Hannah Burnisky

Hannah Burnisky started the Cold Mountain Art Collective in Canton, NC, in 2021. Part art studio, part gallery, part event space, this building offered Hannah an opportunity to bring a creative space to Canton while giving her own creative pursuits more room to grow. The space gave the community access to pottery and ceramics equipment and classes, as well as a gallery space for local artists to display their work.

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Hannah creates amazing ceramic art that reflects her connection to nature. Beautiful textures and shapes work together to form both practical pieces like mugs and standalone art, sculpture, and other works that immediately bring the outdoors into the home. Her creative use of texture and glazing techniques gives each piece a unique look and feel.

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4 days after opening the shop in August of 2021, Canton suffered a major flood from Tropical Storm Fred, which completely destroyed Hannah's shop. Undeterred, she began rebuilding her dream and bringing the community back together. As she celebrated her second opening after the storm, things began to take shape in the shop.

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Then, only 3 years later, Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina, and Hannah found her studio underwater once more, and the familiar task of cleaning up and rebuilding it began again. The community stepped up to help, and slowly things began to resemble the studio she had worked so hard to build. 

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As we follow Hannah through the rebuild process, we discuss the importance of a dedicated creative space, what it means to lose that space, and the beauty of the community that can be built around it.