Caroline Koerner

Caroline is an illustrator and ceramic artist with a BFA from East Carolina University. She has trained and worked alongside potters in Seagrove, NC, and regularly sells her work as a vendor at festivals across the state. Caroline is committed to creating a safe, encouraging learning environment where students can build strong artistic foundations and gain the confidence to market their work professionally. Outside the studio, she enjoys time with her cat, reading, and journaling.

LISETTE FEE

Lisette Fee has been creating and designing jewelry for over twenty years. Lisette began her apprenticeship at a silver smithing repair shop along with assisting professional jewelers in the field then she moved on to acquiring her metalsmithing degree from East Carolina University. Lisette currently creates out of her home studio; she sells her jewelry online and travels and sells her creations across the state of North Carolina. Lisette has assisted in a course at Penland School of Craft and has taught entry level jewelry and metalsmithing at Emerge Gallery.

Lisette loves creating jewelry from organic and found material. She especially enjoys the lost wax casting process, creating jewelry from wax as well as hand fabrication jewelry. Lisette is also a intermediary herbalist and tarot reader.

GAIL RITZER

Gail Ritzer received her BS in Art Education from the University of Missouri-Columbia and an MFA in Ceramics and Painting from East Carolina University. She has been exhibiting her work nationally since 1980 at such locales in New York, The University of Missouri-St. Louis, Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Nebraska. Her work has appeared in several publications including FiberArts Design Book, Art/Quilt Magazine, and exhibition catalogs. Gail has been fortunate to receive a number of grants from the North Carolina Arts Council to pursue a variety of personal and community arts projects. She has been teaching surface design techniques, mixed media methods, painting, and ceramics to students of all ages for many years at workshops, as Outreach Coordinator for the Greenville Museum of Art and as an instructor at Emerge Gallery & Art Center.

CHARLOTTE FITZ

Charlotte Fitz is a ceramic artist whose work consists of functional and sculptural handmade artworks that are inspired by stories, myths, dreams, and symbols drawn from her ancestral home of eastern Kentucky. Charlotte is a graduate of Guilford College, where she studied English and creative writing. She continued her studies at the School of Art and Design at East Carolina University and received a degree in ceramic design as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching. She is the curator of the Janice Hardison Gallery at Joyner Library, East Carolina University, where she researches, designs, and implements a variety of art and history exhibitions.

HEATHER MAE SUTER

Heather Suter is a graduate of ECU with a BFA in Studio Arts with a concentration in Ceramics. She has pursued her love for both visual and theater arts since middle school and continued to study multiple art mediums through college. As an artist her inspiration comes from colors, repetitive imagery, and organic patterns found in nature. Heather is currently our Education Coordinator and loves being involved with our youth classes and public events. She also loves being a parent of three, playing in her garden, and cooking!

HALEY MCELROY

Haley McElroy graduated from Appalachian State University with a BFA in Art Education and a BA in Art Education. Since Graduating she has taught elementary art for 5 1/2 years. She has lived in Greenville, NC, for the last two years and excited to be teaching summer art camps for my second year. In her own studio, she enjoy constructing figural wall pieces and surface decorating simple functional forms. In her free time she enjoys spending time with my partner, AJ, curling up on the couch with their cat, Little Man, and getting lost in a new show.

Kas Eastwood

Despite a lifelong love of art, it wasn’t until college that Kas discovered the sense of community and connection that creative spaces can foster. They earned a BFA in Painting and Drawing, developing a strong foundation in visual storytelling while also exploring a wide range of practices including sculpture, ceramics, and mixed media. This multidisciplinary approach continues to shape their work and allows them to engage with materials and ideas in flexible ways.

Since graduating, Kas has participated in numerous community-based programs centered on art education and creative engagement. Through teaching and collaboration, they emphasize how art can improve quality of life, build confidence, and encourage personal expression. Kas is particularly passionate about helping others trust their own creative instincts and feel empowered in their work. They find it rewarding to connect with people in their hometown and find ways to bring art into the conversation.

melissa Gates

Melissa Gates is a whimsical pottery instructor and ceramic artist known for creating playful, expressive work with a touch of humor. Through hands-on approachable teaching, she encourages students of all experience levels to explore creativity, embrace imperfections, and enjoy the process of working with clay. Melissa specializes in functional and sculptural pottery inspired by nature, storytelling, and imagination, often incorporating charming details into her pieces. Her classes focus on building confidence, developing personal style, and making pottery feel welcoming and fun rather than intimidating. Whether guiding students through hand-building, surface design, or sculpting quirky creations, Melissa brings warmth, encouragement, and creativity to every class. She believes pottery should spark joy, curiosity, and connection while giving people space to create something uniquely their own.

Kia Glosson

Kia earned her BFA in Art Education with a concentration in ceramics in 1989, and she’s been sharing her love of art with people of all ages ever since. She’s taught everywhere from public schools to private lessons, but clay has always been her creative home base.

At 53, Kia charted a new path and returned to school for her MSW. Today, she’s a mental health therapist in private practice, offering talk therapy and art therapy for clients who want a more expressive, hands-on way to explore their emotions.
Over the years, her focus in creating art has shifted from aiming for the perfect finished piece to embracing the creative process—where insight, emotion, and real change take shape. She brings that same grounded, mindful energy to her Intro to Throwing classes at Emerge, where working with clay becomes both a craft and a chance to reconnect with yourself.

Sonya Coulson

Sonya received a BFA in Metal Design from East Carolina University and has obtained additional technical training in stone setting and hand engraving at New Approach School for Jewelers and the GRS Training Center. Her work combines industrial and organic aesthetics with a focus on mixed metals and heavily textured surfaces. It can be found in stores and galleries around the country and has been featured in several publications and national exhibitions. She has taught adult and youth metals classes at Sertoma Arts Center, NC State Crafts Center, and Emerge Gallery. Sonya thrives on the chaos of learning through experimentation and play in the studio and aims to impart a sense of curiosity and whimsy as she helps students build skills and develop their own artistic voice. If she could travel in time and spend a day with any historical figure, it would probably be Leonardo DiVinci, even though she speaks absolutely no Italian.

Norah Harbold

"Norah Harbold is a student at East Carolina University, majoring in Fine Art with a concentration in Ceramics. She has been enthusiastic about art since childhood, but she discovered her passion for ceramics during her sophomore year of high school. Throughout high school, she began exhibiting her work locally and aspires to showcase her art on a national level in the future. Norah enjoys creating sculptural and functional pieces, experimenting with various forms from soft-flowing designs to sharp geometric angles. She views the process of wheel-throwing as a form of meditation and prioritizes the enjoyment of creating over simply producing an object. For her, creating brings joy to her life, and she is eager to share her love and knowledge of ceramics with others."

Paula "PJ" Jordan Mayo

Paula “PJ” Jordan-Mayo was born and raised in Rocky Mount, NC. They earned their BFA in Illustration at East Carolina University and the Master’s in Illustration at Academy of Art University. Though PJ primarily works in digital illustration, they have experience in various mediums such as drawing and painting. People can always see PJ carry their iPad with them. Since early childhood, PJ has always had a passion for the arts. They have a passion of inspiring young artists to continue the love for art.