Our Farms & Artisans

Our Farms & Artisans

Tranquility Farm

11255 Unity Church Road, Mooresville, NC 28115

Featuring Muscadine Grapes, Juice, Cider, Jelly, Honey

A North Carolina Century Farm, Tranquility Farm is owned and operated by Crystal and David Allen who are preserving the heritage of their family farm. Tour the vineyard and farm store, featuring muscadine products. The Muscadine Slushy is “a must try.” The store also carries honey, local art, and beef from Hopeful Acres Farm. Hopeful Acres Farm will be on site with their farm trailer loaded with beef and blooms! There will be three local artists on site, sharing their talents, with their art for sale.

Video: www.facebook.com/RowanArtsandAgTour/videos/244998867359767

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Linda Reville   

“Plein Air painting helps me satisfy my need to be outside. When I paint, I am trying to capture the colors, fresh air and hopefully the “scenes” in front of me. It is an enjoyable way to paint! I started with my art friends at Mooresville Arts and of course enjoy the comradeship.”

 

Sue Smith, sans sue glass

A stained glass and mosaic artist, Sue teaches at the Sawtooth Visual Arts Center in Winston-Salem. Her primary interest is commissioned artwork like transom window panels and window hangings.

 

Shelia Green, resin and glass art

Shelia Greene sells her art in the farm store at Tranquility Farm. She began as a painter and during a difficult time in her life, she discovered a technique to make art pieces from resin and glass. This technique allows the glass to pick up light, which changes the color of the glass as the light changes.

 

Sue McHugh, painting

Sue works in alcohol ink and other paint mediums. You might find her painting a fence mural in someone’s back yard or a sunset on a pool side wall. During Covid-19, she spearheaded a movement in Salisbury to paint store windows while the retail establishments were closed or running by appointment only.

 

Lutheridge Farm

455 Cline Road, Mount Ulla 28125

Featuring Conventional Dairy, Cheese Making

Lutheridge Farm is a third-generation dairy farm. After college, Steven and his wife Kira came home to the farm. It was Steven’s dream to restore the dairy and run Lutheridge again. With a lot of prayer and hard work, Mark and Leigh Anne Wetmore (Steven’s parents) and Richard and Robin Luther (his uncle and aunt) decided to go all in on restoring the family farm. Finding a steady milk market was the first hurdle. With no co-ops taking on new small farms, they looked elsewere for opportunities. They connected with Siano Mozzarella in Charlotte, and in February 2019, they started selling pasteurized bulk milk to Siano. Steven now manages the dairy that consists of 80 registered Jersey milk cows and 80 young stock. As the herd grew and COVID affected the cheese market, they needed to find another market for milk. Steven contacted Boxcarr Handmade Cheese in Cedar Grove and a great partnership was born. The entire family works hard every day in caring for the land and the cows at Lutheridge, and they love seeing a dream become reality. At this farm stop, you will be able to meet the cows and the family who are Lutheridge Farm.

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Leslie Davis

Graphite, charcoal, watercolor, printmaking, pastels, monoprinting, acrylic and oil painting have all been familiar to Leslie for the greater part of her life. Her 20 years of teaching high school art honed her skills in explaining concepts and techniques and crystallized personal perceptions and working methods.

Plein air painting intrigues her because being surrounded by nature presents a challenge to capture the changing light and impressions of the countryside. For her, this is a sharp contrast to work done in the studio. An outdoor presence offers differing textures, shapes, colors, and values and stretches her out of a methodical comfort zone.

 

Nancy Brown

A Plein Air painter, Nancy says that the only work for sale will be what is on her easel. 

 

Cherrathee Hagler, decorative painting

Cherrathee creates smiles with her art. She is a working artist and does commissioned artwork for individuals and businesses. She has received several awards for her art. She loves commercial window painting, murals, pet portraits, animals, landscapes, and more. She teaches art lessons and classes and hosts paint parties. She is a lifelong resident of Salisbury and a member of Carolina Artists.

 

Nancy Gaines, wooden spoons/hats

Nancy is well known for her creative appearances at local demonstration fairs, museum displays, and tours of the Old Stone House. Nancy will be demonstrating hat-making and carving wooden spoons for sale.

 

Sharon Forthofer, painting

Sharon grew up on a farm in northern Indiana. She always loved being outdoors and drawing. She has a master’s degree in education and taught for 24 years in Indiana. Sharon and her husband, Jerry, now reside in Rockwell. She is a member of Plein Air Carolina, Oil Painters of America, and the American Impressionist Society. Her studio is located in the Rail Walk Studios & Gallery, 409 N. Lee St.,  Salisbury. www.tanglewoodbrushstrokes.com.

 

Ray Horton Farm, Inc.

1685 Lyerly Road, Mount Ulla 28125

Featuring Conventional Corn, Soybeans, and Wheat

Ray Horton farms over 1,100 acres, raising corn, wheat, soybeans, and malted barley. He raises malted barley for the Carolina Malt House. Ray has been farming on this property since 1984. In an effort to be good stewards of the land, he uses no till practices. This video is a very candid conversation between Rowan County Cooperative Extension Director Amy Lynn Albertson and Ray. Not often do you get to interview a farmer in the cab of his tractor. So “climb on in” and listen!

Video: www.facebook.com/RowanArtsandAgTour/videos/163103212290048

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Chuck Payne, metals

Chuck Payne and his son, Ethan, attended a blacksmithing demonstration at Bilmore Estate when Ethan was 7 years old. He was instantly obsessed with blacksmithing and immediately began asking for an anvil and forge.

“A few years passed before we got one. Then along came Forged in Fire, and he was all about the “blade smithing.” We have been blacksmithing for about 2.5 years and blade smithing for only 6-7 months. We do have all professional equipment so our blades perform better than they look.”

 

Keyth Kahrs, painting

Keyth Kahrs moved to Salisbury in November 2013 from Paducah, KY, where he owned and operated Leaping Trout Studio in the Lower Town Historic Arts District. In Salisbury, his studio is in Rail Walk Gallery on Lee Street.

His landscapes, pet portraits, and wildlife studies are bold and bright, expressing his passion for the outdoors. He has a background in graphic design, and his strong use of light and dark with use of brilliant color palette and a keen sense of composition reflect this graphics experience.  In the almost three years residing here, Keyth has received four awards in juried exhibits throughout the Piedmont region. He continues to explore subject matter found in North Carolina, taken from his travels throughout the state.

 

Stephen Martin, woodwork

Stephen Martin from Rockwell knows how to make a young child smile when he asks if they would like to turn some wood on his pole lathe. He is a fixture at most of the events in Gold Hill and at the Old Stone House and Rowan County Museum events.

 

Lee and Rosty Menius, leather and wood

Wild Turkey Workshop members Lee and Rosty Menius will be showing their metal, leather, and wood skills, including charcuterie trays, wood signs and letters, and knife sheaths.

 

Rustic Edge Soaps/Rachel Mowery, goat milk soaps

Owner Rachel Mowery of Rockwell owns a small goat farm that is the heart of Rustic Edge Soaps, a small skin care product company born out of love. When her first child was born with an allergy to cow milk, she discovered the benefits of goat milk for his digestion. Rachel purchased her first Nubian dairy goat. Goat milk soon resolved her son’s problems. Once her children no longer needed a strictly goat milk diet, she began making goat milk soaps. Rustic Edge Soaps offers natural soaps, lotions, lip balm, shampoo bars, scrubs, beard oils, and more. www.rusticedgesoaps.com

 

Marcia Hartman, “New Life Creations,” jewelry/bead weaver

Marcia began beading in 2017, a year after she retired from 32 years in the insurance field. She loves working with seed beads, semi-precious gemstones, and other components created by other great artists such as painted cabochons. Bead embroidery has become her passion, and she enjoys creating designs that allow her ideas to come to life. Getting to see what comes from her imagination and working with colors and shapes make her happy and stimulate her design ideas. Sharing her pieces with friends and family and appearing in various craft venues in the area have allowed her to continue to experiment and grow her techniques and ideas.

 

Sherry Kye, wood toys

Sherry is a Human Resources Director by day and an artisan by night. She began making toys for her grandchildren from scraps of wood her husband brought home. Soon, the grandchildren outgrew the toys, but Sherry found that other children loved the toys just as much. Her cell phone stand has found new popularity for Zoom meetings, devise reading, and movie-watching. Sherry and her granddaughter will be at Ray Horton Farms.

 

Rowan County Country Life Museum

550 Sloan Road, Mount Ulla 28125

Featuring Antique Farm Equipment

The Country Life Museum is a long-held dream of the members of the Carolina Antique Power Association, who are preserving and displaying antique farm items to educate present and future generations on the rural way of life of the American farm family.

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Ray Richardson

“Plein Air painting means you paint surrounded by nature. The changes in light and shadows speak to the artist as he creates. Come watch me paint.”

 

Jenny Booe, painting

Jenny M. Booe is a self-motivated art professional with over 25 years of experience in multimedia, marketing, print, and website design.  Her art background spans her entire lifetime.  She began her professional career in graphic design with a degree in Commercial Graphics.  She spent most of her career focusing on graphic design but knew that she wanted to return to the fine art that most have described to her as a “true gift.”  Over the years, Jenny has stayed involved in fine art and decided to return to multimedia and teaching.  Currently, she is head artist and owner of The Dizzy Armadillo, a mobile art studio based in Rowan County. 

She is a professional artist, muralist, and face and body painter who specializes in paint parties and special events. She focuses on working events, such as face painting and performing chalk art for birthday parties, camps, etc.  Her passion is working with the developmentally challenged, elderly, children, and just anyone who wants to learn the therapeutic benefits that art can provide.  She continues to explore her own fine art and enjoys all mediums.  Besides portraiture and sculpting, she is now learning glass blowing to add to her multimedia background.

 

Lee and Mike Williams, lotions, beeswax

Located in western Rowan County, Lee and Mike Williams began beekeeping in late 2014 with one hive of bees, intending to help pollinate the garden.  That single hive grew into as many as 20 hives at one time. They extract honey for sale, make candles and solid lotion bars from beeswax, cocoa butter, coconut oil, Vitamin E, and essential oil scents.  They  also provide education about bees and beekeeping for adults and children, mentor new beekeepers and promote beekeeping and protection of pollinators. 

 

Lisa Waugh, silversmith

Lisa Waugh is a silversmith primarily designing jewelry. She has been working in silver since 2008. Prior to metal forming, she worked with beads and macramé. She enjoys working with silver and semi-precious stones to create a style that is her own.

 

J. Mark DeYoung, cast silver jewelry

Owner and creator of J. Mark Designs, Mark was a hair stylist for over 20 years, with an interest in art and design. Over the years, he studied and practiced countless techniques of metal forming and texturizing, utilizing both ancient practices and state of the art technologies. He quickly discovered a true passion and fascination with metal fabrication and manipulation. With a great appreciation of jewelry and accessories as individual expression, Mark offers his own style and visions J. Mark Designs tries to fill the limited world of unisex jewelry which is lacking designs outside the trending styles of mainstream jewelry.

 

Sue Davis, fused glass/yard art

Sue is driven by her desire to learn new skills. She calls herself a “process person” who sees or hears about a technique or medium and gives it a try, with a little research and a lot of tenacity. Once she is able to take a creative idea through the process from beginning to end, she either loves it or puts it aside. For Sue everything is a learning experience, so a process tried becomes part of her skill base.

Art glass comes in beautiful colors that can be cut, arranged, and fired into beautiful pieces. In 2005 Sue began working in fused glass with functional pieces. Today, she creates multilayer painted hangings as well. For the most part she is self-taught

You can find her work displayed at Pottery 101 and Waterworks in Salisbury, The Arts Space in Danbury, and the Cabarrus Arts Council Gallery Shop in Concord.  Her studio and home are in Salisbury.

 

Seth Culp, blacksmith

 

Connie Deese Christman, pottery

An art teacher at China Grove Middle School, Connie offers functional pottery, as well as basketry and painting. She has a BFA in ceramics from UNC-Greenville, with graduate work at UNC-Greensboro. The surplus products often make it to the “ART TEACHER TENT” as items for sale. She has served as the “Village Basket Weaver” for the Bethlehem Market at North Main Baptist Church for several years and loves to weave baskets with her students at China Grove Middle School.

“I love to promote local farms and businesses and have pottery available for sale at Montgomery General Store in Gold Hill, as well as West Rowan Farm, Home, and Garden in Bear Poplar. Creating pottery makes me feel connected to “the ancestors” and The Creator. It brings me both joy and peace, and it is something that I love to share with others.”

 

Evans Family Farm

11180 NC 801 Hwy, Mount Ulla 28125

Featuring Pastured Lamb, Pork, Poultry, and On-Farm Poultry Processing

Jessica and Matt Evans are native Southern Californians and started their farm in that state. They moved their family to Mount Ulla and are raising lamb, pork, and poultry on pasture. The farm has a farm store and also hosts farm tours and events, such as wine tastings, and farm camps for kids. The animals live their lives on green grass in the North Carolina sunshine. The farm is committed to using only non-GMO feed and humane processing of animals.  Guided tours on Saturday, June 5 at 10:00 & 3:00.

www.evansfamilyfarm.com

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Ashley and Shelby, The Organic Nest Soaps/Lotions

Ashley and Shelby are Evans Farm’s resident artists. They create lotions, soaps, and other products using products from the farm. Come by and learn about what they do to keep your skin soft.

 

Ashley Omspach Unicorn Bows and More

This is a handmade hair accessory shop started in 2018 in Mooresville. Bows, hear clips, head bands are handmade, using faux leather, canvas, polymer clay, and other materials. Making them makes Ashley feel happy and is a major contributor to smiles.

 

Mike Drumand, birdhouses

“I enjoy making birdhouses, feeders, and decorations from found/recycled items that will bring birds and interest to each yard. In addition, I’ve started working in stained glass that not only brings color into the home, but draws your eye out to view the world outside.”

 

West Rowan High School FFA Farm

8050 NC Highway 801, Mount Ulla 28125

Featuring a Working School Farm and Agricultural Education Land Laboratory

The farm, located at West Rowan High School, has both large and small livestock, aquaponics, hydroponics, greenhouse horticulture, vermiculture, mushrooms, a traditional garden, an agricultural mechanics shop, and nature trails — all for educational purposes. The FFA chapter has 450 FFA members and is a National Outstanding FFA Alumni Chapter.

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