Freddie Bell
Front Studios, Studio D
Multimedia Artist
Freddie is a multimedia artist living in Hillsborough, NC and is glad to call North Carolina home once again. Freddie was born in Charlotte, NC. Their passion for creating has followed them to Los Angeles and back and across careers in the arts and social work. Freddie finds inspiration in community and how we understand ourselves. Freddie received his BA in Art at Warren Wilson College in 2012. They have participated in group shows in Los Angeles and throughout North Carolina. Gender, identity, and the body have been common subjects and inspirations for Freddie’s work since undergraduate school, influenced by his lived experience. Freddie works as a painter, muralist, and mixed media artist and loves using color, shape, and varied repetition to reflect on identity.
Amanda Blanchard
Back Studios, Studio 1
Multimedia Artist
My grandmother treated me like one of her many porcelain dolls. She dressed me in Gunne Sax dresses and braided my blonde curls, calling me a Dresden doll. I was never to be boxed or held, instead running wild and coming loose at the seams. I myself am the Tattered Doll.
Aside from an uncontrollable drive to create, I’m constantly searching for puzzles to solve. With art, I have an unlimited supply of puzzles and obstacles that I can overcome. Instead of recreating only the beautiful things in the world around me, I find beauty in everything, even if the result is tattered.
A Salt Lake City, Utah native, I have lived in North Carolina for over 40 years. I grew up in Henderson and have lived in Durham for over 10 years. I graduated from Durham Tech in 2018, with an AFA, top of my class. I currently teach crochet classes at the Durham Arts Council, and have previously taught drawing classes for the 2024 summer art camp and a pastel class. I create parody art for record stores and model for life drawing sessions. During the entire month of October 2024, I had a solo show at Duke University in the Brown Gallery.
Kathy Burnside
Front Studios, Studio E
Mixed Media Artist
Kathy Burnside is the Eno Arts Mill BIPOC Artists in Residence and the host of the Eno Arts Mill’s Junk Journal Artisans Meet-up.
Burnside explains the story of its creation, “In recent years, I’ve dedicated myself to sharing my passion with others through workshops in junk journaling, bookbinding, collage creation, and more. It’s in these workshops that I’ve had the privilege of meeting incredibly talented individuals. One such encounter led me to meet my business partner and friend, Neysa Rojas, which has led to the formation of Blue Wagon Studios, where we’re working together to combine our love of art and share it with a community of like-minded artists. I’m excited to continue exploring new creative avenues and inspiring others to do the same.”
Ber Kadens
Front Studios, Studio A
Visual Artist
Ber paints from life with a passion for understanding and translating onto the canvas what is true in nature, inspired by John Singer Sargent. He has invested in verbalizing the thought process of an artist, and communicates this in his teaching. The ability to interpret truth in the visual world informs the whimsical pen and ink and watercolor illustrations he does for children’s books that he writes.
Tiffney Marley
Back Studios, Studio 3
Visual Artist
A native North Carolinian, Tiffney has immersed herself in photography, painting, and graphic design for the past 18 years. These mediums are expressions that she likens to “breathing.” Tiffney has traveled around the world and visited countless exhibits including the Holocaust Museum-Israel, Apartheid Museum-South Africa, Genocide Museum-Rwanda, Elmina Castle and Cape Coast Castle-Ghana, and Pelourinho Square, Brazil. She feels that expressions from these exhibits have conveyed the human experience in riveting and liberative ways. As she evolves as an artist, her hope is to find ways to create that raise consciousness about the importance of other cultures, the beauty of all people, and shared human value. Ultimately, her goal is to use her work to heal and inspire others.
SAKY
Back Studios, Studio 5
Rapper, Producer, Content Creator
Hailing from Chapel Hill, NC, SAKY is an enigmatic multi-hyphenate whose creative impact cannot be denied. His mission to inspire others to have the courage to be different is what drives his entrancing lyricism, impassioned music production, and stunning visual media work. After graduating from NC State University (B.A. Media Communications), SAKY moved to Los Angeles for 5 years, where he developed his craft as both a well-known visual media artist as well as a burgeoning Hip-Hop musician. His music has been featured on publications such as CNN, Eater, YahooNews!, South China Morning Post, and can be seen on HBO’s Warrior, Snowpiercer and much more. He now resides back in his hometown in NC and is focused on taking his independent artistry to the next level.
Jessica Sanford
Ceramics Studio Manager
Jewelry & Ceramic Artist
My work deeply emphasizes the intimate experience of using ceramics and underscores their lasting impact. My creations blend porcelain, rich oxides, and lustrous 22k gold, reflecting my appreciation for both mid-century design and folk pottery movements. I create vibrant and playful pieces, often marked by striking graphic details and a respect for design principles. Drawing from my background in art education and my strong connection to nature, I employ various ceramic techniques such as water etching and Mishima. For the past five years, I have focused exclusively on crafting ceramic jewelry, adorning many in Durham, NC, with ceramic studs and dangles that shimmer in bright cone 6 mason stained glazes, underglazes, and 22k gold luster. I often tell people, “It’s my job to get you compliments,” and I love this aspect of my work. Over the last 17 years, I have embraced the rewarding role of a ceramics teacher, sharing the joy of clay with others. I guide them through both contemporary and ancient processes, watching as they overcome the vast challenges of learning pottery. Being a teacher has spurred my growth; I constantly research, write, record, articulate, and clarify my methods and beliefs. With every finished piece I release into the world, I am empathizing with the receiver. I am thinking about how the lip meets the cup of the drinker or how the stud perches from the lobe of the wearer. It is the most invisible details that make a piece successful and it is a thread I will always be pulling on in this life as a craftsperson.
Check out these other artists and arts-related business in the Eno Mill:
NC Mosaics: offering classes and custom mosaics
Frames by Edward Wright: handmade heirloom frames
Our artist studio are not open to the public other than for our monthly open studio and gallery receptions. Please drop by to meet our artists and see their work! Learn more about the Eno Arts Mill Studios here.
