Toe River Arts Studio Tour

Master’s Capstone Thesis Project

I have always had a passion for local art, so when it came time to choose my master’s capstone project, I was drawn to the local arts council in my home town — Toe River Arts. Each year, twice a year, Toe River Arts hosts the Studio Tour — one weekend where artists open their studios to the public so they can learn and connect. Using many different mediums and tools, I created a multimedia website that houses all of the the information about the tour in one place.

Visit Website

What I Did:

  • Connected & communicated with Toe River Arts

  • Interviewed and filmed more than 30 artists who are on the Studio Tour

  • Interviewed Toe River Arts employees on camera

  • Edited 27 videos about the Studio Tour

  • Created an intro animation graphic for the videos

  • Created a website using Wordpress, Elemntor & custom CSS

  • Created an interactive map of the upcoming Studio Tour stops

  • Documented the process with the Instagram account @capstonecreation

Made it into the local paper! Thanks @mitchellnewsjournal!
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Capstone exhibition was a success! If you weren’t able to make it, you can check out the site at toeriverstudiotour.com — link is in the bio! Check it out on any device! It looks a little different on each one. & thank you to everyone
My last artist interview I had: Kenny Pieper is a glass artist originally from Spruce Pine who got his start taking classes at Penland in high school. He combines classical techniques, mostly from Italy, with his own style to create something “
If you’re around the Triangle or Triad areas on Tuesday evening, stop by our exhibition to see all of the projects we’ve all been working so hard on! 5-7:30 PM in the Long Building at Elon!
The BAH House — Rickie Barnett, Lynne Hobaica & Kurt Anderson (all ceramics artists in some fashion) have all moved here from the West Coast over the past few years. They all highlighted the value of the artist community in the Toe River re
Capstone preview day with professors and classmates! I’ll be posting the link on Monday once everything is finalized! Can’t wait to share.
JR & Kristen Page (@pagepottery) met in the professional crafts program at Haywood Community College. After graduating, they decided to open a studio together where they collaborate each day to create both functional and decorative pieces. Their
Judy Smith (@rainbowlightme) has two focuses: photography and lamp shades. In both mediums, she incorporates different types of paper to add interesting textures and effects to her work.
John D. Richards and Claudia Dunaway (@claudiadunaway) make up 2/3 of Yummy Mud Puddle. John uses a lot of “junk” and recycles it into his pieces which he considers “very mixed media.” After 40 years of pottery, Claudia has ma
Yaffa & Jeff Todd (@yaffatoddjefftodd) are always striving to evoke the same feelings of awe people have when looking at natural wonders through their glass pieces. Using crystal glass and their own colored glass, they create sculptures and forms
The Toe River Arts Studio Tour has been highlighting the artists of Mitchell & Yancey County for nearly 30 years. For one weekend, artists open their studios to the public in an effort to learn, explore and connect.
 

The Process

In order to document the creation process of my project, I created the Instagram account @capstonecreation. There, I would regularly post photos of each of the artists I had conducted interviews with and a caption about them, their art and their processes.

I decided to use Instagram to document the progress of my project because I think social media is an incredibly important tool and I’m interested in social media strategy and content creation. This gave me insight in running a professional, business-like social media account and social media campaign.