Blue View Pottery is 10 years old this year! I’m so thankful to practice the art I have always loved. My inspiration is the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Carolina Blue Sky, and the way we live in harmony with our mountains and streams.

I am a mixed media artist/ ex potter/cat mom. I live in the beautiful mountains of WNC.

Deb Roberts of Mountain Expressions is a lifelong learner of silversmithing techniques. Her love of nature, wildflowers, and the mountains inspire many of her designs.

John Duncan Watercolors

www.jduncanart.com

After retiring from a career in architectural design and construction, I have chosen to pursue a lifetime passion of watercolor painting. I am drawn toexpress this though representative images which tell a story. Specifically the story of the environment surrounding us in our Mountain home.

I consider myself very lucky because both of my parents were artistic- even my maternal grandmother and great grandmother were! I vividly remember getting my first little hand crank sewing machine and using some of my mother’s prized wool in England. My mother used to volunteer to be an art class aid and taught a few craft projects there and in Okinawa. My father was a great artist as well and made the sign for the town of Sangerville, Maine. i dabble in many art forms and am happiest when i am creating!

I have been painting for many years, have painted with watercolor, and was juried into the NC Watercolor society show in Boone NC. Now I paint with oil, cold wax and mixed media, attended workshops, and have my work displayed BE Gallery in Banner Elk, Poppy’s Wildcraft in SP, as well as Toe River Crafts Gallery.

My paintings are on wood panels, sealed with gesso, and cold wax. Mixed media may include gold leaf, marble dust, or bits of mica found locally. I like to paint form impressions of walks and hikes I have taken, leaning towards the abstract, and expressing feelings and emotions in my work.

"I was always,'the curious one.'
For me, every object has two lives -quotidian and poetic.
I love to discover an object's secret poetry and set it free in art" 

I am a painter, a photographer, a mixed media artist, and a mad lover of travel. Ever since I was a child, I have been a seeker and collector of objects that can be reborn as art. I have discovered them in North Carolina "junk" shops, on the side of winding backroads across our country and off-the-beaten path villages in Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. I live in a world where everything is a possibility for new art.

From leaves, feathers and bones, to antiques, seashells and ephemera, I transform my finds into art that breathes into them new life, new meaning, new perspective. My goal is to inspire others to look at found objects, environments, and cultures through a very different set of eyes.

Living in North Carolina for the last 7 years, I’m inspired by the incredible beauty of the surrounding landscape to express my wonder by making art. I enjoy painting with pastels, watercolors and alcohol ink, printing with plant materials, and exploring the use of mixed media and collage. I also love incorporating crystal prisms with beads to make one-of-a-kind light catchers. Being a working member of Toe River Crafts has been/is a treasured community-building experience_ an opportunity to work with a group of incredibly talented artists and fine craft makers, my neighbors, in this beautiful place. 

I’m a retired mechanical engineer. I have always liked making things. A few years ago I bought a used band saw from a local artist and started making animal figures out of different woods. I think its fascinating how the grains and patterns in the wood magically appear in the finished piece. I continue to find new ideas for my creations. I’ve made traditional animals like cats, dogs, horses and deer and have ventured into mystical creatures like unicorns, flying pigs and dragons.

Julie Smith grew up in Indiana. Before retiring and moving to WNC in 2016. My husband and I have three grown boys. I worked as a lab analyst for an environmental company for my 26 years in the work force but never really had time for a hobby. In 2018 I found a local piece of pottery that I just loved, that started me on an adventure to make my own things. I am whimsical by nature and rather organic tastes. My potter is visibly handbuilt making each piece just a little bit different. It has kept me entertained and unleashed some creativity into my life. I make things solely for my own enjoyment, but am lucky to sell at TRC.