Christmas, 2011 - Gifts from the Mountain - The Cove at Celo Mountain

GIFTS FROM THE MOUNTAIN
to your family through the generations  

Your legacy begins  

 Designed and built locally in the time-honored tradition of American craftsmanship at its best

Two major events are happening up on Celo this December.  

Foxwood, the first 2 bedroom/2 bath Cabin/Cottage at Celo has a projected December 25 completion date. (The first 2 Cabins at Celo are built and sold as 1 bedroom and 1 bedroom with loft.) In addition, there is an unfinished level in Foxwood with a separate entrance that could easily be made into another bedroom, bath, sitting area and storage space - for you to complete at your convenience (or we will do it for you.) This pre-construction price listed includes land, septic, and well.  While we are Voice-Over and Internet ready (all utilities are in and underground, and we will have fiber optics before Asheville!),this is a perfect time to disconnect from the world at-large in order to reconnect with your family and friends.  Come back to our simple way of life in these wonderful, small American home towns in the High Country of the Blue Ridge.  Unwind.  Relax in front of the roaring fire of your cabin in the mountains before heading out for your favorite mountain sport or event.

Speaking of favorite events, the TRAC (Toe River Arts Council) Open Studio Tour - touted as the Premier Open Studio Tour in America - will be held December 2, 3, and 4.  Drive through the breathtaking scenery of this Blue Ridge Parkway area (or sign up for a guided tour) to the studios from which our celebrated arts and crafts movement of Western North Carolina originates. Many of our artists are internationally or nationally acclaimed, are designated NC Living Treasures, and have their works in the Smithsonian.  We are also home to the world-renowned Penland School of Crafts, which is also on the tour.  Choose heritage gifts, made by some of America's foremost artisans, that will be treasured through the generations.

While all of these Handmade In America gifts are made for a lifetime of enjoyment, if you choose Woodrock, the spec home now beginning on a 1.32 acre estate lot, you will have the option of participating in the ground-up building of your 3 bedroom/4bath home, if you so choose, with a completion date of spring, 2012.

Make this holiday season unique in beginning your own legacy of giving the gift of American handmade craft.  The umbrella organization of our Toe River Arts Council, Handmade in America, says it best.

Come back home for Christmas.  Your mountains await you.

For more information with features and floor plan for Foxwood, The Cabin/Cottage at Celo

For more information with features and floor plan for Woodrock, the spec home

For more information on the TRAC Open Studio Tour

For a 2-1/2 minute video of The Cove at Celo Mountain

Unique Gifts from the Ancient Arts and Crafts of the Appalachian Mountains

When you seem to be getting overdosed on Smart Phones, Xboxes, Wide-Screen TV's, and Wii's, consider something unique, original, handcrafted from the ancient arts and crafts of the Appalachian Mountains. Here are some of my favorites from various categories.

Trashformations - Rolf Holmquist takes the "throw-aways", the discarded of our society and transforms them into something beautiful and useful. Here are birdhouse Christmas tree ornaments and large garden birdhouses made from the recycled wood from old NC tobacco barns and found objects. This acclaimed artist has works in the top galleries in WNC.


Handmade Lapidary - there is beautiful jewelry, and there is jewelry that tugs at your heart for its symbolism. Matt Willig's designs are both.

Hand-thrown Pottery - loving and using the beauty of the handcrafted everyday - Sarah House is one of the best of the best.


Hand-blown Glass Ornaments or Objects - I don't even know how to begin here to pick out the artisans - some of the best in the nation are within a few miles of The Cove at Celo Mountain: Rob Levin, William and Katherine Bernstein, Kenny Pieper and others.


There is Billie Ruth Sudduth, a NC Living Treasure, whose Basket Weaving incorporated the Fibonacci numbers and Nature Sequence long before Dan Brown made it famous in his books.

There are Iron Forgers so gifted we have festivals where they have hands-on demonstrations to teach people from around the country. Zack Noble is one of the those gifted artisans.



Quilting is one of our heritage crafts. Contact our Mountain Piecemakers Quilt Quild to put you in touch with quilters or sellers of heirloom quilts.
While I have only touched the tip of the iceberg with this local genius, I will leave you with the best stocking stuffer of all, our beautiful 2011 Calendar of the Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina. These are in very limited supply, so order now.
Begin your own mountain memories, learn a heritage craft, reconnect with what is important in life - The Cabins at Celo, the land in The Cove at Celo Mountain - streams, creeks, trout ponds, waterfalls, long-range and short-range mountain views. Rivers and mountains and all that implies The mountains are beckoning.

Holiday Happenings - HandMade in America - near The Cove at Celo Mountain

The holiday season is almost upon us. What better way to spend time with family, friends, or quiet time alone with a favorite pet or book than snuggled up by a cozy fire in the great room or the outdoor living area in your own Cabin at Celo or mountain hideaway. Then get out and about in one of America's top destinations - the Asheville, North Carolina area - right off of America's Favorite Drive - the Blue Ridge Parkway. Enjoy hiking, fly-fishing, kayaking, skiing, horseback riding, scenic driving along the Parkway, gallery and studio shopping among some of America’s most acclaimed artisans, and a host of other activities within 5-30 minutes of your cabin front door.

Remember receiving something handcarved or made just for you by your father or grandfather - or some treasured time together fishing, hunting, hiking or skiing? Do you still have that keepsake quilt lovingly made by your grandmother, or the painstakingly handcrafted doll clothes? HandMade in America still supports this art of connection and undergirds the continuing legacy of our heritage crafts and traditions. Come enjoy this with us - the old-fashioned, endearing, and enduring way of celebrating holidays.

• Celebrate Halloween with the 2010 Season Closing Show at Altapass Orchard with fabulous live music and clogging - Oct 31
• Join the Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina Road Rally - November 6,
• Participate in the National Gingerbread House Competition and Exhibition at the historic, world-ranked Grove Park Inn and Spa - Nov 15 - Jan 2
• Take the self-guided Toe River Arts Council Open Studio Tour - December 3-5, 2010 - “The Premier Open Studio Tour in the Country”- free
• Choose and cut your own Christmas Tree, buy fresh wreaths and mistletoe from several of our local farms.
• Select handmade gifts and signed copies of the book behind The Home of the Perfect Christmas Tree store.

There is another place here that returns you to more treasured memories of childhood and camp in a pristine sanctuary in the middle of Pisgah National Forest right off the Blue Ridge Parkway - complete with outdoor fireplaces and cook areas for roasting marshmallows and grilling hot dogs, firepits surrounded with handcrafted outdoor furniture where you can spend hours relishing the company of family and friends, miles of hiking trails , trout ponds where you can teach your own children or grandchildren to fly-fish before taking them out on our ancient rivers, a custom-designed tree house for hours of stimulating make-believe adventures, lean-to's along the creeks for reading, meditating, or enjoying a glass of wine or a thermos of hot tea. This is The Cove at Celo Mountain. The acclaimed art and craft of Western North Carolina surround us here too - from the art-commissioned, hand-forged entrance gate to our own unique quilt block. Our owners are the Corporate Underwriters of The Quilt Trails of Western North Carolina that adorn not only our own properties but the houses, barns, and businesses of the communities that surround us. It is this co-mingled beauty of art and nature that makes Celo living such a transforming experience. Seneca said it best centuries ago, "All art is but an imitation of nature."



Come back to this simple, powerful way of living in the beauty of nature and the comfort of handmade craft.

2010 TOE RIVER STUDIO TOUR (JUNE 11-13)

***THE PREMIER OPEN STUDIO TOUR IN THE COUNTRY***

This is it! If you love beautiful, scenic drives in the mountains during the prettiest time of the year, you are going to really like this. If you love and appreciate art, you are going to likely rank it as one of your all-time favorite events. Combine the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains with the most artists - per capita - in America, add in the world-renowned Penland School of Crafts, stir in not just a few nationally and internationally acclaimed artists, Smithsonian exhibitors, North Carolina “Living Treasures” (designation by the Museum of World Cultures) and up-and-coming avant-garde artists, and you have the recipe for a day or weekend of enjoying some of the best and most unique talent in America surrounded by some of this nation's most celebrated scenic areas and drives. AND IT’S FREE!

If you would rather have someone else handle the tour for you, then sign up for a tour with ARTISTREE. Jane and Robin will make this even more memorable and fun for a nominal cost.

This is the perfect time to combine one of our top events of the year with a tour of The Cove at Celo Mountain. Let us arrange accommodations for you at our special rates. (Plan your trip soon as reservations will be booked at all surrounding lodging establishments!) There will be a delicious, down-home complimentary BBQ dinner being prepared on the premises for our guests near the entrance at Greeter’s Park. Call us at 866-378-4769 to handle all of the particulars for you.

For more information on the TRAC Studio tour and map guides for self-directed tours: http://www.toeriverarts.org/studiotour.shtml

For group or private, specialized tours: ARTISTREE www.artistreenc.com

For a tour of The Cove at Celo Mountain, to book overnight accommodations, and reserve a space at the complimentary BBQ dinner:
www.celoliving.com or 866-378-4769

EN PLEIN AIR – MAY 22nd - BURNSVILLE, NC HISTORIC TOWN SQUARE

Winner of the The Monet Award 12X12 O/P

The Toe River Arts Council (TRAC) is presenting its 4th Annual Paint Out, modeled on the en plein air experience, a French expression that means “in the open air,” particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors.

Add the historic town square of Burnsville, the legendary Nu Wray Inn, more artists –per capita – in Yancey and Mitchell Counties than anywhere else in America, and the vernal palette of wild dogwood, azalea, forsythia, pear and plum trees, ad infinitum, and you have the makings of a perfect spring day in a beautiful town nestled in a valley of the Blue Ridge Mountains.


Come out and stroll Main Street as you enjoy our gorgeous spring weather in the Blue Ridge and watch our nationally and internationally acclaimed artists as they paint while sitting on park benches, on balconies, in the town square, at outdoor eateries, and along the street.

All artists will return to the TRAC Gallery on Main Street by 5:00 p.m. and frame their artwork to prepare for the juried awards and selections. At 6:30 there will be a reception open to the public for an exhibition of the day’s work. The artwork will be displayed May 22 – June 5th, with many of the paintings available for sale.

Many mediums will be represented: oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastels, charcoal, graphite - even collage. The perfect day, the perfect gift or memento, the perfect place to be on a memorable day in May!

For more information: http://www.toeriverarts.org/