Susan Lenz isn’t fascinated with death.

Some people might assume that because much of her artwork centers around cemeteries and the epitaphs she has found on tombstones. One of her pieces – a handmade book – Lenz named “Book of the Dead” in honor of the 1,200 epitaphs she handwrote inside.

“A lot of people ask me why I deal with death. I don’t look at it as dealing with death. I look at it as contemplating what I’ve got let to do with life. What kinds of things do I want to do or make that can mark my existence and be shared with others?” said Lenz of Columbia, S.C.

Lenz’s show, “Last Words,” is one of five new winter exhibits opening Saturday at the Maria V. Howard Arts Center, said Catherine Lloyd, visual arts specialist.

There will be a free artist reception from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday to open the exhibits, Coulter said. There also will be an open house for the Imperial School of Painting in the arts education building.

The winter exhibits were planned around the center’s annual “Handcrafted” exhibit, Coulter said. The show, which runs through May 20, is an exhibit of ceramics, fiber, glass, metal and wood. About 155 entries were submitted, and 43 works from 25 artists were chosen by juror Brent Skidmore, a wood artist and director of craft studies at the University of North Carolina-Asheville.

“I knew ‘Handcrafted’ is our main feature during this particular one, so I did specifically go out looking for solo exhibits that were related to that theme,” Coulter said.

Lenz’s exhibit of quilts, banners and her epitaph book was one result. Lenz sewed a collection of epitaphs onto chiffon banners that hang from the ceiling. She also created art quilts using rubbings from tombstones she has visited in the United States and England. The show will hang until May 13.

Coulter hung the show, so Lenz will not know which of her pieces are on display until the artist reception. However, Lenz did hear that one of her favorite art quilts is on display. The quilt features a rubbing of a Maine gravestone that read “Never accurate but never dull.”

By profession, Neil Clark is a tattoo artist working in Greenville. The focus of the artist’s solo show, “Anoesis,” is elaborate, handmade books, a skill he learned during a 2009 workshop at the Penland School of Crafts. The show will run through April 29.

The books often are assemblage pieces, using objects such as typewriter parts, decorative metals or a mousetrap to create something unique, Clark said.

“In tattooing, it is so structured and has to be done this way. ... It is nice to go home and do something loose where I am in complete control. If I don’t like something, I just throw it away,” Clark said.

The other two new exhibits will feature the works of multiple artists, Coulter said. Students from five high schools participated in “New Aesthetic,” a juried art competition. The winners will be announced at the reception. The show runs through May 6.

“Cabin Fever Quenched” will feature the works of artists who have been instructors at the annual Pocosin Arts Folk School’s workshop, “Cabin Fever Reliever,” Coulter said. The arts center is a co-sponsor of the intensive four-day workshop in Columbia.

Janice Gravely’s “Flags on Falls Road” exhibit also has been extended to Feb. 12.

For details call 972-1163.