Text and photos by Connie Leinbach
Island artist Kitty Martin Mitchell has opened a studio and art gallery at 271 Irvin Garrish Highway, across from Community Square.
Mitchell, who retired two years ago as the longtime art teacher for Ocracoke School, has stocked her new space with her own work, that of a few artist friends and her family.
In her Kitty Mitchell Studio, she is showcasing her original paintings, prints, notecards and jewelry, which is a combination of beaded and shell jewelry, featuring pen-and-ink on sand dollars.
“It’s been going well,” Mitchell said recently,
Her daughter, Katy, who also owns the Magic Bean Coffee Bazaar on School Road, is selling her organic skin care products.
The line is called Skinvy, which is the name of her shower lotion, which was the original product. There’s also Fountain face lotion, Selkie Dead Sea Salt Scrub, and a face mask called Vivarium.
“I also have a full line of local music CDs,” Mitchell said. “So, it’s a family affair: I got dad (Gary Mitchell) on the Molasses Creek CDs, the daughter and me.”
Mitchell hopes to organize art walks and more in the fall.
Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
