The Fall Reception celebrates three new exhibitions on view across The Bascom's galleries and opens the weekend of the 16th Annual Dazzling Dahlia Festival. Guests move through the galleries to honor community artists whose work speaks to the influence of women in the arts, encounter Jo Sandman's experimental practice through The Bascom's partnership with the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, and meet the featured ceramic artists of The Bascom Clay Symposium. The evening also offers a first look at the weekend ahead, with a preview of the festival's floral-themed programs and a recognition of Michelle Radford as winner of the 2026 Dahlia Poster Contest.

Bascom Studio Members will present a collection of wall pockets and vases, adorned with fresh dahlias, which will be available for purchase during the Dazzling Dahlia Festival. Don't miss the chance to visit the Studio Barn and be truly dazzled!

The Bascom Shop welcomes jewelry artist Kate Furman for a trunk show Friday and Saturday, September 11–12, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., held in conjunction with the Dazzling Dahlia Festival.

Furman earned her MFA in Jewelry + Metalsmithing from Rhode Island School of Design in 2012 and her BFA in Jewelry and Metalworking from the University of Georgia in 2008. Working from her studio in Greenville, South Carolina, she gathers materials on long stretches spent in the wilderness: seed pods, bark, bone, and stone shed by the landscape itself. Each piece carries the marks of where it was found, scored by storms and whitewater, and set into fine jewelry that reads like a field journal of place.

Furman's collection will be available for purchase both days of the festival.

The festival's signature juried competition invites growers and floral designers of all ages to enter single blooms or arrangements across open, novice, youth, and arranged divisions. Free to enter. The juried show will be on view Friday, September 11 from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m., and Saturday, September 12 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Growers, click here for more information on how to enter. 

Young artists will explore color, texture, and layering as they create vibrant collages inspired by the bold shapes and beauty of dahlias.

All Matierials included. Ages 7-12

Highlands ecologist and garden designer Sonya Carpenter examines how the dahlia's color and form draw pollinators, birds, and butterflies to the garden, and what it takes to keep them nourished on the Plateau. Saturday, September 12, 11 a.m. Free.

Artists will explore color, texture, and layering as they create vibrant collages inspired by the bold shapes and beauty of dahlias.

All Matierials included.

In this 4 day hand building class, we will make objects commonly found on your dinner table using the slab roller and slabs of clay, texture pads, etc.  Objects to be made could be Plates, Bowls, Salt/Pepper Shakers, Candle Sticks, Pitcher, etc.   Templates will be provided for students to use, although students are welcome to create their own.  In an effort to get through as many projects as we can, this class is designed to make examples, not entire plate settings or dinnerware sets.  The class includes Open Studio only on the day of class.  There is no glazing component to this class.  Please see Glazing Class in the Resident Artist Schedule.

In this 4 day hand building class, we will make objects commonly found on your dinner table using the slab roller and slabs of clay, texture pads, etc.  Objects to be made could be Plates, Bowls, Salt/Pepper Shakers, Candle Sticks, Pitcher, etc.   Templates will be provided for students to use, although students are welcome to create their own.  In an effort to get through as many projects as we can, this class is designed to make examples, not entire plate settings or dinnerware sets.  The class includes Open Studio only on the day of class.  There is no glazing component to this class.  Please see Glazing Class in the Resident Artist Schedule.

Take your woodturning skills to the next level in this intermediate-level workshop. Participants will expand their repertoire by learning pull and shear cuts while focusing on projects such as bowls, Christmas ornaments, and small vases. The class will also explore surface enhancements to add depth and character to turned pieces. Additional projects and diagnostic turning may include making a mallet or a tool handle.
This workshop is designed for students with prior turning experience who are ready to refine their technique and broaden their creative possibilities.