The Black Mountain Welcome Table, Chef John Crognale

pictured above: 

Toni & Brooke; Lake Tomahawk & the Seven Sisters Mountains; Greg Dunn finds feathers along the lake

Our new friends Toni De Lisa (potter) and Greg Dunn (tribal mask maker) brought us to the Black Mountain Welcome Table today. The daughter of a chef and one helluva cook herself, Toni seems to be able to find fellow Italian-Americans wherever she goes. 

Today she introduced us to John Crognale, a retired chef who had a 5-star restaurant in Monterey, California for many years.  The son of Italian immigrants, John has the charming demeanor of an accomplished host. He's constantly creating new community projects and started the community table in the neighboring town of Montreat. Right now, he's developing this Welcome Table in Black Mountain with a small army of cheerful volunteers. The food is prepared from fresh ingredients which are locally grown wherever possible. You sit at family-style tables and get to meet new people while enjoying a gourmet meal. Everything is friendly and casual, most of the diners today were senior citizens but that may change as the word about this gets out. There's a donation jar and you pay what you can; if you can't pay, that's okay too.

Chef John hopes increase these events at Black Mountain's Community Center to include several breakfasts and lunches every week. With its location on the banks of Lake Tomahawk and the lovely Seven Sisters Mountains in the background, lunching here is a sweet way to spend an afternoon. If you eat too much dessert, like all of us did, you can walk it off around the lake. 

When we met, John and I shook hands; when I left, we hugged. That's what a community table does.

Herding Goats to Bending Steel: Tessa Whittman

Greg & Tessa at her new studio


We may have conducted our last interview in Asheville today, at least for this trip. And it couldn't have been with an individual who better personifies what Our Next Thing is all about. Tessa Whittman could be our poster woman!

Tessa worked briefly as a Live Sound Engineer in her hometown of Minneapolis. Maybe it was those brutal upper midwest winters, maybe it was the finicky nature of the music business, but Tessa dreamed of learning how to surf. She yearned to experience "Island Fever" and escape her known world for a while. What better place than Maui? 

She found herself living on the edge of a hippy enclave in the Hawaiian jungle and built herself a little shelter with not much more than an extension cord and a pot. Her new job was on the other side of the island with a daily commute that dropped 10,000 feet to a goat farm in one of the few desert-like areas in the region. Yes, she became a goat herder and worked for a couple who eventually became well known for their artisan cheeses. 

Her existence there sounded like paradise; but Tessa reminded us that paradise is not necessarily what gives us peace of mind. She was still searching. She returned to the mainland, this time West Virginia, to take a class in Blacksmithing. Now it was Appalachia itself that felt like home to her and Blacksmithing was what she wanted to do. 

The decision to leave Hawaii with all its charms wasn't too difficult for Tessa because she had found both a craft and a place to hone that craft at the Penland School of Crafts in Western North Carolina. For three years, Tessa studied and worked at the school. Greg filmed her this past Sunday during one of her last days at the Smithy of Penland. 

We talked to Tessa today, on the day she would sign her lease for a blacksmith studio that she'll share with several other blacksmithers in the Wedge Building of the River Arts section of Asheville. Not too long ago, this space was the studio of John Payne, a legendary figure in this city. He was a pioneer as a metal sculptor and one of the forces behind Asheville revitalization as an arts community. John Payne passed away last year but his presence is still deeply felt in his former studio and in this city. 

Now, Tessa and her business partner Tina - along with other blacksmiths - are the next generation of artists and crafts people working in steel. I never had the honor of meeting John Payne, but when I look at the people inhabiting his studio now, I can't help but think that he'd be proud. An ancient craft continues and it is a beautiful thing to behold. I can't wait to come back to Asheville and see what Tessa and her fellow blacksmithers are creating.

Note: to read a lovely tribute to John Payne, go to google and search for "john payne wedge studio". You'll see a link to the Mountain Express site. 

Sound Healing - Dielle Ciesco

We interviewed Dielle Ciesco last Saturday at her home, which part of a Habitat for Humanity community on the outskirts of Asheville.

Dielle is difficult to describe; she's like a little bundle of calm and joy. You can feel better by just talking to her. She has a new career as a Sound Healer, Vocal Meditation Instructor and is a member of the Asheville Life Coach Clinic. 

Dielle started her working life as a public school teacher but quickly realized it wasn't the right fit for her. Through a series of twists and turns, she became a student of a shaman in Mexico and studied several healing modalities. Since singing was always a source of joy in her life it became a part of her healing path. 

At the end of the interview, Dielle gave me a Sound Healing session. Usually, Greg is the one who gets to do this kind of thing while I stay behind the camera. But we had just given up smoking two nights before and I managed to get through a very stressful family emergency the day before. I needed it! The setting is similar to many massage therapists. I laid down on a comfortable table with silky linens while Dielle worked around and above me.

Now, I have a pretty open mind and I've tried a lot of alternative medicines and spiritual practices. There are a lot of lotus-eaters out there. But Dielle is the Real Thing. She asked permission to touch me during the session. I immediately trusted her and just let it happen. In the beginning, I felt a soft pressure inside my lungs (I hadn't told her about quitting smoking). Dielle used her own incredible voice, bells and hand crafted sound makers at different times in the session. Tightness and knots and other indescribable things in different areas of my body were released. There is a kindness, compassion and acceptance that Dielle imparts that let me go deeper and deeper into a meditative state. 

When the session ended, we reviewed what happened. I know it helped me and right now I get a little teary-eyed just thinking about it because it was so wonderful.

You can find out more about Dielle's work by visiting her website:

www.TheVoiceofLife,.com

inquire@thevoiceoflife.com