A group of 20 loaded into the Art Link Party Bus on August 18th for a day-long tour of artist studios.

Our first stop was the studio of Hoss Haley. Hoss was good enough to set aside an hour to give us a behind-the-scenes look at his bewildering assortment of machines, all of which he built from the ground up. Explaining that the majority of his working materials come from the scrap yard, Hoss gave the group detailed instructions on field-dressing a washing machine, as well as what types of cars are best suited to dismantling and mashing into balls using 30 tons of home-made compression. Not too much work was on site to see because Hoss has a show that's currently running at Blue Spiral Gallery. Here's a link to some of those excellent works.

The piece pictured to the right is titled Erratic Union and is constructed of steel and concrete and is one of the works on display at Blue Spiral right now.

I imagine everyone left wishing they could be Hoss Haley for a day, at least I did..

Next stop was in Asheville's River Arts District to visit with Josh Copus. Again, not much work to see because Josh had just finished a firing of new ceramic work and the large scale wood burning kiln that he built and uses was still cooling down, five days after the firing.

Copus, clad in a well-worn tee-shirt and truckers cap gave the group a high-spirited talk about his Clay Space working group, instructions on how to steal clay from a neighbors property and still remain friends, how to get along with the guys at the lumber yard, as well as numerous life-lessons such as putting all your money back into the mission, even if you don't have a house yet.

A special guest appearance was made by master ceramicist, Eric Knocke, who had just returned from firing large-scale works in Germany.

While in the area, some of the group also visited with Michael Hoffman, a man that knows more about working with fine porcelain than anyone has a legitimate right.

The Art Link Party Bus rambled next into the Montfort area of Asheville, known for histerical preservation (and yes I know how to spell historical), where we visited  Kevin Hogan's well appointed and abundently spacious studio.

Lots of prints were out for display as well as some large-scale paintings, both finished and in-progress. Hogan, never short for words or ideas gave the group an over-view of how he views the world through abstract eyes.

Lunch on the Hogan patio followed, where we met  his lovely wife Jo, and recent graduate of App State, son Trevor.

Straight into the belly of Asheville next, where we were dropped off at the foot of Ben Long's studio. After a daunting climb up the narrow and harrowing stairs, we were greeted by Long's studio manager, Ada Dudenhoeffer.

The group was treated to a rare view of a portrait in progress by Long, the subject of which we were all sworn to a vow of secrecy on and we plan to keep that vow. Huge numbers of Long's paintings were also on view in his wonderfully clutter-filled studio.

We also made the aquaintance of the young painter, and Long apprentice Matthew Good, who had some stunning portraits on display. We also met veteran painter, Jim Chapman who had an array of landscapes and other curious portraits of canned vegetables as well as some mighty  handsome bagels.

Our next destinaton came by foot as we traversed the Asheville square, where we encountered and got to enjoy the Hoss Haley fountain. Here's a video link with Hoss talking about that wonderful water work.

At The Asheville Art Museum we were greeted by the always energetic and lovely executive director, Pam Myers and board member Kim Samsel (daughter of Roger McGuire). We got a whirl-wind review of where the museum is heading in the future and then given a free pass into the Mel Chin exhibit, High, Low and In-between.

We also got to gaze upon more work by Hoss Haley, an enormous sculpture entitled Cycle  which by this point, we were well-aware how it was put together (pictured right)

Back on the Party Bus and a short stop away in downtown, we were invited to barge into the home of Fred and Kato Guggenheim.

The Guggenheims are the ultimate collaborative art makers, and there wasn't an object or print in site that they hadn't worked together on in one way or another. The ladies got a treat when Kato brought out all of the silver jewelry that Fred had made for her over their 64 years of marriage.

These two were a special treat and a real inspiration.

Final Stop! A perfect end to a rather perfect day was a wine reception at the impeccably appointed studio of David Stewart. Stewart put out a spread of exquisite munchies for everyone, along with a huge number of beautifully rendered canvases, both finished and in progress.

If all of this wasn't enough we also got to meet glass artist Robert Gardner, who had a recently finished piece on hand for us to marvel over.

But wait! Photographer Ralph Burns made a guest appearance and for those adventurous enough to brave crossing the street, his one man show was on view at Pink Dog Creative.

All-in-all, a rather sublime day and an informative and inspiring look under the hood with a select few of Asheville's most remarkable talents.