Operation Blessing Helps Asheville Artists Get Back On Their Feet: 'A Labor of Love'

The River Arts District in Asheville, North Carolina, was once a thriving part of the city but now stands desolate.  

Floodwaters from Hurricane Helene ripped through the area, where some 300 artists displayed their work in 26 galleries.  

Mark Oliver's Foundation Woodworks is one of them.

"It's gone," he said, "It's just been home."

Twenty woodworkers created and sold their pieces at Foundation Woodworks, which served as both a studio to create and a gallery to showcase their work and sell it.

"It's amazing to tell somebody, 'That bowl in the front was made in the back. The box in the front was made in the back. You want to meet the maker? They're here,'" Oliver said.

Now those artisans are out of work. 

However, Operation Blessing is helping those woodworkers get back on the job, by setting up a temporary space where they can make and sell their goods while their permanent studio and gallery are rebuilt.

Operation Blessing Chief Executive Officer Drew Friedrich told CBN News an Asheville winery was destroyed in the flood, yet a very large, clean, concrete slab remains where the winery stood.  

Operation Blessing is working with the owner and others to quickly set up temporary structures on the surface resembling the original Foundation Woodworks.

"It really will give us a chance to help," Friedrich said, "And for them to earn an income, help those families get back to some sense of normalcy, and that's what we're aiming to do."

The 8,000-square-foot workspace is large enough for all 20 workers to soon resume their chosen profession.

"We're going to potentially help them get set up online so they can be doing some e-commerce, so they can get those pieces they're creating out to the world for sale that way," Friedrich added.

Meanwhile, Operation Blessing workers continue to search through the rubble up and down Asheville's River Arts District for items that can be salvaged.  

When they find such objects, such as delicate earrings and other jewelry, wooden bowls, hand-carved tables, and paintings caked with mud, they carefully clean them for return to the artist who made them. 

Stuart Hough spent decades traveling the globe searching for beautiful objects such as furniture, rugs, lighting, and more, to bring back to his Sunnyside Trading Company to sell.  

"No one was prepared for flooding like this," he said.

Now, the 12,000-square-foot business that housed his massive collection appears ruined.

"You know, it's fairly traumatic looking at all of this," he said, "There were probably 40 sets of antique doors in here," he said, "Mostly teak wood that I find in India." 

Relief teams are on hand, however, to help Hough find any redeemable items while also offering a listening ear. 

"The rescue efforts that have been going on here are phenomenal, and it's very heartwarming how much people care," he said, "All the love and blessings that have been offered to us."

Workers and volunteers consider it a labor of love, all in the name of Jesus.

"The life and the energy that was there in the River Arts District will be back," Friedrich said, "And Operation Blessing's going to play a big role in that."

Operation Blessing plans to stay in the Asheville area as long as necessary, as well as in other areas impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, such as Georgia and Florida.

If you would like to support Operation Blessing as it helps those hit hard by hurricane victims, you can call CBN at 1-800-700-7000 or click HERE to visit Operation Blessing's website.