Carrie Pendergrass

Over the last twenty years, Carrie has been a freelance artist, art educator, and small-business owner. Carrie received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art, with a concentration in Painting, from the University of Tennessee Knoxville in 1997. She then went on to receive a Masters of Education degree from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga in 2006, along with a certification to teach art in k-12.

In 2012, she left her full-time art teacher job of 6 years, with the dream of expanding her own creative pursuits. She applied for a grant funded small business-initiative program, which was designed to breathe life into a little-used area of her local downtown. She was one of 5 recipients with small business ideas, who were granted a storefront space. Her space, named Sewn to the Sky became a store, studio and gallery, allowing her to make and sell her own work, as well as that of around 50 other local artists/artisans, and hold arts classes and special events there. She even taught traditional black and white photography there in a converted bathroom/ darkroom! She was the sole proprietor for an amazing 2 and a half years, and learned a lot about business ownership and life. About a year later, she ended up at a special arts nonprofit, called HArt Gallery, where she worked for over three and a half years, while still working her art side hustle, often as her revised moniker, Sewn to the Sea (which was born as a way to distinguish her fine art printmaking work a.k.a. her “press” from her many previous other creative pursuits).

She stepped down from her Gallery Director position to pursue her own work, right before Covid-19 hit. She currently works as a professional artist, exhibiting her work locally and regionally, and continues to do arts education. She has been teaching art through grant-funded opportunities like Arts Build’s Artist-in-Residency Program and private and public instruction through Townsend Atelier, the Chattery, and other venues.