Artist Talks
with Mary Roberts, Robert Hunter, Chad Corbin & Caitlin Cook
Thursday, JUly 17 at 5:30pm
Artist Talks at Starworks are free and open to the public. Guests are invited to meet featured visiting artists, watch and learn as they present slides and discuss their process and influence, and ask questions about their works. Each presentation is about 15-20 minutes each.
Treat Yourself - Starworks Cafe & Taproom is open during this event and proudly serves a variety of craft NC beer, delicious wine, coffee & lattes, smoothies, and much more.
Stay Late - Artist Talks are followed by Open Mic Night at Starworks Cafe & Taproom
Mary Roberts
Starworks Ceramics Resident Artist
Mary is a Dublin, New Hampshire–based ceramic artist whose work reimagines domestic space through vibrant installations of animated household objects. Her playful tableaux invite curiosity and narrative, often transforming the familiar into something unexpected.
Mary joins us from Saint Anselm College as a Lecturer in Ceramics. Her background includes an MFA from Indiana University Bloomington and a BFA from Alfred University, as well as residencies at Watershed, Women’s Studio Workshop, and Guldagergaard in Denmark.
Robert Hunter
Starworks Ceramics Resident Artist
Based in Glasgow, Scotland, Robert Hunter is a ceramic artist whose practice is deeply rooted in place. Drawing inspiration from the Scottish landscape, he incorporates locally sourced materials into his work — from wild clays used in slip decoration to glazes made with wood ash and native rock.
Robert holds a BA in Ceramics and Glass from Gray’s School of Art and has worked in studios across Europe, including time with Maria de Haan in Mallorca. His work has been featured in exhibitions throughout the UK and in Linda Bloomfield’s Special Effect Glazes.
Chad Corbin
Starworks Ceramics Resident Artist
Chad is a Colorado-based ceramic artist whose practice grew out of a lifelong pursuit of craft and design. After a career in engineering and custom titanium bicycle fabrication, he returned to the wheel — this time, with clay. His work reflects a strong reverence for Japanese aesthetics and atmospheric firing techniques, and he’s passionate about experimenting with local, minimally processed materials.
Chad teaches part-time at Studio Arts Boulder and apprentices with local potter Kazu Oba. Though relatively new to ceramics, he’s developed his practice with focused intensity — a journey his mentor calls “the accelerated program.”
Caitlin Cook
‘Western North Carolina Artist Relief ‘ Residency Artist
Caitlin is a North Carolina–based ceramic artist whose functional work is infused with memories of family, food, and tradition. Inspired by Sunday dinners and her grandmother’s cherished dishes, she creates pottery meant to gather people together — to hold stories as much as meals.
A recent graduate of Appalachian State University, Caitlin has served as a winter studio assistant at Anderson Ranch and is currently creating 500 mugs for Penland’s 40th Annual Benefit Auction. Her resilience and dedication shine through her work, especially in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which displaced her and destroyed much of her early portfolio.
Caitlin joins us through our Western North Carolina Artist Relief Residency — a program supporting WNC artists affected by natural disasters.