Spotlight on Asheville Artist Mitchell Lonas

Asheville is well known for being a cultural and artistic mecca. The plethora of galleries, studio strolls, and art & craft fairs that occur throughout the year are a testament to the size of the artistic community in Western North Carolina. Many artists take up residency in this vibrant mountain community including Mitchell Lonas.

The following is an excerpt from Mitchell's bio on his website.

The Tennessee native, who studied art history at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, was for many years a respected portrait painter before transitioning to his current style. A portraitist’s sense of focus, line, and beauty continues to inform his latest work, showcased in exhibitions such as The Wrench Series at Gallery Bienvenu in New Orleans.

Lonas, who now lives and maintains a studio practice in Asheville, North Carolina, personally developed many of the processes that imbue his work with its unique sense of materiality. “The challenge,” he observes, “is to create something original using unconventional materials and methods.” To that end, beginning in 2005, he evolved a method of applying paint to metal panels and incising them with iconic imagery. Working from sketches, he uses customized cutting tools to create rapturous stylizations of trees, feathers, birds’ nests, and other subject matter culled from the plant and animal kingdoms. As viewers behold the completed works from different vantage points, the myriad beveled lines in each composition glint and shimmer in the light.

Mitchell Lonas’ work has been widely exhibited and is featured in notable private, public, institutional, and corporate collections, among them a series of large-scale commissions for Nordstrom department stores.

Mithcell's Metal Nest series is currently on exhibit at the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park, a hotel that adorns all of it's walls with the work of local artists.

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—Bio excerpted from “Mitchell Lonas: The Wrench Series” by Richard Speer. Speer is contributing critic at ARTNews and Art Ltd. magazines. His essays have appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Huffington Post, Newsweek, Salon, and Opera News. www.richardspeer.com

Flower Carpet starts next week at Biltmore

The Flower Carpet returns next week to the South Terrace of Biltmore Estate. Daytime guests can admire a living work of art from August 20 until September 12th, 2010. The Biltmore's horticultural team have used their artistic abilities to select and weave 155,000 plants into a pattern inspired by a rare stained glass window now on display in The Biltmore Legacy.

On select Friday and Saturday evenings, guests can experience the magical combination of a candlelight visit to Biltmore House, the flower carpet dramatically lit, live jazz music and soft moonlight. Reservations are required and guests and upgrade their daytime tickets to an evening visit for only $10. Evening visits are available August 20, 21, 27, 28 and September 10,11.

If you're traveling to the Biltmore and need a place to stay we have three hotels conveniently located in Biltmore Village, just next to the Estate.

TEDx Asheville coming soon

For the second year in a row, Asheville will host a TEDx conference providing a forum for people who believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately the world. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design, however the scope of TED presentations extend far beyond those categories. TED conferences offer knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other.

On August 29, 2010 TedX Asheville will come alive at the Orange Peel located in Downtown Asheville. Seven speakers are planned including Doc Hendley (2009 CNN Hero) and "The Last American Man" Eustace Conway. Once the Orange Peel has filled to capacity people will be directed to offsite LiveStream events. One offsite event planned is at the Doubletree Biltmore Hotel in their Burghley Ballroom. Directions to this hotel can be found here.

For more information about this event please visit the TedX Asheville website. If you are traveling out of town the following hotels have special rates established for this event. Reference the TedX rate when making a reservation. Please note that there are a limited amount of rooms available with this special rate so please book early.

Doubletree Biltmore Hotel - reservations 828.274.1800
Residence Inn Biltmore - reservations 828.281.3361

MoogFest line up announced

This year Asheville is going to get a special treat during the Halloween weekend. MoogFest is a three day musical event celebrating the life and accomplishments of Robert Moog who was a longtime resident of Asheville. AC Entertainment (creators of Bonnaroo) is organizing this event and they have just released their lineup for this year's festival.

With major artists such as Big Boi, Thievery Corporation, Massive Attack, MGMT and more on the schedule, tickets will sell quickly for this multi-venue event. Tickets go on sale this Friday, August 13th.

More information, as provided by the official MoogFest website, is provided below.


Moogfest – the annual event honoring the remarkable vision of Robert Moog and his amazing musical inventions that changed the course of music – is reinventing itself. This year, moogfest 2010 will move from New York City to Asheville, NC – the place Bob Moog called home for the last 30 years of his life – and will expand to a 3-day, multi-venue event during the weekend of October 29 -31, 2010. During the festival, moogfest 2010 will host artists and audiences from throughout the world in different venues throughout Asheville’s beautiful, historic downtown.

Moogfest 2010 will celebrate Bob Moog’s legacy as a sonic pioneer, which will be the thread that unites the festival’s rich array of musical offerings. While the wide range of Moog instruments – the Minimoog Voyager, the Little Phatty, the Etherwave Theremin, Moogerfoogers, and the new Moog Guitar – will play prominent roles throughout the festival’s events, the artists performing will certainly not be limited to those who create their work on Moog instruments. Instead, artists will be chosen for their role in creating unique and groundbreaking musical experiences that embody the essence of Bob Moog’s visionary and creative spirit.

In addition to fantastic concerts by renowned performers of all kinds, moogfest 2010 will also offer opportunities to engage with the artists in panel discussions, question and answer sessions, and workshops. There will also be interactive experiences for the audience to explore their own musical creativity with a variety of Moog instruments. The festival will also offer visual art exhibitions, installations, and film screenings throughout the weekend.

Asheville hotels will book quickly for this event. If you would like to reserve a room please visit here.

Anticipation builds for the WNC Wine & Food Festival

Well known for being a culinary destination, Asheville will be celebrating its local “foodie” community with a weekend filled with delicious activities.

The WNC magazine Asheville Wine & Food Festival will be held indoors on August 14, 2010, in the new expo facility at the WNC Agricultural Center across from the Asheville Regional Airport and adjacent to Interstate 26 with easy connections from Interstate 40. With more than 60 regional, national, and international wineries already committed to this year’s festival, along with regional restaurants and local food producers, this event will allow attendees to experience the diverse culinary offerings of Western North Carolina. (More information about the festival can be found at WNC Magazine's official site.

In conjunction with this event, the Hilton Asheville Biltmore Park is providing you a special package that includes:

- Deluxe overnight room with King Bed or Two Queen Beds
- Complimentary Hilton Shuttle service to and from the event
- (2) Tickets to the Asheville Wine & Food Festival
- Champagne Sunday Brunch for Two

Total cost of this package is $189 per night, plus tax. To book, call the Hilton directly at 828-209-2700 or click here to book on-line.