Why We Cowee

This week we sit down at the Cowee School with resident artist Kim Keelor.  Kim Keelor is a fiber and textile artist and painter living in the mountains of far western North Carolina, and a resident artist at the Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center there. She also works and teaches in Charleston and areas in the upstate of South Carolina. Keelor's work has been selected for more than twenty ju...

This week we sit down at the Cowee School with Matt Gauck. Matt is a painter, printmaker (screenprinting for the political stuff, linoleum printing for the artistic stuff) and a vegan. He works in oil paint, from both photos and in real life. ​His work deals with the relationships and interactions we have with the natural world. He paints, in oil, landscapes I am drawn towards; and then, he paints...

This week we sit down at the Cowee School with Jeremy Brooks.  Jeremy Brooks (a.k.a sketchbrooks) is a cartoonist best known for his sketchy style that can be seen in both his fan art and self-published titles Ruby and Rubbish, Mystic Melon, and Radd Tuffman. He is a native of Dillsboro, NC and currently a resident artist at the Cowee School. Follow him at @sketchbrooks on social media and visit h...

This week we sit down at the Cowee School with Ashlyn Miller.  Ashlyn Miller is a lover of all things wild, mystical, mythical, creative, and holistic. Her story and offerings traverse the inner and outer landscapes of what it means to be alive, interconnected, and empowered. As a holistic practitioner, she weaves the teachings of yoga, ayurveda, somatics, animism, story, and collective transforma...

This week we sit down at the Cowee School with Cricket Woodward. A long-time resident of the western US, Cricket Woodward currently lives in North Carolina near her family and just down the road from Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center. "I love how the folks at Cowee hold community rooted in nature and creativity of all types." Cricket's degrees are in biology and graphic design, and in a way,...

This week we sit down at the Cowee School with Angela Faye Martin. She is the co-owner of Alarka Expeditions, a musician, and the writer & narrator of the acclaimed film THIS IS SPARKLEHORSE. She lives and works in the Cowee community. For more about Alarka Expeditions: goalarka.com/ To listen to and support Angela's music: angelafayemartin.bandcamp.com/ To watch and learn more about THIS IS S...

This week we sit down at the Winding Stair Farm Nursery with Amanda Drozd. Amanda Drozd is a Midwest transplant loving her new chapter in Appalachia. She is a poet, Tarot enthusiast, and manages the Winding Stair Nursery where you can find her singing to plants and texting customers recipes. 

This week we sit down at the Cowee School with Ben Banick. Ben is naturalist, musician, and craftsperson who grew up exploring and being inspired by the woods in the North Carolina piedmont. He now lives in the Burningtown community and works for the Bartram Trail Conservancy as well as doing freelance historical carpentry and building work.  For more on the Bartram Trail Conservancy: blueridgebar...

This week we sit down with Brent Martin. BRENT MARTIN is the executive director of the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail Conservancy and the owner of Alarka Expeditions in Franklin, North Carolina. He is the author of several books, including George Masa's Wild Vision and A Hiker's Guide to the Bartram National Recreation Trail in Georgia and North Carolina.