Instructors

Elaine Stephenson is an Atlanta based artist, designer, and muralist creating bright and colorful art with positive messages to uplift and inspire. After a 10 year graphic design career, she now combines both her design skills and an artistic voice to create art that enhances spaces. She is very involved in public art and has painted several large permanent murals around Atlanta such as a basketball court, bridge underpass, and a parking garage entrance at Atlantic Station. Before she could paint that large she had to learn how to paint murals on a smaller scale, figuring it out mostly on her own. She’s excited to share what she’s learned with you!

www.elainestephenson.com

Betsy is a figurative sculptor and oil painter based in Woodstock, Georgia. She finds inspiration for her bold and colorful work from the human form, nature, old photographs, and travel. Her work frequently combines the human form with animals, creating fantastical chimeras, finding beauty in the grotesque and magic in the mundane. She works in sculptural clay combining found objects and metals. Her finishes include underglazes, oxides, silver leaf, encaustic wax, and glazes. See more of Betsy’s work at www.betsyohart.com

Betsy Oh

Elaine Stephenson

Erin Drakeford graduated from the University of Georgia with a BFA in painting and drawing in 2003. She is a studio artist at MINT Gallery and has had her work featured in Create! Magazine's women's issue, Candyfloss blog, I Like Your Work publication and Art Mums United podcast. Her paintings are a whirlwind of bright colors and materials. Most days, she will tell you that neon vibrancy is about positivity and always looking for hope and goodness in the world, but some days it's about the futility and superficiality of it all. These emotional mood swings and paradoxes are ever-present themes in her figurative, abstract, and floral paintings. In addition to painting, she curates shows, teaches expressive painting at Arts Beacon Studios, and is the founder of Bell Moon Arts. For more information on Erin visit www.erindrakeford.com

Erin Drakeford

Karissa InCreation

Heather Bird Harris (b. 1987) is an artist, mother, and educator based in Atlanta and New Orleans. Her work explores the throughlines between land history and environmental crises, as well as mothering in the face of climate change. She makes paint from handfuls of site-specific earth pigments that she mixes with washes of water and synthetic color to study the interaction between land, water, and plastics on a smaller, digestible scale. For more information visit www.heatherbirdharris.com

Heather Bird Harris

Jena is the owner/ director of Arts Beacon Studio and co-founder of Arts Beacon Gallery. She holds a BFA from the Atlanta College of Art and an MFA in Sculpture and Drawing from Queens College CUNY. She is the director of the studio program and lead instructor for the teen, adult program. She also founded the resident artist program and the FIRE critique group. Jena's specialty is in portfolio development, artist mentoring, observational drawing, figure drawing and handbuilt ceramic relief, sculpture and functional ware. View more of Jena’s work at www.jenadost.com

Jena Dost

Terri Dilling is a painter and printmaker whose art is inspired by the beauty and complexity of the natural world. She has been using cyanotype in her work for over 20 years. Dilling received a BA from Indiana University and a BFA from Georgia State University and has also studied visual arts in England, Spain, and Italy. She helped found Atlanta Printmakers Studio and has taught many workshops there. Dilling has received numerous grants and awards, and her work is in many collections worldwide. She lives and works in Atlanta. More information at www.terridilling.com

Terri Dilling

Workshop & Class FAQ

  • All supplies for workshop attendees will be provided. There will be free time to work on projects, and you are welcome to bring anything you wish to work on during your stay.

  • All levels are welcome! No experience is necessary, just an open mind and a desire to create!

  • For our inaugural year, workshop attendees will stay at nearby Inns or vacation rental houses. Bell Moon Arts staff can assist in finding you a lovely place to stay, supporting a variety of budgets. Camping on the property is also available.

  • Hayesville is about 2.5 hours from Hartsfield Atlanta Airport and 2 hours from Asheville Regional Airport and Chattanooga Metropolitan Airports. Email to arrange travel from the airport to the property.

  • Bell Moon Arts are located in Hayesville, NC, in the Appalachian mountains of western North Carolina. It is nestled just north of Atlanta, GA, East of Chattanooga, TN, and West of Asheville, NC. The retreat is about 10 minutes to downtown Hayesville, 10 minutes to Hiwassee, and 20 minutes to Murphy.

  • Yes. The price is divided into a deposit at the time of booking, with the final payment a week before your visit. Other payment plans can be arranged, just send us an email, and we can work with you.

  • Families are always welcome. There are many activities around to keep family members occupied while you make art. Hiking, mountain-biking trails, and public beaches at beautiful Lake Chatuge are just 10 minutes away.