Our Artists
Rachel Gunsch
Rachel Gunsch, owner of Pottery 101 Gallery and Studio, was raised in Salisbury, North Carolina. Her love of clay began at the age of sixteen when she started working at the very gallery she now owns. During those early years, Rachel immersed herself in pottery, taking classes, learning from artists in the gallery, and spending late nights in the studio under the mentorship of Cheryl Goins. Cheryl, the founder and owner of Pottery 101, played an important role in nurturing Rachel’s passion for clay, encouraging her growth as an artist, and providing her opportunities to develop her craft. Rachel went on to graduate from Warren Wilson College with a degree in Art.
After college, Rachel returned to Salisbury as a full-time artist and owner of SunRay Pottery. Her work centers primarily on functional dinnerware, featuring bright colors and energetic patterns that reflect her vibrant artistic style. As her passion for pottery grew, so did her desire to share the craft with others. Rachel began teaching pottery classes throughout the region, including in Charlotte, Concord, Salisbury, and Winston-Salem, as well as serving as an adjunct professor at Catawba College.
Eventually, Rachel found herself at a crossroads. She had experienced life as a full-time artist and as a full-time teacher, and while she loved both, neither path provided the balance she was looking for. As she considered pursuing a master’s degree in ceramics, Cheryl was preparing to retire and offered Rachel the opportunity to purchase Pottery 101.
For Rachel, the opportunity brought her journey with Cheryl and Pottery 101 full circle. The place where she had first discovered her love of clay, developed her skills, and found a mentor could now become the place where she built her own future. Owning Pottery 101 would allow Rachel to teach, fill the gallery with her own work, support fellow artists, and contribute to the community that had shaped her.
Today, community remains at the heart of Pottery 101. Rachel strives to make the studio and gallery a welcoming place for everyone—from those who simply admire pottery and are curious to meet the artists, to beginners discovering the joy of working with clay, to experienced artists pursuing their creative dreams. Through Pottery 101, Rachel has found a way to bring together the two things she loves most: creating art and sharing it with others.
Lin Barnhardt
Lin Barnhardt graduated from Appalachian State University in 1974 with a BS degree and later
returned to his alma mater to receive his Masters.
He taught art at the secondary level in the public schools of North Carolina for 29 years. In 1997, his seventh graders created unconventional birdhouses, while eighth graders drew
winning poker hands using linear perspective.
From the class projects, he incorporated his interests in architecture, linear perspective, painting, and sculpture.
He has since created a line of Home & Garden ornaments, garden stakes, birdhouses, feeders, lanterns, and ornaments.
Brett Beasley
Beasley makes wheel thrown utilitarian pottery intended for everyday use. He also makes one-of-a-kind ceramic sculptures. Earning a Master of Fine Art degree from East Carolina University, Beasley is currently a full time, self-employed ceramic artist working out of his home studio located in Charlotte, NC.
Brett has assisted top-ranked, professional artists such as Ayumi Horie, Justin Rothshank, Steve Loucks and Lynnette Hesser at various nationally recognized craft schools. He has been an active member of the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) since 2011 and attends the annual conference. Beasley exhibits his artwork at both the national and regional level.
Although art is the chosen profession, fishing is his primary passion.
Meghan Bernard
I love making the objects that people use during their daily rituals. The favorite coffee cup that starts the day, the serving bowl that completes a family gathering, the teapot that brings drama and humor to a collection. Pottery is meant to be used and touched for both the most humble activity as well as the most important. Each piece is from my hand to yours, as a tactile reminder to appreciate the moment and those you share it with.
Cathy Cooper
Rooted in the traditions of Western North Carolina, my vessels are crafted primarily from wild, local clays. Growing up in the Piedmont, I was shaped by family rituals—Sunday dinner tables set with linen, heirloom china, and Grandma Margaret’s pies served in fluted Seagrove pottery.
When I turn clay, I feel that connection to the past. From butter churns to whiskey jugs, North Carolina pottery has always been part of my life.
Some of my recent work features Legendary James Bottom Clay, generously shared by Preston Tolbert and sustainably harvested through the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina. This historically rich material—once used by master potters like Burlon Craig—has been revived thanks to our community, including Matt Hallyburton and Kim Ellington. Working with it adds depth and meaning to my practice, honoring the enduring spirit of Catawba Valley pottery.
I primarily soda fire my work, a process where flame and vapor create unpredictable textures and earthy hues. Each piece becomes a canvas for atmospheric transformation—raw, elemental, and impossible to replicate.
I’m grateful to be part of a community that celebrates this craft. It brings me joy to know my work might become part of someone else’s story—creating new memories in homes near and far.
Each pot is made to be cherished, passed down, and remembered. My hope is that when someone holds one of my pieces, they feel the care and passion behind it—and that it becomes part of their own traditions, just as Grandma Margaret’s pie plates are part of mine.
Sylvia Coppola
Sylvia Coppola has been working in clay since 1976 after taking her first clay class at Western Carolina University and later earning her BFA in pottery and jewelry. Over the years she continued her education by taking scores of workshops from master potters and clay artists from across the US and the UK. For most of her career in clay she has been a studio potter and for the last 20 years she has wholesaled her work to over 50 galleries and gift shops in the US. Sylvia also teaches workshops at John C Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC and has taught at Red Sky Gallery, Rising Sun Pottery, Mint Hill Arts, Spring Island Art Barn and at Duck Creek Pottery. Duck Creek Pottery is her business located on her farm in Union County where she lives with her husband. She currently offers pit firing, raku, throwing and glazing one day workshops. Her pottery is thrown or hand-built and is often altered and textured. Most of her pottery is thrown on the wheel but she also makes many hand-built pots from slabs of clay. Her work may be seen on Facebook and Instagram @duckcreekpottery.
Linda Dalton
Linda Dalton Pottery is the creation of Linda and Jim Dalton, a husband and wife team of studio potters who craft one of a kind high end functional and decorative pottery, both wheel thrown and hand built, at their studio just minutes north of Pinehurst, NC. A working studio, open by appointment, their studio has become a popular destination venue for out of town visitors as well as regulars, patrons and pottery collectors. Here visitors can follow the progress of work from raw clay to finished work, and chat with the creators about the processes, as well as trying their hand at making a piece of art.
Sue Davis
After studying how to create kaleidoscopes in 1999 at John C. Campbell Folk School, Sue Davis began exploring new concepts for mirror systems that create the colorful patterns found in kaleidoscopes and the exteriors of her kaleidoscopes. Currently, Sue Davis is spending more time in her glass studio, making fused glass pieces for functional use.
Courtney Fall Tomchik
My ceramics embody earthy tones, multiple layers of texture, with added found objects and a deep appreciation for imperfections. They invite viewers to immerse themselves in a serene and contemplative experience, where nature and art intertwine. The colors and textures merge to bring light from the creation. As an artist, I draw inspiration from the nature that surrounds me allowing it to shape and breathe life into each piece of my work.
Katy Freeman
Creating handmade jewelry has been a passion of mine for the past decade. My jewelry incorporates locally sourced chromatic glass beads and copper-plated wire. The goal of Chroma Nook is to create fashionable art that encourages self-expression and connects people from all walks of life.
Shirl Hull
SculpShirl Original is owned by Artist and Designer, Shirl Hull. SHirl studied Fine Art at the College of New Rochelle in NY and is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA with a B.A in Studio Art.
During Shirl’s career, her jewelry has been featured twice in Essence Magazine. Her jewelry has adorned many Hollywood celebrities, and her SculpShirl Int’l. Jewelry mail order catolog was well received throughout the United States and Internationally. She was also the owner of two successful boutiques and gift stores in NY.
Shirl has always had a love for jewelry and fashion and as a teen, took regular trips into Greenwich Village NYC to purchase unique earrings. Today, Shirl creates one-of-a-kind bracelets, earrings, and necklaces utilizing textured brass, copper, and silver in her signature links jewelry line. Natural gemstone beads and metal beads along with leather lace are also featured in her line of jewelry. Love and attention to detail are put into each wearable piece of art by Shirl and she hopes that the recipients of her work love and enjoy wearing their unique piece of jewelry.
Sunsuk Lee
After I retired as a CPA, a friend gave me a handmade blue mug she crafted on a
pottery wheel. Inspired, I went to Sawtooth School for Visual Arts and asked questions
about their Ceramics program. Shortly after the first visit, I enrolled in their Ceramics
program and took classes in different techniques, levels and workshops and many
more.
After a few years, I had started assisting in classes and for a few years I have been
teaching Hands on Clay and Taste of Arts classes at Sawtooth schools. I also taught a few workshops at Pottery 101 and will begin teaching their 8 week handbuilding class beginning in August!
Mellie Mae Lonneman
Mellie began her journey of making when she was gifted her aunt’s old Singer sewing machine at age 16. This led to her love of making and pursuing the craft of the handmade object. She received a BFA from Alfred University with a concentration in ceramics. Her craft moves between fibers and ceramics with texture, subtle colors, and exploration at the core of her work. She lives with her husband and two sons in Asheville, NC.
Kelly Long
Most of my work is decorative in nature. My pieces are handbuilt using red earthenware clay
and glazed using an ancient technique called terra sigillata. I use handmade stamps as well as
my great-grandmother’s lace doilies to give my pieces movement and texture.
The reason texture is so important to me is the same reason that I’m drawn to pottery as a
medium. Beyond the aesthetic appeal, it serves a function. I have a visually impaired daughter
and I worked at an afterschool program for visually impaired children. A couple years ago, we
went to the Bechtler Museum and took a tour. The children were allowed (and encouraged) to
touch several of the pieces in the museum. I realized that through touch, they were able to
experience the art. I want my pieces to be the same – I want people to experience my work
through sight and touch.
Ellie Lyle
Ellie Lyle holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education and Community Arts from Tyler School of Art at Temple University. She moved to the Charlotte area after graduation and was a High School Art Teacher for nearly 8 years. In 2021 she pivoted into the printing industry where she began work as a Wide Format Screen Printer and Technical Graphic Designer.
Jennifer Mecca
I am a utilitarian potter. My goal is to create pots that are visually pleasing and unique in character, but also useful in everyday life. I enjoy making serving pieces and tableware that bring delight to the daily activity of eating, setting a table and enjoying a meal.
I was born in upstate New York, and moved to South Carolina in my late teens. I spent many childhood weekends observing and participating in the traditions of my paternal Italian-American family. Among the most prevalent was the preparation of elaborate meals. I observed how tableware and the type of serving pieces were as important as the planning, preparation and enjoyment of a meal. This served as the foundation for my interest in utilitarian pottery and my love of creating elaborate surfaces and forms.
I earned my BFA in Interior Design from Virginia Commonwealth University then completed a BFA and MFA in Ceramics at East Carolina University. I now live in Gastonia, North Carolina, where I split my time between teaching and working as a studio potter. I also love to teach workshops, and I'm a member of a pottery group in Charlotte called Thrown Together.
Keith Meyers
Keith grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. He attended college at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he recieved his Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts, with a major in ceramics and a minor in painting. He has been creating functional pottery and ceramic art since 1999.
Carol Ann Miderski
I have always been fascinated by light and color as a science educator. As a jewelry maker, I can take this one step further to create the illusion of movement and dimension by using texture to create directional reflections.
I really enjoy making jewelry with niobium because the intense, saturated colors are created right before your eyes as electricity is applied to the metal. The voltage used determines the color you see by controlling the thickness of the oxide coating.
Susan Moser
At Moser Designs, every piece begins with a story — one shaped by a lifelong love of art, rediscovery, and the beauty found in nature’s quiet details.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been drawn to creativity. From early school days filled with painting and drawing classes, to studying fine arts in college, art has always been my sanctuary — a space where I could express, explore, and feel at home.
But like many journeys, mine took a detour. After graduation, I stepped into corporate life, building a career that, while successful, left little room for creative expression. Though I stayed connected through occasional projects and courses, the artist in me patiently waited.
In 2017, I began experimenting with clay — simply for the joy of making again. By 2020, after retiring, I finally had the time and freedom to fully embrace my creative path. Then in 2024, I discovered silver clay — and everything changed. It felt like the perfect union of earth and elegance, and I knew I’d found my medium.
Nanette Pengelley
My work centers on the use of found objects. When I integrate semi-precious materials, I introduce these unique discoveries into a transitive context. As a result, my process is a derivative of my environment. Through experimentation, I endeavor to locate myself in my surroundings, as an artist—as a person. To put it simply, my work is shaped by materials that I am attracted to, and oftentimes I find myself captivated by an object because of my encounter with it. In this way, my experiences are carried forward with me, through the act of making.
Tim and Lisa Kluttz
Tim and Lisa are self-taught folk artists who share their farm/studio with two cats and other assorted creatures. The couple began painting collaboratively about ten years ago after being inspired by the Outsider Art Collection at the House of Blues, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Both love bright colors and use found, reclaimed and recycled materials to create happy, colorful and sometimes whimsical art work. Tim is the ultimate collector and recycler so there is never a shortage of materials. The couple's styles are complimentary and favorite subjects are cats, flowers, dogs, chickens, mermaids and the Statue of Liberty. Their work can be found in galleries and at art shows throughout the Southeast and of course at their home studio, St. Peter's Farm.
Joy Tanner
While I pay equal attention to form, surface, and detail, my pottery is most noted for its carved patterns inspired by nature. I am just as interested in the way a leaf connects to its stem as I am the folds of a mountain range or bursts of color at sunrise. These reflections I find in nature weave their way into the surfaces of my pots, and accrue a rhythm all their own as they swirl and drape across surfaces, suggesting spider webs, ripples in a stream, or water patterns in sand. Through my regular yoga and meditation practice I have become quite interested with the connection between our body and mind and the forms I create out of clay, or the inspirations I find in nature. Often it feels like the form of the pot swells with breath, like my body in certain yoga poses, or my jar knobs resemble hands reaching up in a sun salutation. The bones of the body, such as the rib cage, resemble the patterned lines and edges that drape over the form of the pot.
My work reflects an awareness of the present moment, resulting in uniquely designed pottery that is just as inviting to ponder and touch as it is to use and share. Firing my stoneware forms in a soda kiln or a wood kiln yields an ever changing palette of natural variations of color. Cradling a cup or bowl in their hands, people feel inspired to bring a sense of awareness and ritual into their lives. Integrating the way I experience the world with the way I design my pottery is essential to my creativity. Whether rinsing garden tomatoes at the kitchen sink, or pausing to study wildflowers along the trail, I believe in taking time to notice the little details of life.
Verna Witt
Pottery began as a means to create functional vessels for everyday use. I now enjoy stretching the limits of the clay to reach beyond the functional to create works that challenge the senses in both form and texture.
My life as a ceramic artist reflects my formal training as a textile designer. My work is often inspired by fashion; from clothing to accessories. I create clay vessels that might seem “wearable”, which I hope, will appeal to people who can see beyond the usual.
While I explore the pottery traditions of North Carolina, I am also looking for ways to create vessels that fool the eye. With the “faux” look of woven baskets or the metallic look of a zipper or buckle, I try to entice the viewer to come take a closer look and perhaps tempt them to touch my pottery to make sure it is all made of clay.
I have a serious commitment to clay but at the same time enjoy the whimsy and its infinite possibilities.
I continue to use clay as a medium for its versatility.