Artist Directory
Access to this artist directory is an exclusive benefit of our creative partnership.
If you’re interested in becoming a creative partner, please visit our creative partnership page to sign up.
For questions, contact the SLC Arts staff at 315-265-6860, email us at arts@slcartscouncil.org, or stop by the Creative Spirit Community Arts Center—we’re happy to help!
The Creative Spirit Community Arts Center is located at 6-8 Raymond Street in Potsdam
Visit us Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm or Friday from 10 am to 5 pm.
Business Partners:
- Furniture and Wooden Accessories (2)
- General (11)
- LGBTQ+ Owned (1)
- Literary Arts (7)
- Performing Arts (5)
- Pottery (4)
- Textile Arts (2)
- Veteran Owned (1)
- Visual Arts (31)
- Women Owned (22)
Currently Vice-president SLC Arts Board of Directors
I am a painter working primarily in watercolor. For the past ten years my passion has been for plein air landscape. Working directly from nature gives an unparalleled connection to my subjects. I enjoy the challenges presented by the fluid medium of watercolor. Working with it is a living dialog between artist and medium. As John Marin said you need to "let the paint be paint." One of my primary artistic goals is inspired by Miss Alice Rumphius who wanted to do something to make the world a more beautiful place.
rockhollowfarm572@gmail.com
Dayna Lancaster’s journey with the fiber arts began at eight years old, knitting and sewing through 4-H, guided by her mother, Dancy Noble—herself a North Country artist. Over the years, Dayna dabbled in watercolor and acrylic painting, but it wasn’t until later in life that she truly found her artistic home: fiber. What started with a love of knitting and garment sewing evolved into a passion for spinning yarn and creating one-of-a-kind heirloom quilts. For Dayna, playing with color—whether in yarn or fabric—is pure joy. Recently, she and her husband added The Shed to their farm, a cozy creative space that houses her long arm quilting machine, her fiber arts shop, and a welcoming studio for classes and collaboration. It’s a place where creativity is shared, stories are told, and learning is encouraged. Dayna creates hand-crafted knitted pieces and heirloom quilts. When working individually, she creates pieces which capture the vision of each client. She also offers group classes and private lessons in knitting, spinning, quilting, sewing, and fiber processing—always with warmth, encouragement, and a belief that anyone can learn with a little guidance, a touch of humor, and a lot of heart.
I have always had a passion for Art and have been creative in one capacity or another my whole life. I used to dream about making pottery when I was a little girl making mud pies and dishes that would not endure the test of time. Once, I even drew a diagram of my future home studio.
After earning a bachelor degree in visual arts, I decided it was time to really focus my efforts on my creative side and start working towards my dream of being a potter one day. But Pottery is not a cheap art to pursue, it's an investment in time, energy and money. So for a while I explored other mediums, oil painting, and working with stain glass. All the while, never loosing sight of my dream to learn about pottery. Then I decided to take a pottery class at Blu Seed Studios in Saranac Lake; this was about nine years ago. As I had believed I would, I loved it. At that point I started working towards building my own home pottery studio, which I have had now for about six years.
Creating Pottery is a lot of work, it takes time, and I feel there is alway more to explore and I have a long way before I would call myself a 'master Potter', but I am enjoying the process, and have learned a lot in this journey, and I never tire of building new things and trying new techniques. There is something magical about the process of creating with clay, always something more to learn and explore. I sometime think of that little girl who who made mud pies, cakes and dishes and was disappointed when the rain came and washed them away. Those days are long gone and I can now call myself a Potter. Diana Cox 🙂
Dominique LaVoie is a self-taught artist whose work is rooted primarily in watercolor. After a fulfilling 25-year career as a school counselor, she now dedicates her time to creating art that reflects both her creative spirit and her commitment to emotional well-being. She enjoys landscapes, florals and abstract creations.
Among her most popular works are her mini watercolor magnet paintings—small, expressive pieces that make original art accessible to a wider audience. These miniature creations allow collectors to own a unique and meaningful piece of art, no matter their space or budget.
Dominique’s work is guided by the belief that art is not only something to be admired, but also a powerful tool for connection, resilience, and personal growth.
Donna began her watercolor journey in a SOAR class in 2018. She now coordinates the Soar Watercolor Workshop (ten weeks each semester) and, while she professes not to be a teacher of watercolor, she does provide some instruction. She also offers watercolor classes at the Badenhausen Public Library in Brasher Falls.She turns many of her paintings into cards that she donates to the Badenhausen Public Library as a fundraiser and also has them for sale at SLC Arts. Proceeds from the sales go to purchase more materials to make cards to donate.
Born in Nicaragua, Esthela is a poet and visual artist. Author of several books including the pioneering book of ethnobotanical poetry Soplo de Corriente Vital (2008), Coyol Quebrado (2012), the bilingual anthology The Bones of My Grandfather (2018) and Paper Beehive (2022).Her Poetry has been anthologized in The Mind of Plants: Narratives of Vegetal Intelligence, Ayahuasca Reader: Encounters with the Amazon's Sacred Vine, El Consumo de lo Que Somos: Muestra de Poesía Ecológica Hispánica Contemporánea, Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology, and The Latin American Eco-Cultural Reader. Her work as a visual artist was featured in individual exhibitions at the art gallery of the Municipal Building of St. Lawrence County in Potsdam, NY: Inside the Ancestral Current (2017) and Pollen (2019) sponsored by SLC Arts. Work has also been featured at SUNY Potsdam in 2017 and the Brush Gallergy at SLU (2019-2023). She is now a creative designer for the global fabric and wallpaper company Spoonflower
Evelyne Verret is a visionary artist, Intentional Creativity® teacher, and transformational guide. Her work bridges the mystical and the deeply human. Through her intuitive painting process, she channels archetypal energies, symbolic imagery, and alchemical insight to invite viewers into a deeper dialogue with themselves. Each brushstroke becomes a portal, one that awakens, heals, and reconnects us to the parts of ourselves we’ve forgotten or left behind.
Evelyne’s work is rooted in the belief that creativity is a sacred act, and that art can be both a mirror and a medicine. Her signature style blends vivid colors, layered textures, and feminine archetypes that speak to the wild, wise, and wounded parts of the soul. As an artist-healer, she sees painting not just as visual expression, but as ceremony, a space to grieve, to reclaim, to celebrate, and to remember our wholeness.
Evelyne has guided hundreds of women through transformative painting journeys in her studio and online circles, helping them transmute doubt into confidence, silence into voice, and pain into purpose.
She is currently developing new offerings that blend intentional creativity, embodiment, storytelling, and sacred feminine wisdom to support others in returning to the essence of who they truly are, radiant, messy, powerful, and whole.
My name is Jennie Cougler, and I am the owner of JSC Photography in Canton, NY. Photography is my passion, and I have been a “picture taker” for about ten years. My photography journey began when I lived on the west coast in Portland, OR. Having spent a handful of years in the Pacific Northwest, there was no shortage of gorgeous scenery and interesting people to photograph. I had always been fascinated by the digital arts and one day I decided to give it a go! I purchased my very first DSLR camera (the trusty old Canon T5 Rebel, which I still have) and set out to photograph some of the most beautiful scenery in the country. From the abundant tulip fields and gorgeous coastal scenery of the PNW, and on to the breathtaking backdrop that is the Adirondacks, there is no shortage of subjects to provide myself with inspiration.Since moving back to the east coast, I have developed a knack for portraiture and studio photography and that is the focus of my business. My work consists of building sets for unique themed portraits, general studio photography, and rich portraiture in both natural and urban settings. My work is typically bold in color with an artistic and often moody feel, yet customizable to the liking of my clients. I also enjoy personal projects and often develop collections just for fun to be enjoyed by all.I am excited to be part of the SLC Arts as I value the work the organization does within the community and the opportunities it provides to local artists. I look forward to this partnership and the collaboration for many years to come.My husband Jacob and I share a home in Canton with our two Corgis Toby and Penelope, and our chunky kitty, Carl.
JESSICA AMMIRATI (she/her) is a theater/film artist focusing on female driven work. In 2008 she created Going to Tahiti Productions (GTTP), a company dedicated to providing more opportunities for women in entertainment. Through GTTP, Jessica has directed / produced numerous original works (mostly world premieres) including: SKIN. FLESH. BONE., IN THE EBB, JANE AUSTEN'S PERSUASION, and BELLA'S DREAM, at venues all over NYC. Two of her productions: DREAMERS OF THE DAY and WITHIN ARM’S REACH started as novels (by Mary Doria Russell and Ann Napolitano, respectively) which Jessica adapted for the stage. Along with her theater work, Jessica has also directed / produced two podcasts: TAHITI DISPATCHES and COMFORT MEASURES, a music video: THE BALLAD OF CHICKEN MCGANN, a short film: SKIN. FLESH. BONE., a web series: THE JANE GAMES, and an hour long independent dramatic television pilot: FARM STORY. Her work has earned a Puffin Foundation grant, a spot in the 2012 NY International Fringe Festival, two NY Innovative Theater Award nominations, and nominations at the DC and NYC WebFests. After the one-two punch of her father passing and the Coronavirus shutting down the world, Jessica started writing a new play, PHYSICS FROM MY FATHER as a way to connect with her beloved physicist dad. She hopes to mount a full production of it in 2026. Jessica is currently working on the short film, MEET CUTE IN THE CCU which started as a scene in PHYSICS FROM MY FATHER that she cut and then just couldn’t let go of. You can keep up to date with Jessica at: http://goingtotahitiproductions.com/ and https://www.jessicaammirati.com/.
Jim Bourey is an old poet who lives on the northern edge of the Adirondacks. He has two full poetry collections, Out There and Back Again (2023) and The Distance Between Us (2020) both from Cold River Press. He also collaborated with Linda Blaskey on Season of Harvest (2022 Pond Road Press) and with Jack Mackey, Isabelle Bohls, and Linda Blaskey on Our Various Selves (2025 Cold River Press). His chapbook, Silence, Interrupted (Broadkill Press) appeared in 2015. His work is also in many journals and anthologies. He was awarded a NY State Council on the Arts grant for 2026. He can often be found in dimly lit rooms reading poetry aloud.