TOSS

The 2025-2026 TOSSafter Season has come to a close!

We continue to be amazed by the incredible group of young creatives who show up for this program, for one another, and for their community. It’s a privilege to explore new creative pathways and build new skills alongside our students while witnessing their growth in confidence, creativity, and craftsmanship. This year, we took a deep dive into our Environmental Stewardship pillar, transforming up-cycled and recycled materials into imaginative works of art.

Enjoy these sweet photos from the talented Shannon Hanson, who perfectly captured our Spring TOSSing celebration! This special event brings everyone together to reflect on all we've accomplished throughout the semester.

It’s also a unique opportunity for intergenerational learning, community connection, and participation in the arts economy, with student artwork displayed in a gallery and sold with proceeds going directly to the young artists.

Happy Summer!

Adult Workshop Series: Drawing/Urban Sketching

June 17 | 10am - Noon | $35

Would you like to draw more in your daily life? Would you like to improve your skills for drawing what you see? Whether you've been drawing forever, or this is your first time, this class is for you!

Urban sketching is the practice of drawing and painting on location, directly from observation. Gláucia Mir, a seasoned urban sketcher who has been drawing on location for over 30 years, will lead our class. We will discuss perspective, composition and learn tools that make drawing on location more fun! Drawing materials will be provided, but feel free to bring your beloved sketchbook!

We will meet in downtown Morganton (exact location TBD). The class will be outside so bring your walking shoes, sunscreen and hat! A lawn chair would be helpful too.

See you on June 17th! Register Here: https://www.tosstudio.org/workshop-series-payments/painting-workshop-1-k4nk5-wz7ha-pyxnb-6n3xn-ymgdf

In our final TOSS workshops of the 25/26 school year, students from Hillcrest, Glen Alpine, Mull, and Forest Hill Elementary created their own sketch books out of leather, paper, and rubber bands!

Together, we learned about the Studio Habit “Reflect” where they thought back to previous lessons, and considered what mediums they could continue to explore in their sketch books over the summer. We decorated the covers of our books by taking inspiration from Romare Bearden, children’s book illustrators, and various parts of pop culture! We love seeing how young artists can take inspiration from their previous work and other artists!

Thank you so much to the North Carolina Museum for Art for supporting TOSS and making these workshops possible!

Join us in welcoming our Summer Artist in Residency, Andy Chrem 🎉

Andy is a fiber artist based in Hickory, NC, where she moved after a journey from Peru, to Rhode Island where she studied Design and Jewelry, to NYC! She spent the last 20 years creating and teaching, using mostly upcycled materials as the base, and incorporating embroidery, painting, screen printing and basketry. You can mostly find her in search of materials, yelling at her sewing machine, or trying to make the perfect tassle.

During her time at TOSS, she will be focusing on creating three sculptures to explore the Past, Present, and Future of the textile industry and our Morganton home, collaborating with our ecosystem, students, and community members.

Follow along and see her final works on display at our Summer TOSSing on August 8th.

Welcome to our April TOSSafter Snapshot! 🍃

Our students used recycled toilet paper rolls and cardstock to make pencil sculptures. They made their armatures more solid by using plaster strips dipped in water, and then shaped and draped the strips around their initial base. We finished our pencils by painting them with acrylics and adding silver tape for the ferrule.

Middle school students learned about reductive sculptures by carving a bar of soap into an animal. We learned that humans have been making animal carvings since prehistoric times! 🦖

Snapshot #1: Margot and Catherine hold up their finished pencil sculptures.

Snapshot #2: “Adventures in 3D Sculptures ” shows Jenna’s pencil in the foreground, a “White Squirrel” by Ida and a dino by Sammy.

The votes are all in and the ballots counted! A little drumroll for our 2026 Downtown Student Expo Winners.......

🏆"Texture & Pattern Bear" - Talida L; Drexel Elementary
🏆"After Alma Landscape" - Landry D.; Liberty Middle
🏆"Untitled" - Lydia D.; Freedom High

Congratulations to these talented winners and all those who participated, along with the Burke art teachers, businesses, , , and for supporting young artists and making this wonderful project possible.

Be sure to check out https://rebrand.ly/780hor5 for the business/artist directory.

In the month of April, students from Hillcrest, Glen Alpine, Mull, and Forest Hill Elementary explored building sculptures using recyclable materials and other household items! Together, we learned about the Studio Habit “Develop Craft” by discoving how we can turn everyday items like water bottles, grocery store bags, and party streamers into colorful jellyfish. We love seeing how young artists can get creative with materials and their imagination!

Thank you so much to the North Carolina Museum of Art for supporting TOSS and making these workshops possible!


North Carolina Museum of Art

Adult Workshop Series: Sculpture 🗿

May 17 | 2-4 PM | $55 | All materials included 🖌️

In this edition with Thomas Purello, participants will explore new skills and processes to build sculptures of animals or human figures using materials like wire and plaster. These are perfect display pieces for any home!

Time with us will focus on building the sculpture and new skills, and participants will have the opportunity to personalize their pieces beyond that!

To sign up, visit https://bit.ly/4ewXkqC

We have dropped 68 posters in 21 different businesses and organizations throughout Downtown Morganton. WHOA! Talented young artists from elementary to highschool, from BCPSto NCSD to NCSSM, are now featured in windows until August 15th.

🗳️Vote for your favorites until May 12th! 🔗https://tosstudio.org/news

📍Find Artwork and Voting Key here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cBpmpTC34X5M-fAnLYMiBuqaqm5bvZGFt03eTQHaiKo/edit?gid=96668965 =96668965

Very BIG thank you to our downtown hosts, all the amazing art teachers who helped curate, staff, interns, and volunteers who hustled around town taping posters, Table Rock Printers, NC Museum of Art, and Main St Morganton for their partnership.

Grab a friend and check out all the lovely places and talent in Morganton!