BLOWING ROCK — Hickory native and longtime Blowing Rock summer resident Lee Harper will return as artist-in-residence at Edgewood Cottage for the week of Aug. 28-Sept. 3.
Harper will be at the cottage each day of her residency from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to discuss and sell her work. She will also paint new works while onsite. This will be Harper’s eighth year as artist-in-residence at the cottage, located on Main Street in Blowing Rock, and she will again share the space with fellow artist and friend, Tunde Afolayan Famous, whose talent and work are well-known to the Blowing Rock community.
The Edgewood Cottage artist-in-residence program is sponsored by the Blowing Rock Historical Society.
“It’s an honor to once again be invited by the Blowing Rock Historical Society to share my art with Blowing Rock residents and visitors,” said Harper. “As I look forward to my eighth fine arts residency in this beautiful place, I am almost overwhelmed with gratitude for the ongoing inspiration and support this community provides to me. My family has been summering in Blowing Rock since the 1700s, so my roots run very deep here. I plan to exhibit 30 paintings featuring dancers, landscapes and still lifes, and all will be offered for sale. My husband and I are eagerly anticipating our summer time here, and I’m looking forward to greeting old friends and meeting new ones Aug. 28-Sept. 3.”
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Built in 1890, Edgewood Cottage was the first home of American artist Elliott Daingerfield. The structure was restored by the Blowing Rock Historical Society and is now used for special events and the popular artists-in-residence program. Harper’s exhibit includes a public reception Thursday, Aug. 31, from 6-8 p.m. RSVPs are requested at lee.vason@gmail.com.
Harper, founding director of Atlanta’s Lee Harper & Dancers, is one of the Southeast’s most influential and inspirational arts leaders. She attended the Juilliard School of Music and graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance. She performed professionally with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, the Pearl Lang Dance Theater, the All Nations Dance Company and the Atlanta Contemporary Dance Company. For more than four decades, Harper has taught thousands of children, choreographed productions for some of the region’s premier arts organizations, directed her group of professional dancers and dazzled audiences with her one-woman shows. Harper is also a fine arts painter, presenting art shows and serving as artist-in-residence at art centers in Blowing Rock, Atlanta and Madison, Ga.
In December 2000, the Harper family donated their historic family home, Harper House, to the Historical Association of Catawba County in Hickory. She is married to attorney Wayne Vason, and they have two adult children, Katie and Fin.
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