Pocosin Arts School of Fine Craft

★★★★★William Speidel

Saw a FB ad for the school last year and noticed they had a class in wood embellishment (power carving and painting) with an instructor who has taught at Penland and Arrowmont. Getting to take a 4 day course with a renowned artist within a 90 minute drive sounded like an easy decision, even if no one I knew had ever heard of Columbia, NC or could find the Scuppermong River on a map. The school and the course far exceeded my expectations as “just a woodturning guy”. I’m happily headed back for another wood embellishment course in a month. The setting by the river and the neighboring National Wildlife Refuge were a gorgeous getaway (and wild as summer storms rolled through). The cadre of other students were incredibly inspiring. Their silver jewelry and clay work was true art. FYI, Columbia may be the sleepiest town I have ever stopped in.

★★★★★Karen

Over the last year, I've taken 20 online enameling and metal working workshops through Pocosin and all have been excellent. The artist instructors are all masters in their craft and extraordinary teachers as well. The registration, administration and communication technology used to present the workshops is well organized and is as close as you can get to in-person learning.

★★★★★Elsa Grivas

During the shutdown in 2020, a friend recommended I enroll in an online class with Pocosin Art School of Fine Art. It was such a wonderful experience! I have taken at least eleven online classes (sometimes three in one month) in the past year. The staff is attentive and professional. The instructors are masters in their field of expertise. Due to these online classes, I have able to meet and learn from instructors I would normally not have access to. Thank you Pocosin for all you do!

★★★★★Linda Lankford

I think I took at least 10 of the Pocosin Zoom workshops since they were first offered, probably more, I lost count. Pocosin did an excellent job with coordinating these workshops and I learned so much from the classes I took. The teachers were wonderful as well as or the people from Pocosin who were the technical assistants. I cannot speak highly enough about the professionalism of all involved. I will take more offered workshops, of that I am sure! I most add that the fee for these workshops is very reasonable considering the quality.

★★★★★valerie berlage

I recently had the pleasure of teaching an online class through Pocosin, and I cannot say enough good things about this experience. As someone who is not technologically savvy, the Zoom workshop coordinator was so kind and helpful- answering all my questions, facilitating the class, and making sure everything ran smoothly. She really was terrific! I was able to focus on teaching, and not have to stress about the tech stuff. It truly was just a great experience all around. I would highly recommend Pocosin to other artists as a fantastic place to teach!