Autumn Birch Stand, Christina Becher
“We want to put an emphasis on being back together.” So says Art on Main Committee Chair Margo Lea. The festival is the Arts Council of Henderson County’s biggest annual event and fundraiser. “Last year was an extremely difficult year for our artists, and we know that they struggled a lot. The entire art-show season was canceled. This year, we are hopeful that it will be successful for each artist,” says Lea.
In past years, the fall festival has attracted 15,000-19,000 art lovers. Hoping the COVID virus will not further surge and trigger safety mandates, the Council is confident this 62-year-old event will reclaim its rightful place as “a staple for downtown Hendersonville, featuring fine art and fine craft,” Lea says.
“Art on Main has something for everybody,” she continues. “We have all genres: painters, wood artists, jewelry artists, glass artists, fiber artists, and more. Art on Main is one of those shows where you can find a $1,000 painting or a $30 piece of jewelry.”
Artists from the South and wider East Coast region bring their work to this outdoor showcase. Putting that creativity to work to promote the festival, the committee selects one of the makers to be the “featured artist,” including having that person’s work grace the festival’s official poster. “Christina Becher creates beautiful, vibrant pieces,” Lea says. “It was an easy choice for our committee to pick her ‘Autumn Birch Stand’ painting for our autumn festival.”
Based in High Point, NC, Becher is a painter and illustrator working in watercolor and alcohol ink. Her work is characteristically vivid, with up-close compositions of florals, landscapes, and whimsical animals. It has a strong leaning toward impressionism and sometimes slips into abstraction. Much of Becher’s creativity is applied to affordable tiles and prints, but she also does original and commissioned paintings.
Becher notes that Art on Main is one of the few two-day shows she participates in because “the quality of the artists are top notch, the town is lovely, and the people here are very nice and appreciative. I consider myself still new to the Art on Main family. My first show was in 2019 and it was fantastic. I was so excited to be going back in 2020, and, of course, COVID hit, and we all know what that meant.”
Becher did participate in last year’s online show. “It was really nice that all the artists had their own ‘virtual rooms,’ where people could pop in and out to visit and buy items. However, like all the artists I know, I missed the energy and the actual face-to-face meeting of everyone at the festival.
“I’m so excited to be coming back again this year.”
Art on Main happens Saturday, Sept. 25 and Sunday, Sept. 26, 10am-5pm, in downtown Hendersonville. For more information, see acofhc.org.