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By Emily Williams

 

Polk County has had a rich history of art and craft-making since its establishment. Creativity seems to be woven into many of the people from this small area of the country, and that creative element reaches out to others all across the United States as a warm invitation, saying, “Welcome, creative minds. You have a place here.” Because of the inviting nature of a creative environment, creative people naturally desire to come together as they craft beautiful works in their respective mediums. 

In the 1950s, the artists and craftspeople of Tryon started an initiative to have a center for people to refine their disciplines. Their initiative came to fruition in 1960 when the first craft center was established in the town. Over the years, this craft center evolved into what is known today as the Tryon Arts & Crafts School (TACS), located in the old Tryon Middle School at Harmon Field. Will Barclift, executive director of TACS, sheds light on how the school has grown over the years and the many ways it impacts the community.

Even though he grew up in Alabama, Will Barclift has had ties to Western North Carolina since childhood that fostered his decision to move here. As a child, his parents would rent a cabin in Cashiers for vacations. When Will grew up, he chose to go to college on the West Coast to receive fine arts degrees in various artistic genres at the bachelor’s and master’s levels. He eventually decided to pursue an MA in Education for visual arts, which led him on a search for an MA program. Recalling the fond times he spent with his family in Cashiers, he decided to move from San Francisco to North Carolina and study at Western Carolina University. He worked at the Bascom Art Center in Highlands for six years before making his way to Tryon and the Arts & Crafts School.

In his six years serving at TACS, Will has noticed monumental growth in the scope and fortitude of the school. 

“One of the unseen aspects that we’ve worked on that I’m most proud of is raising our expectations for institutional standards,” he shares. “We’ve raised our standards for how we serve our instructors and students as an institution. We’ve increased the diversity of offerings that we provide and focus on a commitment to inclusion in classrooms that are safe environments to be your best and most creative self.”

Will has also been a part of the school’s initiative to provide more educational opportunities for adults and youth in the community, and he helped with the curation of the rotating gallery exhibition at the center of the TACS building, an accomplishment the whole staff takes pride in. In recent years, the school has also taken on the task of committing to sustainable energy by resurfacing the roof, switching to LED lighting, and using solar energy. All these changes were funded through the aid of the Polk County Community Foundation.

Over the years, the school has also experienced growth in the types of classes and workshops they provide. They offer staple craftworks such as pottery, weaving, jewelry-making, mosaics, welding, blacksmithing, and woodworking. In addition to these, the school offers unique workshops in specialized mediums like printmaking, wire weaving, lapidary, and even instrument making. Many of these mediums are also available to the youth in Polk County through after-school programs and through TACS’s annual Summer Sizzler youth art camp in July. The students receive lessons from a broad curriculum, but they also learn from guest artists, local and traveling, who teach more niche craft skills. Such experiences widen the youth’s understanding of art and give them more opportunities than a school art program can. 

Much goes on behind the decision-making process of what crafts are offered at the school. 

“We always had a broad outlook on what our purpose was and what media we could potentially do,” Will says. “We are open to a broad platform of what is art, what is craft.” 

While the school tries to offer as many disciplines as possible in order to highlight the numerous opportunities in craft, they also consider what other nonprofit craft schools offer. TACS makes sure that they offer what is standard, but they also choose to build on those standards to meet the desires of the community. “We want to ensure we are being good stewards of the heritage practices of Western North Carolina while still offering relevant, contemporary art practices,” states Will. 

This begs the question: why is it important to preserve the craft practices of this area while opening doors to new modes of creativity? According to Will, craft is what defines an area because creativity is a part of what it means to be human. 

“Practicing crafts in WNC in and of itself is unique,” he says. “You are carrying forward rich traditions that the people of this area have practiced for centuries. When you sit down at the potter’s wheel or you turn a lathe, you are sitting in the same seat as somebody before you. You bring out the character of our region that’s inextricably tied to creativity.”

Building upon the traditions of this area and forging new methods of artistic endeavors is what makes Tryon Arts & Crafts necessary to the Foothills. “Most Tryon residents, whether they are involved here or not, would say Tryon Arts & Crafts School is a necessary part of the identity of the town,” Will asserts. 

The school is an integral part of what makes Tryon, and Polk County as a whole, so unique. Not only is it a defining point in the town, but the school is also a defining piece in the life stories of many residents.

One such person who was impacted by the mission of TACS, and who in turn impacted the school in many ways, was Shane Urquhart. A blacksmith and glass blower by trade, Urquhart had to take a break from his craft when diagnosed with leukemia in his thirties. While in remission, Urquhart decided to visit the Arts & Crafts School, where he befriended and began to work alongside other blacksmiths. The school brought joy to him in the last stretch of his life before cancer took him, and the blacksmiths at TACS decided to build the Shane Urquhart Metals and Glass Studio in his honor. 

Another person whose life was changed by TACS is Lisa Bell, a retired judge who attended FuseFest, a weekend-long fused glass workshop, in 2020. Touched by the artistic mission of the school and inspired by the beauty of the town, Bell decided to move to Tryon and now serves as Secretary on the TACS Board of Directors. 

The school is also serving the community through many other avenues such as collaborations and expansions to other art forms. One way the school collaborates with other artistic organizations is opening its doors in the evenings to house different clubs, such as the local open mic group called Literary Open Stage. Currently, TACS is focusing on collaborating with local farms like Caitlyn Farms to promote these businesses and to establish culinary arts classes at the school. Another way the school will expand in the near future is a new photography and digital media center, which is under construction.

TACS also participates in community outreach by having their potters make 350 bowls for the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser at Parker-Binns Vineyard. Additionally, they receive funding from the Polk County Community Foundation to provide free classes for local youth and adults. Names can be placed in a lottery monthly for the chance to win free classes in basket-weaving, knife-making, bronze work, mosaics, or woodworking. 

November is an important month as the school looks to support its community of artisans through its annual Online Auction and Handcrafted Holiday Market, two events that allow crafters to advertise their pieces and sell goods. The auction will begin through the TACS website on November 8 and last through November 16, and the market will commence with a reception at 6 p.m. on November 8 and last until December 19.

Tryon Arts & Crafts does so much in and for the community because that is its top priority. Will asserts, “Our focus is not strictly on people who are already practicing artists. We have advanced art studio practitioners, and yes, we do serve them; we have the up-and-coming intermediate artists; we have beginners. But we also are here for art appreciators and non-artists. We want to make sure we offer an inspiring experience for anyone who walks through the door. This is not an insular building. This opportunity is free and open to the general public during business hours all year round.”

To book a class, volunteer your creative skills, or donate to this 501c3 nonprofit, please visit https://tryonartsandcrafts.org/.