Carolyn and Gary Schena
About the Artists

Carolyn and Gary Schena have lived on the Outer Banks of North Carolina since 2003, after re-locating from the cities of Manhattan and Washington, DC.  They opened Studio 12, a contemporary ceramic studio, where they offer visiting tourist a place to paint pottery, do mosaics and other fun art stuff.

 Carolyn and Gary’s vision in creating Studio 12 was to have a place where people could experience a sense of peace and relaxation.  The creation of the studio drew upon Gary’s wood working skills and Carolyn’s background in art and education. They slowly filled the walls with their own creations to provide examples and hopefully inspiration for their customers.  Carolyn and Gary can point back to a particular piece of work they did together that launched their collaboration in art.  A large hand painted tile mural, depicting the aerial view of the Outer Banks, which received and award from the Dare County Arts Council. That piece was followed by several commissioned tile murals, tile inlay tables, hand thrown pottery, hand carved relief tiles, custom buttons and jewelry, as Carolyn and Gary continued to receive request for custom work and to quench their thirsty curiosity of what if?

It is only natural that nature as emerged as the central theme in Gary and Carolyn’s work.  “We are inspired by the natural beauty of our barrier reef home, says Carolyn “we love to spend as much time outdoors as possible, and hopefully we can convey a sense of what we are touched by in nature in our work”

Painting is Carolyn’s first love of mediums, “It is the challenge, of trying to capture a particular mood, and I find the process thrilling!” Gary says that working in clay is his favorite medium, because of the direct experience, no power tools between him and the source of creation, “There is always the fine line being danced between, function and form, and this is why working with clay is so exciting for me”

“Watching our intentions become our creations is one of the most satisfying parts of what we do, says Carolyn and Gary,  “when someone feels connected to that inner sense of contentment and they are left in a quiet space, then we know that our deepest aspirations for creating art together have been achieved.”

Carolyn and Gary share their studio with two demanding cats and one adorable daughter, Samantha who has recently turned 20 months old.