In honor of National Quilting Day, the Folk Art Center will host demonstrations and exhibitions celebrating textile arts Friday & Saturday, March 20-21.

The National Quilting Association, Inc. began sponsoring National Quilting Day in 1991. Quilting groups across the country use the event as a way to raise awareness of the traditional craft.

On Friday, March 20, Southern Highland Craft Guild member and quilt historian Connie Brown will demonstrate quilting on a home sewing machine in the Folk Art Center lobby from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. On Saturday, which is National Quilting Day, Connie will host “Let’s Talk Quilts,” an opportunity for visitors to bring in their own quilts for questions and analysis. Connie will help identify time periods by fabrics and patterns used. She will also curate a small collection of quilts made in the 1970s which she describes as a quirky, fun piece of quilting history.

While at the Folk Art Center, visitors can enjoy “Dynamic Narratives,” an exhibition featuring the work of twelve sculptors who are all women. Their work addresses important issues of society using clay to express their point of view individually and collectively. The exhibition will run through April 19, 2015 in the Main Gallery.

The Focus Gallery will be hosting “Natural Inclinations,” featuring the work of Nancy Graham (clay), Tom Zumbach (wood), Marilee Hall (clay), Amy Putansu (fiber), Laura Gaskin (fiber) and Suzanne Gernandt (fiber) through May 12, 2015.

The Folk Art Center is located at Milepost 382 of the Blue Ridge Parkway, just north of the Hwy 70 entrance in east Asheville. For more information about the Folk Art Center’s events and exhibitions, call (828) 298-7928 or visit www.craftguild.org.