Wrapping up our summer, my husband and I took a drive over to Waynesville. Located only 25 miles from Asheville, Waynesville is an absolutely adorable town with a great main street. For a relatively small location, it actually boasts quite a few galleries and specialty shops.
My favorite gallery in the area if the Earthworks Environmental Gallery. Celebrating their 20th anniversary at the moment, the gallery includes hand crafted art from both regional and international artists. There is everything here from pottery and jewelry to paintings, clothing and more.
While we were there, I explored the work of Elisa Holder, a self-taught expressionist painter who is based in the neighborhood. What a gem of a find! She uses bold, bright colors to paint the beautiful things that she sees in her surroundings in the mountains.
Elisa Holder
As the gallery website describes it,
“Beneath the surface, the focus of Elisa’s work is philosophical and spiritual and she is repeatedly drawn to paint objects that evoke a sense of solitude or isolation. She studies the subject of every new painting, whether abstract or traditional, and allows the energy from the canvas to direct her brush thus always maintaining her avid belief in the value of art as a window to the soul.”
We saw artwork by many other talented artists on our trip to Waynesville as well, but this one really captured my imagination. Just beautiful.