METAL

LIz Steiner

Liz Steiner holds a BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing from Kent State University with a minor in Geology and an MFA in Metal Design from East Carolina University. In 2012, she curated the international, juried exhibition Hot Under the Collar and was the Artist Fellow in Fine Metals at Peters Valley Craft Center. In addition to teaching at Emerge, she currently teaches adjunct at Craven Community College in New Bern, NC and Pitt Community College in Greenville, NC.

Lisette fee

Lisette Fee has been designing and making jewelry for over twenty years. She moved to Eastern North Carolina nine years ago to get her Bachelors of Fine Arts in jewelry and metalsmith at East Carolina University. She also has a degree in Anthropology. Lisette became enamored with the beauty and culture of Eastern North Carolina, especially from the animals and wildlife. Lisette creates stunning jewelry cast from owl talons, crow claws, bear claws, badger claws, cat claws and many others. Fierce and edgy jewelry pieces are created by hand and through the process known as lost wax casting. Combining the raw energy of talons and claws with one of a kind gemstones and crystals Eilisain Jewelry embodies a sense of wildness and energy that will empower you daily.

CERAMICS

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 the Pitt County Arts Council at Emerge.

Lacey Hargroder

Lacey was born and raised in Louisiana. She obtained her Bachelors of Fine Art with concentrations in printmaking and ceramics at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Lacey then moved to Eastern North Carolina and obtained her Masters of Fine Art with a concentration in ceramics from East Carolina University. She also teaches at Pitt Community College. She has attended NCECA conferences and SGCI conferences, studied glass arts in Poland, and attended a two-week intensive ceramic class at Penland School of Crafts.

Heather mae suter

Heather is a graduate of East Carolina University with a BFA in Studio Arts with a concentration in Ceramics. She was born in Michigan and moved to Apex NC in 2001 where she began to pursue her love for both visual and theater arts. Moving to Greenville for college in 2007, she explored her loved for jewelry design, interior design and pottery. Heather is currently our Educational Coordinator and loves being involved with our children's classes and public events. As an artist her inspiration comes from colors, repetitive imagery, and organic patterns found in nature. The objective of her artwork is to simultaneously create decorative and utilitarian ceramics.

Rae Koenig

Originally from Charlotte, NC, Rae Koenig is in her fourth year as a BFA in Painting and Ceramics at East Carolina University. She is drawn to textured surfaces, soft color, and intentional designs, frequently incorporating such elements in her own work through wood and soda firings. Rae is a firm believer in visual art as a powerful tool for growth, connection, and healing, and desires to help others take steps towards those goals through creative expression. After obtaining her Bachelor's degree, Rae plans to move back to Charlotte to gain more work experience before moving on to grad school.

PAINTING, DRAWING & MIXED MEDIA

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 the Pitt County Arts Council at Emerge.

BOOKMAKING

Liz Steiner

Liz Steiner holds a BFA in Jewelry and Metalsmithing from Kent State University with a minor in Geology and an MFA in Metal Design from East Carolina University. In 2012, she curated the international, juried exhibition Hot Under the Collar and was the Artist Fellow in Fine Metals at Peters Valley Craft Center. In addition to teaching at Emerge, she currently teaches adjunct at Craven Community College in New Bern, NC and Pitt Community College in Greenville, NC.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Sarah Lazure

Sarah Lazure is an artist living in Greenville, North Carolina who likes to get her hands dirty. Sarah is the Marketing Coordinator at Pitt County Arts Council at Emerge. She received her BFA from Barton College in Wilson, North Carolina and her MFA from East Carolina University. Sarah’s work is a combination of traditional darkroom printing with digital manipulations, printmaking techniques, and image transfer processes. She explores creating layered imagery with textiles, mixed media, and small metals.