The River Artists: stories from the River Arts District of Asheville, North Carolina

The Phil Mechanic Studios

Ceramic artist Joey Sheehan describes the Phil Mechanic building as an intimidating place to walk into, and from my experience, he’s right. The first time I entered this four-story maze of artist studios and gallery space I felt a little like I was walking into somebody’s home. There’s a private and personal feeling to the space inside Phil Mechanic Studios; because more than any other building in the River District, this collective of creative people functions like a family.

The Phil Mechanic has been through many iterations during its life in the River District. It was once a grocery warehouse where food goods were brought in from the railroad and stored for distribution to local groceries and restaurants. When the eponymous Phil Mechanic took over the building in the 70′s it became a construction materials business. And when Jolene Mechanic and her husband Mitch inherited the building in the early 2000′s, they converted it into its current identity as Phil Mechanic Studios. Today, the bottom floor is the production facility of Blue Ridge Biofuels, a noisy, industrial space where waste vegetable oil is “magically” converted into fuel to power your car or heat your home. One floor up is the Flood Gallery, a space known for attracting the more progressive and culturally challenging voices in the art world. And off of the Flood Gallery there is a public photography darkroom, a set of art studios called the Cooler (it used to be a meat locker), and one more hidden gallery space that features the work of Asheville artists Sean Pace and Melissa Terraza.

This is the way with the Phil Mechanic building: Just when you think you’ve fully explored one level you will find another door that opens onto a new studio or gallery space that you never imagined was there. This cavernous edifice is jam-packed with creative endeavors, and walking the long stairwell between levels can make for a very effective exercise routine. One brisk day in January I spent the afternoon doing calisthenics up and down this blessed stairwell as Jolene Mechanic showed me through the building.

Jolene Mechanic is the straight-talking, fast-walking magneto of energy that keeps this place running. She is landlord to the artists, manager of the Flood Gallery and Fine Arts Center, member of many boards around town (from Asheville Go to Black Mountain College), and as the artists of the Phil Mechanic will tell you, she is a mother to all and a benefactor to anyone in need. The fact that the Phil Mechanic operates at such a high level of community and cooperation is no mistake–the community environment exists here because of the influence of Jolene. Every Wednesday there are community potlucks, every Friday night there is a free film-showing, and Jolene’s office is always open for a conversation or a treat for your dog.

When I began work on this video series I wanted to explore not only what individual artists were saying through their work but also how these artists were helping each other and interacting in community. Over time I discovered that the opportunity for community is not the first draw for many people in the River District. It seems the majority of artists working in the area were primarily attracted by cheap rent and the economic advantages of being part of a fine art destination. In the Phil Mechanic Studios, however, community is at the heart of what’s going on. There is constant collaboration, critical dialogue, and cross-pollination happening within the studios and even across disciplines. Lingerie designer Elise Olson is refreshed by visits to the ceramic studios one floor down, the ceramic artists share tools and secrets in their daily work, and Celia Barbieri (the Button Florist) reclaims the colorful plastic bottle caps left over from Melissa Terazza’s sculpture, turning them into attractive craft flowers. From Bio-Fuel to found objects sculpture, the ethic of recycling the exhaust of industrial society is felt strongly throughout the Phil Mechanic building.

As for Jolene, her great passion is to serve young people through art education. Through the Flood Center Jolene organizes interactive experiences for local schools and camps employing painting, music, dance, and any form she can use to engage the minds of children and help them think outside of the box. She often rallies the talents of her artist-tenants at Phil Mechanic to make these programs soar.

There’s too much going on at Phil Mechanic to cover here. I could get lost in telling you about the building’s public spaces (the library on the top floor is lined wall-to-wall with books and offers free wi-fi). Jolene has numberless stories to share about the positive impact that Flood is having with area youth. The Bio-Fuels plant deserves a video unto itself. And Sean Pace (a founding member of the Phil Mechanic Studios) always has a novel scheme cooking (ie. purchase a retired Navy vessel and convert it into a traveling community for artists). So, I’ll have to leave you with the video for Phil Mechanic, which just manages to scratch the surface of this amazing community. I’ll also strongly urge you to pluck up your courage and walk into the building someday. Begin exploring the rich experiment in community and art which is happening at Phil Mechanic, and consider what you can do to support this valuable work.

Here are some more stills taken during production and grabbed from the finished video. Please enjoy this glimpse in Phil Mechanic, and chime in with your comments below. Thanks for taking a look!

Jinx (the artwork of Sean Pace)

Sean “Jinx” Pace is one of the best known personalities in Asheville’s arts scene. He’s been working for almost a decade in the strong local tradition of found objects sculpture, making use of the scrap metal and remnants of industry that abound along the banks of the French Broad River. He takes these cast-off materials and re-purposes them into playful, humorous, often challenging artifacts that redeem the exhaust of our modern civilization. Jinx is best know for his post-industrial machines the Boxer and the Chicken Shooter which he produced around the time of his graduation from the UNCA visual arts program. These iconic pieces established his reputation in the art world, and ever since producing them he has continued to contribute a strong voice to the cultural conversation in Asheville.

Jinx’s story sheds light on some salient history in the River Arts District. He began to work in the District at the very beginning of the cultural Renaissance that led to the area’s current status as a thriving community and tourist destination. At the time that Jinx moved into the R.A.D. it was still a largely-abandoned industrial block, and he was living out of a bus hidden in a junk yard and “borrowing” electricity at night from a neighboring building. He made a heavy investment of sweat-equity into the area and into the Phil Mechanic building in particular, and he contributed a great deal to the collective effort that led to the District’s present success.

Now that the River Arts District is experiencing some growth there is the inevitable creep of gentrification and rising rents. While it’s nice that the area has cleaned up from ten years ago and that more people are drawn to it, artists like Jinx and his friend Shawn Oldham have increasingly found it difficult to rent sufficient studio space at a rate that will allow them to make a living. So, the two Seans, (Oldham and Pace) have recently moved away from the River Arts district and found a warehouse space several miles distant that they can rent for much cheaper. The space has acquired the affectionate name “the Franger” (somewhere between “factory” and “hanger”), and it’s become a gathering place for creatives, fabricators, painters, mechanics, and just about anyone who needs an open forum in which to experiment and “make stuff.” The Franger has allowed the Sean’s to pursue larger scale, ambitious projects and not break the bank.

I spent a fair amount of time hanging out with Jinx and visiting the Franger while producing this video. It’s a pleasure to work with an artist who is so articulate and cogent in expressing his point of view. Jinx has strong opinions on everything from his own message to the Occupy movement to television to the Asheville city council. And he’s not afraid to share them. It’s rare in this day and age to encounter a person who is so plain-spoken and unapologetic, yet ready to listen and engage in a good dialogue. During my time filming Jinx and following the work that was happening at the Franger, I was often required to adapt to last minute schedule changes, sudden halts in work, unplanned all-nighters and other such speed bumps in production. Yet I always knew that if I hung around the space long enough I was sure to see something inspiring, and hopefully catch it on film.

Jinx’s strongest attribute as an artist may be his robust self-confidence. When he gets an idea for a project no matter how grandly ambitious, he is sure that he can find a way to accomplish it (ie. planning the purchase of a retired military vessel to tour the world in and make art). Of course, such an outlook exposes one to the risk of disappointment and failure, but often enough Jinx defies his limitations and is able to realize his vision (or something close to it). On those occasions that he comes up short, he greats frustration with the good humor and the wry smile that are his trademarks. These things have made him an establishment in his own right in the River Arts District.

Watch Jinx’s profile here, and if you’d like to learn more visit here: http://www.seanpace.com/. If you want to see the Redneck Chandelier (final piece of art featured in the video) in person, go to the Mellow Mushroom in Bristol, TN. Happy viewing!

Clayspace Cooperative

The Clayspace Co-op is a ceramic arts studio located in the River District of Asheville, NC. It is comprised of a group of artists in their twenties who are just beginning their professional practice in pottery. The Cooperative has changed membership over the years but has maintained a roster of five or six committed potters who share similar values. Local economy, environmentally-conscious methods, and an earthy aesthetic are some of the recurring themes that appear in work coming out of the studio. Enjoy this short insight into their lives and work, and pay them a visit online or down in the River District.

Heinze Kossler

Heinz Kossler is a ceramic artist working in the River Arts District of Asheville, North Carolina. He builds original, craft fireplaces and tile installations for regional households and businesses by commission. He also produces personal artwork. One of the main themes to emerge in our time working together was the distinction that Heinz draws between his work as a craftsman and his personal expression as an artist. Please enjoy and share this video with friends.