“Blackbird” is a beloved Beatles song, but it’s also the name of an Asheville frame shop. The coincidence was enough to convince Scott Segelbaum to bring a Fab Four-friendly pop-up art show to town.
“It was meant to be,” says Segelbaum, owner of Rock Art Show, which runs the touring exhibition.
BlackBird Frame & Art will host Beatles Cartoon Pop Art Show, featuring the works of Ron Campbell, Thursday, Nov. 10-Saturday, Nov. 12. Campbell, who died in 2021, was a legendary animator known for his work on “The Beatles” cartoon series that originally ran on ABC from 1965-67 (with reruns airing until 1969) as well as the 1968 feature film Yellow Submarine.
The show will feature Beatles-themed paintings Campbell created after his retirement as well as art based on other projects he worked on, including “Scooby Doo,” “The Smurfs,” “Rugrats,” “The Flintstones” and more.
“Ron was active for 50 years in cartoons, basically the entire golden age of Saturday morning children’s television,” says Segelbaum. “He literally animated our childhood.”
The Australian-born Campbell had never heard of the band when he was approached by producer Al Brodax about directing episodes of a new cartoon show based on the Beatles. “Ron said, ‘That’s great, but insects make terrible characters for children’s cartoons,’” says Segelbaum, who worked on several shows with the illustrator.
Nonetheless, Campbell went on to direct nine episodes of the Saturday morning show, which featured real Beatles recordings but actors voicing the roles of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
A few years later, Brodax called on Campbell to help animate several key sequences of the Yellow Submarine movie.
The show is free, and paintings will be available for purchase. A preview night will be Thursday, Nov. 10, 4-6 p.m. The exhibition continues Friday, Nov. 11, 1o a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 12, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
BlackBird Frame & Art is at 365 Merrimon Ave. For more information, go to avl.mx/c4w.
Sew what?
A year after Sew Co. moved to a space in the River Arts District, founder Libby O’Bryan figured it was time to share its work with the people of Asheville.
Sew Co. and its in-house clothing brand Rite of Passage will host a Makers Market on Friday, Nov. 12, and Saturday, Nov. 13, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., at 240 Clingman Ave. Extension.
“We thought the weekend of the RAD Studio Stroll would be a great time for our team to gain exposure to an art-going audience,” Bryant explains.
The market will feature items made by Sew Co. and Rite of Passage workers, including bags and accessories by Leigh Hilbert; jewelry and accessories by Meri Hannon; hand-braided goods and cyanotypes by Zee Ship; illustrated patches, bandanas, stickers and pins by Beka Addison; and photography by Anne Gerhardt.
Rite of Passage’s newly released fall collection also will be on display
“We feel so grateful to have such a skilled and creative group working with us,” Bryant says. “We want to help foster that creativity, drive and craftsmanship further in new ways.”
Bryant founded Sew Co. in 2010 as a cut-and-sew manufacturer with socially responsible and unconventional business concepts. She was motivated by a desire to preserve the skill of sewing and a domestic manufacturing economy as thousands of textile jobs were shipped overseas.
The business operated out of Oriole Mill in Hendersonville for a decade but made the move to RAD after the mill shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is our first Makers Market, but we hope it’s the start of many to come,” she says.
For more information, visit avl.mx/c4z.
Natural beauty
Photographer Scott Graham has been capturing images of the Blue Ridge Parkway for more than 30 years and Great Smoky Mountains National Park for more than 20. But he has gained a new appreciation for the beauty of America’s two most visited national park sites over the last few years.
“When COVID shut down the country along with most of my business operations, it freed me up to spend more time exploring and photographing both parks,” he says. “Along the way, I made surprising and fascinating discoveries.”
The result is two books of Graham’s photographs, Blue Ridge Parkway: A Magnificent Journey and Great Smoky Mountains: A Magnificent National Park. The hardcover books, Graham’s first in nine years, are each 80 pages and include images of sunrises, spring wildflowers, wildlife, fall colors and more.
Some of the photographs are accompanied by short essays that started as Facebook posts by Graham. The brief social media posts generated genuine engagement with his followers, he explains, making them a natural fit for the book.
“I hope viewers develop a great appreciation for these locations and are inspired to experience them in person,” he says. “Though I have photographed other destinations throughout North America, these two locations remain closest to my home and to my heart.”
For more information or to purchase the books, go to avl.mx/c4y.
Making an impression
ARTSVILLE Collective at Marquee in the River Arts District will host Impressed: Print, Paint, Dye, Repeat through Sunday, Jan. 22.
The holiday group exhibition will feature hand-crafted gifts by 10 artists, including pop contemporary artist Daryl Slaton, painter Cynthia Llanes, glass blower Christian Hessler, paper sculptor Leo Monahan and mixed media artists Lynn Bregman Blass and Sarah St. Laurent. Four artists sponsored by Local Cloth will show scarves, lamps, books, bags, clothes and neckties made using dyed and printed paper and cloth.
ARTSVILLE Collective, a joint partnership of Sand Hill Artists Collective and Crewest Studios/LA, sponsors discussion groups, podcasts, blogs, parties and events.
Marquee is at 36 Foundy St. Gallery hours are Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. For more information, go to avl.mx/c53.
Under the big top
Hurray, hurray, step right up! The circus is in town.
Venardos Cirus has pitched its tent at Asheville Outlets for a series of performances through Sunday, Nov. 20.
The animal-free circus is held in a custom-made classic red-and-white striped big top with an intimate feel and limited seating. Created by former Ringling Bros. Ringmaster Kevin Venardos, the circus features a cast of aerialists, acrobats, comedians, jugglers, contortionists and daredevils as well as Broadway-style opening and closing routines.
Venardos has been touring the U.S. since its debut at the Los Angeles County Fair in 2014 and counts Asheville among its annual stops.
“Guests can expect to be transported back in time to the center ring of a centuries-old tradition, but one that has been reinvented for the next generation,” the circus says in a press release.
Ticket prices range from $16.50-$27. Showtimes are Wednesdays-Saturdays at 7 p.m. with additional shows Saturdays and Sundays at 1 and 4 p.m.
The Asheville Outlets are at 800 Brevard Road. To buy tickets, go to avl.mx/ala.
Holiday Market
The Enka-Candler Tailgate Market will present its third annual Holiday Market Saturday, Nov. 12, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday, 13 at 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at 1465 Sand Hill Road in the parking lot of the Small Business Center at A-B Tech Enka Campus.
The outdoor market will feature local art, food, body care goods and gifts.
For more information, go to avl.mx/c52.
Wolfe winners
Nine local students in grades four-12 were winners in the Thomas Wolfe Memorial’s annual “Telling Our Tales” Student Writing Competition. Students submitted their own work of fiction inspired by Wolfe’s 1941 short story “Return of the Prodigal: The Thing Imagined.”
The winners, in order from first to third in the elementary school category, were Nayelli Hoelscher, Hendersonville Elementary, fifth grade; Ella Charlotte Oblinsky, Bruce Drysdale Elementary, fifth grade; and River Ruiz, Hendersonville Elementary, fifth grade.
Middle school honors, in order from first to third, went to Laura Hunt, Asheville Christian Academy, seventh grade; Lillie Thompson, Rugby Middle, eighth grade; and Samuel Steed, Rugby Middle, eighth grade.
In the high school category, the winners, from first to third, were Cheyenne Sherman, East Henderson, 12th grade; Graham Neelon, School of Inquiry and Life Sciences, ninth grade; and Lola Houston, Hendersonville, 11th grade.
For more information about the contest, visit avl.mx/81k.
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