Anna Julian hails from Cherryville, NC, about 40 miles west of Charlotte. “My fascination with pottery and art started as a young girl.” Anna’s grandmother lived in the mountains of Montreat, NC and took her to the Southern Highland Craft Guild’s Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville. “It was there that I grew to appreciate true craftsmanship and artistry.”
This appreciation resulted in Anna’s lifelong pursuit of creating with pottery, wood, glass, and a variety of media. She attended UNC at Chapel Hill majoring in Environmental Science but then pursued a career in the computer networking field. She currently manages Data Education at Cisco in RTP, where she has worked for 23 years.
All the while, Anna continued to develop her craft. She took classes at the Pullen Art Center in Raleigh, the STARworks Center for Creative Enterprise in Star, NC and online instruction on creating texture with Canadian Potter Sarah Pike. “In this ever-changing world, art is my method to find contentment and find peace. I love to create and continuously learn. It grounds me.”
“I am passionate about color and texture,” Anna explains. “This affinity compels me to combine pottery with glass and wood for diverse presentation — I crave and enjoy the challenge of engineering and employing new glazes –new techniques and combinations of materials.” Her work is displayed in various local shows and events.
“I hope that people who visit me will pick up my work, feel the organic texture and want to use it in their everyday lives.” More information about Anna Julian can be found on her Chatham Artists Guild gallery page.
