Atlanta's Lee Harper Will Showcase and Sell Her Paintings in Blowing Rock, NC Aug. 25-31, 2025

For generations, Atlantans have escaped the summer heat by spending time in the beautiful North Carolina mountains. Atlanta resident, dancer, choreographer and fine arts painter Lee Harper and her husband Wayne Vason are longtime Blowing Rock summer residents, and in recent years, Harper has found inspiration in the mountains for her paintings. Sharing her works has become a summer tradition for Harper, and she has been invited for a 10th year to serve as Artist-in-Residence at Edgewood Cottage in Blowing Rock Aug. 25-31, 2025. Harper will be at the cottage each day of her residency from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. to discuss and sell her work. She will also paint new works while onsite (www.leeharperfineart.com). An opening reception will be held at the cottage on Thursday, Aug. 28 from 5-7 p.m.

"I hope many of my Atlanta friends will join my North Carolina friends and family to help me celebrate my 10th consecutive year as Artist-in-Residence at Edgewood Cottage on Main Street," said Harper. "As in years past, I plan to create new oil paintings inspired by the beauty of the North Carolina mountains, flowers in bloom and dancers in motion. I'm excited to share the space with fellow artist Theresa Gloster, a self-taught folk art painter from Lenoir, N.C."

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. Lee Harper’s exhibit is open to the public, but she requests RSVPs for the Aug. 28 reception at lee.vason@gmail.com. For more information about Theresa Gloster, visit drprim.wixsite.com/theresagloster/about. The Edgewood Cottage Artist-in-Residence program is sponsored by the Blowing Rock Historical Society (www.artistsatedgewood.org/edgewood-cottage).

“I am so appreciative of the Blowing Rock Historical Society who continues to invite me to serve as Artist-in-Residence at Edgewood Cottage,” said Harper. “I know that – once again – the residency will be a highlight of my summer. It’s also a family affair, since my husband, Wayne Vason, helps me transport and display the art, and our son, Fin Vason, provides the live music for our opening reception. And I always look forward to greeting old friends and meeting new ones during my art show.”

About Lee Harper

Hickory, NC native Lee 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 over four decades, Miss Harper has taught thousands of children, choreographed productions for some of the region’s premier arts organizations, directed her talented group of professional dancers and dazzled audiences with her one-woman shows. In addition to her remarkable dance career, Lee 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 acknowledgement of her tremendous body of work and influence, Miss Harper received the Georgia Governor’s Award for the Arts and Humanities in 2016. In December 2000, the Harper family donated their historic family home, Harper House, to the Historical Association of Catawaba County in Hickory, NC. She is married to attorney Wayne Vason, and they have two grown children, Katie (Greg Devaney) and Fin. www.leeharperfineart.com