Viola Spells | August 2022

Viola Spells is a crochet wire artist who used her time as our first Artist in Residence in August 2022 to experiment with different techniques to create jewelry and figurative sculptures. Ms. Spells uses crochet wire as a medium to communicate the dual concepts of “Line” and the culture of women and also makes “protest jewelry “ to illustrate the struggle of African Americans’ lives in the United States; these pieces, called narrative jewelry, are primarily made of mixed metals with text. Raised in Asheville and educated at Allen High School in Asheville, Central University in Durham, and The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for a graduate degree in Library Science, Ms. Spells is the owner of ZenobiaStudio in Asheville’s River Arts District and resides in Asheville with her daughter and grandson. After retiring as a children’s and regional librarian in the northeast, she received her B.F.A. In Metalsmithing and Jewelry from East Tennessee State University. We were honored and thrilled to have her join us as our first artist in residence!