Why artists create here and where visitors can find their work
The Southern Smokies draw artists because the land supplies daily subjects, regional traditions value handmade work, and local organizations help artists learn, teach, exhibit, and sell.
This arts network runs through Cherokee, Graham, Jackson, and Macon counties in Western North Carolina. It includes schools, galleries, studios, festivals, co-ops, and locally owned shops.
Artists can build a life here. Visitors can meet makers, take a class, tour a studio, and buy work tied to the Southern Smokies.
Why do artists choose the Southern Smokies?
What inspires artists here?
The mountains put forests, rivers, wildlife, native plants, weather, and changing light close at hand. Artists return to those subjects in photography, pottery, painting, tattoo art, music, dance, and functional craft.
| “No matter how far I’ve traveled… these mystical mountains are always home.” – Candice Caldwell Day |
Why is the region so art-focused?
The Southern Smokies have a strong concentration of places that teach and present art. Longstanding Appalachian skills remain active, while contemporary artists add new materials, forms, and ideas.
How does the community support artists?
Arts organizations provide classes, studios, galleries, markets, and public events. Local shops create more places to sell work. Artists also share knowledge, referrals, workspace, and encouragement.
| “There are a lot of talented people hidden in these hills.” – Sharla Kaufman |
Where are the main artists hubs?
These Southern Smokies organizations connect artists with students, residents, collectors, and visitors.
John C. Campbell Folk School
BRASSTOWN, CHEROKEE COUNTY
The Folk School offers noncompetitive classes in traditional and contemporary arts, craft, music, dance, cooking, writing, and nature studies. Visitors can also explore the Craft Shop, exhibitions, concerts, dances, and seasonal events.
Plan a visit: Official website
Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center
STECOAH, GRAHAM COUNTY
The Stecoah Valley Center supports regional artists through its artisan gallery, festivals, music, classes, and community programs. Visitors can shop for work made in Graham County and nearby communities.
Plan a visit: Official website
Cherokee County Arts Council
CHEROKEE COUNTY
The Cherokee County Arts Council promotes local arts and cultural activity. Its programs help connect residents and visitors with artists, performances, exhibits, and creative events.
Plan a visit: Official website
Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center
COWEE VALLEY, MACON COUNTY
The Cowee School serves as an arts and heritage center in a historic school building. Classes, studios, performances, exhibits, and community events bring regional culture into one public space.
Plan a visit: Official website
Limberlost Gallery
FRANKLIN, MACON COUNTY
Limberlost is a working pottery studio and gallery. Visitors can see contemporary ceramics by Sara Powell, Julie Rowland, and other makers connected to the studio.
Plan a visit: Visitor listing
Dogwood Crafters
DILLSBORO, JACKSON COUNTY
Dogwood Crafters is a member-run craft cooperative. It gives visitors a direct way to shop for work by regional makers across many media.
Plan a visit: Official website
Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, Inc.
CHEROKEE, QUALLA BOUNDARY
Founded in 1946, Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual is a cooperative of enrolled Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians artists. Its gallery and store feature baskets, carvings, pottery, beadwork, jewelry, paintings, textiles, and other work made with techniques passed between generations.
Plan a visit: Official website
Meet artists of the Southern Smokies
These five artists work in photography, pottery, painting, tattoo art, music, and dance. Their interview responses show how the region shapes both subject and practice.
Philip Smith
WILDLIFE AND LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY | FRANKLIN, MACON COUNTY
The Smoky Mountains first led Philip Smith to photography. Based in Franklin, he spends time every day searching for wildlife and mountain views with a Nikon D850 DSLR camera. Additionally, rather than choosing one signature image, he treats the work as an ongoing record of the mountains and creates new photographs daily. In his words, “Every mountain top or valley has an origin story that needs to be shared, and I work hard to do that with my photography.” His advice for beginning artists is simple: follow your heart.
| “I hope people will see the soul of the animals and the spirit of the mountains through my photos” – Philip Smith |
See the work: Visit Smokies Visitor Center in Franklin, plus select businesses in Dillsboro, Cashiers, and Bryson City.
Online: Philip Smith Photography 65
Visitor note: Commissions and instruction are available. Before visiting, confirm details directly before visiting a retail location.
Sharla Kaufman
HANDBUILT EARTHENWARE POTTERY | ROBBINSVILLE, GRAHAM COUNTY
Clay first became a refuge for Sharla Kaufman during her teenage years. As a result, she studied art, interned at a New York City ceramics studio, and returned to clay more than 40 years later. After moving to Robbinsville, she found an equipped studio and began building her practice with support from Stecoah Valley Center. Each earthenware piece can take several weeks. She builds with slabs, coils, and slip, then adds sgraffito and painterly underglaze. Lake views, blue mountain ridges, and native plants shape her surfaces. “Clay is a beautiful accident waiting to happen.”
| “A flame azalea grows in the studio garden. Its flame finds its way on to my pot. A walk to the lake, a viewpoint of the distant Smokies, a field of flowers bent by the wind are old stories told in a new medium.” – Sharla Kaufman |
See the work: Silverbell Studio by appointment and the Stecoah Artisans Gallery.
Online: Sharla Kaufman Pottery
Visitor note: Commissions are available. Studio visits are by appointment; seasonal public hours may apply.
Candice Caldwell Day
WATERCOLOR, FINE-ART TATTOO, MURALS, AND MIXED MEDIA | DILLSBORO, JACKSON COUNTY
Candice Caldwell Day brings more than 25 years of work across fine art, costume design, illustration, jewelry, murals, teaching, and tattooing to her Dillsboro studio. Her family connection to the Nantahala Gorge began in 1975, and she spent her teen years competing in whitewater slalom. Those rivers, plants, animals, and mountain landscapes remain central to her work. Like most tattoo artwork, her process starts with a client consultation, research images, and digital sketches before the design is transferred or drawn directly on the skin. Many projects mark a memory, honor a loved one, or cover a surgical scar. “Tattoos help humans ritualize passings, process trauma, and reclaim their bodily autonomy.”
| “No matter how far I’ve traveled… these mystical mountains are always home.” – Candice Caldwell Day |
See the work: Candice Caldwell Day Studio + Gallery in Dillsboro and online.
Online: Candice Caldwell Day
Visitor note: Commissions and classes are available. Contact the studio for appointments and current offerings.
Annie Fain Barralon
WATERCOLOR, WALNUT DYE, MUSIC, AND DANCE | MURPHY, CHEROKEE COUNTY
Annie Fain Barralon is the sixth generation of her family to live in the Murphy area. Native plants, animals, blue mountains, quilts, seasonal rhythms, and traditional instruments enter her paintings through observation and memory. She arranges several reference images in a sketch, lays down a light walnut dye wash, and builds loose watercolor layers. She often rotates among several works so each can rest between stages, and a painting may take months. Through Fain House, she turns original work into prints, cards, and calendars. She also teaches art, music, song, and social dance. “I hope that they feel a moment of delight that touches a deep sense of knowing inside of them.”
| “It’s not talent it’s time spent; if you put the time in you will reap lovely rewards.” – Annie Fain Barralon |
See the work: Fain House online, the John C. Campbell Folk School Craft Shop, and selected regional retailers and markets.
Online: Fain House | Etsy shop
Visitor note: Studio visits may be arranged through her website. Classes are available; commissions are not.
Sara Powell
FUNCTIONAL POTTERY AND SCULPTURE | FRANKLIN, MACON COUNTY
Sara Powell tried several creative media while pursuing a more practical career, but a pottery class gave her the direction she had been seeking. At Limberlost Gallery, she moves between functional pottery and colorful sculpture using wheel throwing, carving, sgraffito, and handbuilt forms. Ideas often begin as a feeling and develop as she works. Armadillos in her yard, a blooming prickly pear, mountain skies, birds, and overlooked small creatures become subjects. A blue jay sculpture above her pottery wheel marks her first move beyond functional pottery. Her advice is direct: “My advice is to follow your curiosity, creative impulses, and what feels right to you.”
| “I want them to find something that reflects their own sense of wonder and reminds them there’s room for beauty, color, and playfulness in everyday life.” – Sara Powell |
See the work: Limberlost Gallery in Franklin and online.
Online: Wild Forest Creature
Visitor note: Commissions are available. Contact Limberlost Gallery for current hours.
Where can visitors buy local art?
Artist studios and arts organizations are only part of the market. Locally owned businesses also give Southern Smokies artists shelf and wall space.
| Place | What visitors can find |
|---|---|
| Mountain Laurel Gift Shop | Regional gifts and locally made artwork |
| Traditional Hands | Native American jewelry, art, and handmade work |
| The Fox’s Burrow | Local art, gifts, and work by area makers |
| Bearmeat’s Indian Den | Locally made Cherokee baskets, carvings, pottery, jewelry, paintings, gourds, and wood art |
| Visit Smokies Visitor Center | Visitor information and Christee and Philip Smith Photography for sale |
Meet more artists: Explore Arts and Crafts on Visit Smokies
How can visitors support Southern Smokies artists?
Buy directly from an artist, gallery, co-op, or local retailer. Take a class. Attend a festival or demonstration. Ask who made the work and share the artist’s name.
Before traveling, check current hours and appointment requirements. Studio schedules and seasonal programs can change.
| “I hope my work brings people joy.” – Sara Powell |