Nate Chestnut Workshop

Nate Chestnut Workshop Appalachian folk artist carving and painting stories of the Blue Ridge.

Self-taught in Western North Carolina, I create hand-carved wood panels and painted pieces rooted in mountain life, Southern Appalachian culture, and storytelling tradition.

05/07/2026

112 artists.
112 different ways of seeing the world.

This Saturday, May 9th, the Foothills Folk Art Festival turns Newton, NC into a small town full of strange ideas, handmade stories, odd creatures, old traditions, beautiful mistakes, and the kinds of art you can find the evidence of human hands on.

Every piece in this video was made by a real person who decided the world needed one more weird and wonderful thing in it.

Come wander awhile. Find your favorite artist. Find something that makes you laugh, stare, remember home, or rethink what folk art can be.

📍 Foothills Folk Art Festival
🗓 Saturday, May 9
🎨 112 artists • live art • handmade goods • WNC creativity in every direction

Tag an artist you’re excited to see 👇

Foothills Folk Art Festival🗓 Saturday, May 9 I'm bringing a truckload of strange little Appalachian stories to the Footh...
05/06/2026

Foothills Folk Art Festival
🗓 Saturday, May 9
I'm bringing a truckload of strange little Appalachian stories to the Foothills Folk Art Festival in Newton, NC, 10 am - 4 pm.

Hand carved, hand painted, images you maybe remember from a dream, or it might have been a folk tale your granny told you. It's just at the edge of your memory.

Tell me which is your favorite piece and why!

Foothills Folk Art Festival
🗓 Saturday, May 9
🎶 Bring your weird uncle, your grandma, the fun neighbor, and whoever still believes the moon is watching. It's gonna be a dope day.

Foothills Folk Art Festival is back! 🐖Mark your calendars Saturday, May 9 in Newton, NC.Join in for a day packed with cr...
03/26/2026

Foothills Folk Art Festival is back! 🐖

Mark your calendars
Saturday, May 9 in Newton, NC.

Join in for a day packed with creativity and good company.

⭐ Art from renowned folk artists
⭐ Children’s art activities
⭐ Live music
⭐ Great food
⭐ Beer garden

If you love handmade things, good music, and the kind of art that comes straight from the heart, this is your kind of day.

Bring a friend, bring the kids, and come celebrate folk art.

📍 Foothills Folk Art Festival — Newton, North Carolina
📅 Saturday, May 9

NCArtists FolkArtFestival NewtonNC SupportLocalArtists


Lately I’ve been carving moons and mountains, banjo pickers and mason jar savings…but I’ve also been carving out time to...
02/19/2026

Lately I’ve been carving moons and mountains, banjo pickers and mason jar savings…
but I’ve also been carving out time to notice the small things.

The way a sunrise hits a peephole.
A caustic black cloud from a factory.
The shimmering of ice in the night.
Even the frustrations that sand me down a little smoother.

I like to stretch those moments.
Hold them longer than they strictly need.
Let them teach me something.
I'm noticing that wonder isn’t obvious.
It's not always positive or beautiful.
It’s usually small enough to miss.
I’m trying not to miss it.

11/13/2025

🌙 “I’m not gone, just gone ahead.”

We don’t exactly know what comes after this life or if there’s truly a river at all.
But I like to think that if I go first, I’ll pause at the edge, waiting for the ones I love so we can begin whatever comes next side by side.

I think of my wife’s father, who left too soon.
I picture him resting on the shore, admiring the fish and the bugs, a little mountain stream sand between his toes, patient and sure. He's the kind of man whose love runs deep enough
to linger a while, just to let his people catch up.

Maybe that’s the truest kind of love,
to rest easy on a far shore,
watching for familiar faces
and trusting they’ll find you when it’s time.

Thank you for sharing the song you wrote for your daughter and inspiring a lot of happy and solemn tears from us all.

11/05/2025

This song reminds me that love doesn’t end.
Sometimes it waits.
We all carry people with us who’ve gone to the waters first.
Their laughter, their words, the way they made the world feel, that stays with us.

And someday, when our time comes, it's nice to think we’ll see them standing there at the water’s edge, smiling, reaching out a hand.

Until then, we keep remembering.
We keep loving across the river.

for the lullaby she sings to her little one.

11/03/2025

Sometimes you just need a good cry. If you want to absolutely weep happy tears in less than a minute, I highly suggest you listen to this one by and think of your person.

This one will turn into a carving. Stay tuned to see how it turns out.

This weekend, Biz and I found ourselves in one of those beautiful surprises you can’t plan..... an impromptu art night w...
09/22/2025

This weekend, Biz and I found ourselves in one of those beautiful surprises you can’t plan.....
an impromptu art night with our bestie neighbors.

No schedule, no agenda. Just the simple joy of sitting together, sharing stories, laughing about life, swapping thoughts on what we love, and what it means to belong in our communities, big and small. As our hands worked with paint and paper, our words wove around friendship, creativity, and connection.

It reminded me that art isn’t just about what ends up on the panel or canvas, it’s about the conversations that happen while we make it, the company we keep, and the memories stitched into the colors.

Here’s to neighbors who feel like family, and to the magic that happens when love and creativity are an integral part of your community.

I've included photos of the art Biz and I created that night.




✨ It’s amazing how a frame can transform a piece of art. This one carries a story of its own—crafted from an old wooden ...
07/31/2025

✨ It’s amazing how a frame can transform a piece of art. This one carries a story of its own—crafted from an old wooden xylophone, it adds a warmth and rhythm that makes the blue ghost firefly glow even brighter. ✨
I can already picture it bringing a little bit of magic to someone’s favorite corner of home.
Where do you see it shining on your walls?



Biz and I just got back from Minnie Adkins Day in Elliott County, KY — my heart and my belly are full and my wallet's a ...
07/20/2025

Biz and I just got back from Minnie Adkins Day in Elliott County, KY — my heart and my belly are full and my wallet's a little lighter.

Met the QUEEN herself, Minnie Adkins — living legend, master carver, and possibly part possum (in the best way).

Caught up with old friends, made some new ones, and accidentally adopted three wooden possums, a cayman, and a mermaid. We even saw a fox sn**ch a carved chicken.

Tell me your favorite piece, or just drop a 🦨 on the comments if you love weird and wonderful folk art as much as we do.








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Pisgah Forest, NC

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