Asheville Arts 101 Lee Ann Petropoulos

If you're visiting Asheville, or even just considering making the trip, you already know that Asheville has a passion for the arts that has made it a safe haven for creative minds from all over the country. You may even know that Asheville has been called the "Paris of the South". What you may not know is how to get in touch with some of these artists, how deeply Asheville has impacted them, or where they find the motivation and inspiration to create the pieces that move us to our souls. But these aren't the kinds of stories that should come from a blogger, they're the kinds of stories that should come from the mouths of the artists themselves.

I came to Asheville in 2014 after two-and-a-half years in eastern Tennessee, eleven years in New Hampshire, and you-don't-need-to-know-how-many years in central Indiana. It took a long time, but I found my tribe. The artistic spirit and camaraderie of the artists in the River Arts District is a compelling reason to be here. But there is also the natural wonder of the mountains and the river that infuse the entire city with an appreciation for beauty.

I've been making art of some sort or another all my life, but I began working in mosaic in 2008. I love the concept of making something beautiful from broken things - it's a beautiful metaphor for life itself. In a sense, I feel that way about the River Arts District as well; buildings that could easily have been left to disintegrate and harbor vermin and disease were instead concerted into a haven for those who create beauty.

My love of nature informs my art - the beauty of a flower petal, of bare tree branches, of the creatures that inhabit the flora of the area. All these things find their way into my mosaics. But I also feel compelled to represent that when we look closely at one thing, we lose sight of something else. Whether we examine a rosebud or view the mountain ridge on the horizon. We can only grasp a portion of what is in front of us - a lesson we can apply to all aspects of life.

Lee Ann's mosaics have been displayed in juried exhitits from ONtario, Canada to Charlotte, NC - Long Beach, CA to Somerville, MA, twice winning Best of Show at Ciel Gallery in Charlotte, NC. her work is currently abailable at Kalled Gallery in Wolfeboro, NH (chosen as Editor's Pick for "Muse See" destinations in Yankee Magazine) as well as Abbington Green Bed and Breakfast, Asheville, NC and in her studio, #221 Riverview Station, Asheville, NC. She has been honored with an invitation to the Contemporary Mosiac Art Summit exhibit at Southern Oregon University's Thorndike Gallery in Asheland, Oregon, September 21 - October 17, 2015. Here is a copy of the full Press Release on Lee Ann's website about this prestigious honor.