can imagine ourselves spending a month here one day.

Tomorrow we are back on the road.