Cupola House Association, Edenton, NC

04/16/2026

Meet Agnes Powell of Windsor, NC, who will be participating in Easels in the Gardens this weekend! Agnes paints primarily with oils and her work has been shown at the Bertie County Arts Council.

Agnes is a self-taught hobbyist who happened to inherit her mother’s homemade easel. As fate would have it, her name is inscribed in first grader’s handwriting on the easel, thus the inheritance — and the personal interest in art. She took up painting after raising three daughters. Since then, she has experimented with several mediums and dabbled in a variety of lessons with family and friends. She sells art out of her basement and sporadically at the Bertie County Arts Council in Windsor. She highly recommends art for anyone who has the interest, an inherited easel notwithstanding.

Tomorrow is opening day! You can still get tickets at the advance purchase price until 9 pm tonight! Visit www.cupolahouse.org or follow the link in our Instagram bio.

04/15/2026

All thanks to volunteer Wednesday Weeders!

The vibrant Cupola House Gardens 🌷✨

04/15/2026

If you haven’t cruised on the Queen, you’ve missed something!!

04/15/2026

Don’t miss the Garden Party and Art Sale Saturday from 5pm until 7pm!!
Tickets required. Get them at the advance price www.cupolahouse.org.

04/14/2026

Meet Debra Rae Hare of Camden, NC who will be participating again in Easels in the Garden, April 17-18, 2026! Debra is a watercolor and acrylics artist whose landscape, portrait and still life work has been displayed at the Chowan Arts Council, Perquimans Arts League and Arts of the Albemarle.

Debra hails from Michigan, the only daughter of a displaced Southern girl and a Norfolk and Western Railroad man, and a big sister to a younger brother, her only sibling. She began to express herself artistically at a very early age and pursued art throughout her school years while nurturing, what have turned out to be, life-long friendships with childhood artist pals. Embracing the adventurous side of her artistic spirit, Debra turned a new page by joining Army Intelligence, where she was trained as a Signals Intelligence Analyst and studied Polish at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. It was there that Debra met her husband with whom she has now shared over 40 years of life — sojourning in many states from West Coast to East Coast and 8 years in Europe.

From each location and experience along the way, Debra has added fresh color and texture to her palette — the palette from which she draws today. Over the past 10 years, Debra has crafted her nest in the atmosphere of North Carolina’s coastal wetlands, where she continues to express herself artistically — not only in fine art — but also in her extensive and ever-changing garden adjacent to the marshland in Camden.

Purchase your tickets for Easels in the Gardens at www.cupolahouse.org (use the link in our Instagram bio) or at the Will Call Desk during the event hours, 10 am - 4 pm.

04/14/2026

Meet Margie Nahass, of Edenton, NC who will be participating again in Easels in the Garden April 17-18, 2026! She is a registered nurse, physician assistant and novice artist, now in retirement. Margie uses oil on canvas to capture landscapes and still life and her work can be found in the homes of many of her family and friends. Images of life that represent personal memories of love, comfort and gratitude are her favorites. She and her husband, George, are new to Edenton and find that our historic town provides her with much inspiration — an artist’s perfect playground!

Purchase your tickets for Easels in the Gardens at either www.cupolahouse.org (use the link in our bio on Instagram) or at the Will Call Desk throughout the event hours 10 am - 4 pm.

04/13/2026

Meet Cathy Brown Guthrie of Elizabeth City, NC, who will be painting en plein air at Easels in the Gardens April 17-18, 2026! Cathy uses acrylics to paint anything from people to angels to quirky animals. She has had her work displayed at a variety of events in both Charlotte, NC, as well as Elizabeth City, NC.

Cathy is a natural born artist, having started back in kindergarten class. She was extremely shy and would draw pictures. Painting and drawing continue to be her life’s passion. She is a professional embroiderer and designer that has an embroidery business, established in 1986 in Charlotte. She recently moved back to Elizabeth City, her birthplace.

Time is running out to purchase your advance tickets for Easels in the Gardens! Visit our website www.cupolahouse.org or follow the link in our Instagram bio. Tickets will also be on sale throughout the event at our Will Call Desk.

04/13/2026

Meet Shelley Hopkins of Franklin, TN, who is joining us as a plein air artist for Easels in the Gardens April 17-18, 2026! Shelley uses mixed media to create still life works of art. Her work has been shown at the River Gallery.

Shelley’s art is a visual representation of her personal experiences with a focus on capturing the essence of a place or memory through incorporating still life and landscape. Her process involves mark making, laying down joyful colors of paint and building up layers using acrylic, charcoal and oil.

Time is running out to purchase advance tickets for Easels in the Gardens! Visit our website at www.cupolahouse.org or follow the link in our Instagram bio. Tickets will also be on sale during the event at the Will Call Desk.

04/13/2026

Meet Karen Lee Crenshaw of Jacksonville, NC, who will be returning to participate in Easels in the Gardens April 17-18, 2026! Karen is an oil artist, painting primarily landscapes and portraits. She was “drawing on the walls” as a child growing up in South Dakota and West Virginia, but since 1999, Karen’s home has been Jacksonville, where she has fallen in love with beautiful coastal North Carolina marshes, lakes, rivers and the vessels that sail upon them. You can find her artwork at the Chowan Arts Council, Edenton, NC; Arts of the Albemarle, Elizabeth City, NC; Community Coucil for the Arts, Kinston, NC; The Beach Gallery, Virginia Beach, VA; Down Creek Gallery, Ocracoke, NC; All About Art, Bald Head Island, NC. You may also find her out painting en plein air or in her studio at ArtExposure in Hampstead, NC.

Purchase your tickets for Easels in the Gardens at either www.cupolahouse.org (use the link in our Instagram bio) or at the Will Call Desk both days of the event.

04/13/2026

Meet Lillian “Kelly” Rightsell of Greensboro, NC, who will be returning to participate in Easels in the Garden, April 17-18, 2026! She uses oils and mixed media to paint landscapes, figures and abstracts. Kelly also works with clay.

Born and raised in the South, Kelly loves the colors of the landscapes from the coast to the mountains that have always been favorite subjects for her work. She received a BFA in Art Education from East Carolina University and has studied at the Blackheath School of Art in London. Kelly has taught art in SC, NC and Virginia and is a devoted art advocate. Her career also includes a very successful children’s art and design company that allowed her work to be seen all over the country. Visit her website at www.kellyrightsell.com to view the breadth of her work.

Tickets for Easels in the Garden may be purchased at either www.cupolahouse.org (use the link in our Instagram bio) or at the Will Call Desk during the event days.

04/13/2026

Meet local artist Fen Rascoe of Windsor, NC who will be returning to paint in Easels in the Garden, April 17-18, 2026! Fen is an award-winning American Impressionist and paints Alla Prima in oil whether En Plein Air or in the Studio. He is represented by ArtSource Fine Art in Raleigh, NC and City Art Gallery in Greenville, NC.

Rascoe’s work has been featured in several publications including the NC Literary Review, The Virginia Sportsman and the Outdoor Channel’s The Obsession of Carter Andrews Episode “The Impressionist.” He is often found painting in the marshes and farmland of coastal NC, limiting his pallets to one to three versions of each primary color. Visit his website https://www.fenrascoe.com to see more of his artworks.

Tickets for Easels in the Gardens can be purchased at either www.cupolahouse.org (use the link in our bio on Instagram) or at the Will Call Desk during the event days.

04/10/2026

Meet Debbie Boyle of Edenton, NC who is a returning artist to Easels in the Garden April 17-18, 2026! Debbie holds a BFA degree from the University of Georgia and paints “whatever comes” in acrylics. You can find her art pieces at the Chowan Arts Council and homes throughout town and beyond!

Purchase your tickets for Easels in the Garden at either www.cupolahouse.org or use the link in our Instagram bio.