About Pocosin Arts

Connecting people to lifelong learning through the arts from our campus in Columbia, NC. All experience levels are welcome.

Pocosin teacher holding a hammer and teaching the boy.

Our Mission

Pocosin Arts School of Fine Craft is committed to connecting individuals from all walks of life through the transformative power of lifelong learning and creative exploration. Through diverse programs and initiatives, we strive to cultivate a vibrant community where individuals engage in the arts, expand their knowledge, and develop a deep appreciation of craft. Our mission is to create opportunities that promote personal growth, cultural understanding, and enrichment through the arts.

Our programs are open to anyone with a desire and passion for making, and all experience levels are welcome. Nationally and internationally recognized artists teach workshops in our well-equipped metalsmithing, ceramics, and woodworking studios. Additionally, digital fabrication equipment is available to enhance your creative pursuits. Our caring and enthusiastic staff are dedicated to help facilitate your creative journey.

Pocosin's studios, lodging, dining facilities and fine craft gallery are situated on the banks of the Scuppernong River in historic downtown, Columbia, North Carolina.  It is an ideal place for residencies, five-day summer workshops, a private retreat or community classes. We also offer live online workshops year-round for learning from the comfort of home.

Staff

Marlene Headshot

Marlene True
Executive Director
marlene@pocosinarts.org

Alex

Alex Bivins
Development Manager
development@pocosinarts.org

Eric Burris
Metals Studio Coordinator
metals@pocosinarts.org

 
Sarah Grace Cheek
Operations Manager
operations@pocosinarts.org

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Ann Workman
Online Workshop Coordinator
ann@pocosinarts.org

Liz Headshot

Liz Steiner
Communications and Marketing
communications@pocosinarts.org

Ivy Thornburg
Facilities & Grounds
housekeeping@pocosinarts.org

Lexie Headshot

Lexie Koch
Ceramics Studio Coordinator
ceramics@pocosinarts.org

Wood Coordinator Tools

Woodshop Coordinator
wood@pocosinarts.org

Board Members

Dorothy Ansell is a jewelry artist.  She has always felt that beautiful handcrafted glass deserved an equally beautiful handcrafted finish. So, she found her way to metalworking.  While living in the southwest, she studied silver-smithing in Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. She learned how to bezel set glass with sterling silver.  After retiring from a social work career, she moved to North Carolina and enrolled in the College of the Albemarle (COA) where she learned other ways to bring glass and metal together. Copper and brass are both metals that can be used to finish glass designs. You can see my work at Windmillhillstudios.com 

Christina Boy is a one woman woodworking studio at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Madison County, Virginia. Her original pieces are made from locally sourced, domestic wood using both traditional and modern woodworking techniques. Aside from her one of a kind pieces and small batch production items, Christina also works with her clients one-on-one to create custom furniture pieces for their homes. Her work is inspired by the clean, straightforward design of the Bauhaus era and early to mid century modern Scandinavian design. The clean, straight lines of a table or bench are often juxtaposed with a funky edge, bright color, or a dynamic diagonal detail.

Dr. Kirstin Bradley, Pharm.D. was raised in Cary, NC. In 2009, she graduated from North Carolina State University with a bachelor’s of science in Biochemistry. She then attended the University of Chapel Hill where she received her Doctorate of Pharmacy in 2014. In 2014 Kirstin relocated to Eastern North Carolina where she lives on the shores of Lake Phelps in Creswell. She currently manages Columbia Pharmacy in Columbia, NC. Kirstin volunteers with a multitude of local organizations. However, her true passion is helping homeless and abandoned animals find their forever homes.

A. Blair Clemo is an Artist and Associate Professor of Craft and Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. He received his MFA in Ceramics at the New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University in 2010.  Originally from Doylestown Pennsylvania, Clemo spent many years out west studying ceramics and working at small production potteries in Idaho and Montana. Artist Residencies include: The Northern Clay Center (Minneapolis, MN), the Da Wang Culture Highland (Shenzhen, China), the Zentrum für Keramik (Berlin, Germany), The Jingdezhen International Studio (Jingdezhen, China), The Archie Bray Foundation Invited Artist Program (Helena, MT) and The International Ceramics Studio (Kecskemét, Hungary) funded by the 2013 NCECA International Partnership Grant. In 2018, he was a Visiting Professor at Shandong Univeristy in Jinan, China. Clemo’s utilitarian, installation and sculptural work has been included in over 130 solo and group exhibitions both nationally and abroad. Recent exhibitions include: Moving Target (solo) at the Appalachian Center for Craft, Call & Response at the Tweed Museum, Contemporary Clay: A Survey of Contemporary American Ceramics at the Western Carolina University Fine Arts Museum and Dining and Discourse at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft.

Debbie Giachini

Nicole Jacquard is a Professor and Area Coordinator of Metalsmithing and Jewelry Design at Indiana University. She received her BA from Indiana University in 1991 and her first MFA in 1994 from The University of Michigan. While on a Fulbright Fellowship in Australia she received her second MFA from The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University in 1995. In 2001 she returned to RMIT University and completed her Ph.D. in Fine Arts in 2004 focusing on computer applications in the arts.  Jacquard was awarded a second Fulbright to Scotland in 2017-18 where her research focused on the incorporation of augmented reality.

Andy Keeler is Professor Emeritus of Coastal Studies at East Carolina University and the retired director of UNC’s Outer Banks Field Site. Keeler was formerly a professor of public policy at the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at the Ohio State University. He served as the Senior Staff Economist for Environment at the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (2000 – 2001) where he was a member of the US negotiating team for climate change. He has a long association with Pocosin Arts through Board membership, bringing students there for educational programs, and playing music at Pocosin’s annual benefit auction.

Tonya Little

Roger Manley worked as a photographer, folklorist, filmmaker, curator and writer before becoming director and curator of NC State University’s Gregg Museum of Art & Design in 2010. He has scripted videos and films for PBS and has produced exhibitions of his own photographs. His feature-length documentary, MANA—beyond belief, premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam and at NYC’s Lincoln Center. His books and collaborations include Self-Made WorldsSigns and WondersThe End is Near!FarfetchedArchitecture of Hope: the Treasures of Intuit, books on St. EOM and Howard Finster, three books for the Weird USA series, dozens of museum catalogues, and Walks to the Paradise Garden, with Jonathan Williams and Guy Mendes, published in conjunction with the exhibition, “Way Out There: The Art of Southern Backroads” at the High Museum in Atlanta. Roger lives in Durham, NC, with his wife, writer/photographer Theadora Brack.

James Meyer (MFA, Metalsmithing and Jewelry, State University of New York, College at New Paltz, NY) is an artist with permanent collections in the Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, MA; Museum of Art and Design, NY; Racine Museum of Art, WI; Gregg Museum, NC; Georgia Museum of Art, GA; and Nordenjeldske Museum of Fine Arts, Trondheim, Norway. Professor Emeritus for School of the Arts, VCU and a visiting professor for UGA Studies Abroad program (Cortona, Italy), James also provides workshop instruction for Pocosin Arts (NC), Penland School (NC), Arrowmont School (TN), Haystack School (ME), Peters Valley School (NJ), and Touchstone School (PA). With exhibitions in the US, Europe, Asia and Australia and works published in Catalogues, books and magazines, he has also sat on the boards of Society of North American Goldsmiths, Visual Arts Center (VA), Penland School Craft (NC), and Pocosin Arts (NC).

John Myers

Sherylyn Pitt MSW LCSW LCAS owns a private practice in Raleigh, NC offering psychotherapy, ecotherapy, and education.  A Summa Cum Laude alumna of Meredith College (BSW) and UNC Chapel Hill (MSW), Sherylyn has served as a mental health trainer for Area Health Education UNC-CH and as a master’s-level instructor at UNC-CH teaching diversity in Mental Health treatment.  She designs and facilitates training/development programs for several nonprofit and governmental organizations, including NC Department of Juvenile Justice and Interact of Wake County.  She is a creative behavioral health clinician, nature guide, and process artist.  When she is not gardening, Sherylyn leads Health Rhythms Empowerment workshops, Hasya Yoga, Labyrinth experiences, Climate Conversations, and eco-therapeutic immersion retreats. 

Michael Reardon,
Founder of Edenton based Daedalus Yachts
Michael is a local yacht designer and builder formerly from Sydney Australia who has crafted award winning yachts for the past 35 years, He is continually at the forefront of composite technology in a variety of industries. Michael and the companies that he has been instrumental in have won 36 Boat Of The Year awards in Europe and the USA. As the son of a landscape artist Alexander Reardon and father of SAIC mixed media Artist Madz Reardon. Michael has a deep interest in all forms of Art and calls his yachts high performing sculptures.

Facilities

We offer state-of-the-art studios and convenient and comfortable lodging overlooking the Scuppernong River, an ideal place to step back and nurture your creativity.

Local Info

From the beautiful Scuppernong River boardwalk and local restaurants in town, to the beach a short drive from campus, there's plenty of opportunities to take a break from the studio!

Work With Us

Do you have a passion for the arts and want to make it your full or part-time career? Check our job listings for an opening!

Female Pocosin staff

Diversity and Inclusion

Pocosin welcomes and respects everyone regardless of age, ability, ethnicity, race, religion, philosophical or political beliefs, sexual orienation, gender identity or expression, nationality, geographic origin, and socioeconomic status. We are committed to providing an environment free of discrimination.

Discover with Us

Offering workshops in ceramics, mixed media, metal and more. We have something for everyone, no matter your experience level!

female student sawing a piece of wood.
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