Courtney Potter Studio

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United States
Durham, NC
Courtney Potter Studio

I am an artist + art educator serving the Triangle (Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh NC) My abstract paintings are vibrant and emotive. I’d ove to tell your story!

Want stunning artwork that’s as colorful, spirited, and as untraditional as you are? Whether you need a bold abstract statement piece to transform your living room, are cravin’ some creative portraits, or are on the hunt for an experienced wedding photographer, you’ve come to the right place. My documentary-style photography approach is laid-back, candid, and captures the essence of your unique st

ory. I’m based in the Triangle (Raleigh — Durham — Chapel Hill) in North Carolina, but I ship paintings to all 50 states. Book me for a vibrant new painting, empowering portrait session, dynamic new headshots, or LGBTQ wedding.

06/03/2026

The last few years have changed me.

Becoming a solo parent, navigating chronic illness and burnout, raising a neurodivergent child, and trying to survive as a self-employed artist has forced me to confront realities that I used to have the privilege of not seeing.

I’ve become increasingly aware of how many of our systems are built around the assumption that people have endless energy, stable health, family support, financial reserves, and another adult helping carry the load. Many of us don’t.

For a long time, I thought the answer was to become more resilient. To work harder, organize better, heal faster, and somehow learn to carry more.

But the problem is that human beings were never meant to carry this much alone.

My GoFundMe is reactivated because financial stability remains a real need for my family as I navigate multiple chronic health flares at the start of a busy summer camp season. But I’m sharing it today as part of a larger practice of modeling vulnerability, allowing support, and participating in community care.

If you’re able to contribute financially, thank you. If you’re local and able to offer practical support like childcare on weekends or meals, thank you. If you share this, check in, or simply witness this part of my journey, thank you. ❤️

I don’t think the answer to hard times is becoming endlessly resilient. I think it’s remembering that we belong to each other.

Link in bio or copy the link below to donate:

https://gofund.me/11623a4be

05/04/2026

The art market this weekend gave me motivation to refresh my art displays in my home. This galaxy wall with my favorite pour paintings is giving me life!

For the first time in years all my paintings and art tools are in one place. They were scattered across studio space and storage boxes in my basement when my kid was smaller. So much of my creative life force has gone towards full-time parenting, yet I’ve still created art in bursts. I’m in a season of reclamation now, integrating the lessons and identities of the last few years. Dusting off my art and giving old pieces new life. 💫

All the round canvas fluid paintings you see here are available for purchase. What do these pieces make you feel? Comment below; I’d love to hear!

01/28/2025

✨ Summer Art Camps Are Open for Registration! 🎨

🌈 Founded by a neurodivergent q***r artist, our camps are a safe, inclusive space for all kids to explore their creativity.

🖌️ Child-led creating is at the heart of our program, encouraging kids to discover and express their unique artistic voice.

👩‍🎨 Small classes, big attention! With at least 2 professional teaching artists per group, every child gets individualized support.

👧👦 Mixed-age groups mean siblings can attend together, and we celebrate inter-age friendships—watching littles and bigs collaborate is pure magic!

💡 Teens, we didn’t forget you! Check out our CIT (Counselor-in-Training) program for a hands-on leadership and creative experience.

🖼️ Camps are led by professional local artists who are passionate about inspiring a life-long love of the arts.

✨ Spaces fill fast—grab your spot today! ✨

📅 Registration link: https://tinyurl.com/2025artcamps or scan the QR code in the flyer.

09/17/2024

My next Art Mini Camp is this FRIDAY 9/20 and we’ll be celebrating the equinox through the art of the spiral! 🌀🌀🌀

Scan the QR Code in the flyer to learn more and register, or click on the link in the comments.

Here's a list of other camp themes and dates this fall:

Spectacular Spirals 🌀( 9/20, & 9/23)
Magical Mandalas 🌞 (9/27, 9/30, & 10/1)
Clay Creations 🏡 (10/7, 10/8)
Autumn Landscapes 🍁 (10/18 & 10/25)
Miniature Marvels 🦄 (11/5, 11/6 & 11/8)
Abstract Art 💧(11/11 & 11/27)
Solstice Sparkle ✨ (12/20 & 12/23)
Clay Creations 🍄 (12/30 & 12/31)
Mixed Media Art Journaling ✏️ (1/2 & 1/3)

🗓 Camps are from 9am-2:50pm and are $95/day. Aftercare and financial aid are available by request.

🌻 The age groups are K-6 but I have some flexibility if you have a younger or older child.

⛪️ Camps are at Iglesia Emanuel in Colonial Village, a church that does cool stuff in the community like weekly food pantries!

I'm so grateful to be providing a container for your children’s authentic play and self-expression for another school year! 🌈🧚‍♂️🍁🍄💖🦋

06/20/2024

Happy summer solstice! ☀️ Summer art camps began last week and the art-making momentum is building! We’ve really enjoyed making summery art! 🌊🏝️🐙☀️🌻 Sun catchers, watercolor sea shell buntings, and flower crowns are just a few projects we’ve enjoyed.

I think I’ll make some reels soon and art project tutorials so you can join the fun! These projects are catered for K-4 grades but honestly they can be adapted for all ages and your inner child too! Which project do you want to see first? 🌈

I’m so grateful to have on my art camp team this summer! She brings so much beauty everywhere she goes! 🧚

03/12/2024

💔✨🥀 cracked open 🥀✨💔 i’m swirling through a portal of grief - vast. it spirals outwards into the collective, into the heavens where my lost baby is. it spirals backwards through my ancestral line. so many lost babies, so many unhealed inner children, so much maternal pain. today would be my grandmother’s 99th birthday - she was one of 14 (living) children, her mother Estelle’s life force was consumed by birthing babies, miscarrying babies, nursing babies. I can feel her overwhelm in my body. she has showed up in my house as an angel - she cradled me when i was nursing sylvan alone in bed, she apologized for passing down a gaping maternal wound, she thanked me for giving my child the gift of presence, of nurture and attunement. i wept and my tears were not my own, they belonged to the women before me, whose tears were never witnessed, honored, released, healed. 💧

4 years ago I saw my second baby for the first time on an ultrasound. I was 20 weeks pregnant. The next day the world would shut down from the pandemic, and that’s the day she revealed her name to me - Sylvan Maya - Forest Magic. She named herself on my grandmother’s 95th birthday. Grandma died the next summer, just a day before my child’s first birthday.

Since last fall, my social media feed has been flooded with images of dead babies and grieving mothers. I feel their pain in my womb space and my hips. I cannot walk from the pain anymore, so I light my altar and pray for their protection and healing, for their liberation and the liberation of all.

Time is not linear, the spiral is dizzying, dazzling, and yet I am suspended within it’s translucent wings. 🌀

My solo show KAIROS opens this friday at golden belt arts. It is an offering from my soul, from the women who came before me, an expression of this grief transmuted into hope, color, beauty. If you are in Durham on 3/15, I would love to see you and embrace you. Let’s hold each other and transmute this pain together. 🫂

The reception is from 6-9pm. I’ll post more info in the link in my bio for you soon.

10/20/2023

Are you a busy parent looking for enriching activities for your kids on holidays and teacher workdays? You still have time to register for my upcoming Fall Art Mini Camps!

And the great news is I’ve just added more days of camp to include more independent schools, in addition to DPS.

Camps are from 9am-3pm at Golden Belt Arts in Durham. Aftercare until 4:30pm is available by request. Camps are for grades K-6, with a maximum of 12 students per day.

Click any of the links below or scan the QR code in the flyer to learn more and register your kids:

11/1 - Color Theory
11/3 - Color Theory
11/7 - Collaborative Art
11/10 - Selfie Art
11/20 - Selfie Art
11/21 - Collaborative Art
11/22 - Abstract Painting
12/20 - Holiday Canvas Art
12/21- Holiday Canvas Art
12/22 - Holiday Canvas Art

I’m looking forward to making art with your kids this fall!

Learn more about Fall Mini Camps and Register here: https://hello.dubsado.com/public/form/view/64caaee8b77754003ae944ae

09/04/2022

A little sunday morning art journaling makes the day 100% better! 🥰 I haven't shared my creations here in a few months, but that doesn't mean i haven't been making art! My creativity is just in more of an incubation stage, turned inwards towards my domestic life and my toddler.
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I'm v much in an in-between stage of reevaluating the structures and containers that allow my gifts to flourish, and letting my creativity guide me towards what i want my life to be. It's been hard to express my artistic voice lately and connect with my imagination, but I am finding it again in the crevices (thanks for this brilliant metaphor!) To do this, I've had to let go of some of the hopes and dreams I had before I became a parent, before the pandemic, before my chronic illness flared up again. So I grieve when I can and let them go to clear space for what's ahead. Creation and deconstruction dance hand in hand in the cycle of life/death/life. Sometimes the falling apart shines in the spotlight before the creation gets her solo. ☀️
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The canvas of my life feels blank again, which is scary and exhilarating, and together with my toddler and with you, our community, we will dream a new creation into existence. 🦋
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06/22/2022

Triangle parents! Are any of you looking for summer camps at the last minute for your tweens and teens? I am teaching 7 weeks of summer camps at Golden Belt Arts in Durham this summer, and the first camp session is next week! 🎉
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Imagining the Self Camp (the week of June 27-July 1) is still open for Grades 5-8 and a few spots are still available! Projects in this camp include DIY art journaling, drawing self portraits, a little creative writing, and the art of the selfie. I’m providing point-and-shoot cameras for the campers to use, and it’s going to be a lot of fun!
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You can register for this camp using this link:

https://hello.dubsado.com/public/form/view/625cb593475875deb2be7c77

Camps are half-day from 9-12pm at Golden Belt Artists in Durham! (Fun fact: we were just voted Best Art Gallery in Durham!)
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Other camps you can still enroll your kids in are:
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🟣 Mixed Media (July 5-8)
🔴 Abstract Art (July 11-15)
🟠 Drawing (July 18-22) - afternoon session only
🟡 Photography (July 25-29)
🟢 Independent Projects (Aug 1-5)
🔵 Color Your World for Grades 1-4 (August 15-19)

06/18/2022

It’s finally not 100 degrees out in Durham, so I’m doing some creative exploration on my porch with liquid acrylics and soaking up ☀️☀️☀️ for this summer solstice season!
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How are you playing today? What is one activity that is bringing you joy?
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Address

718 Iredell Street
Durham, NC
27705

Website

http://www.courtney-potter.com/

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