Chuck Koucky, an award-winning studio potter, began making pottery in 1971 under the instruction of Dick Leach at Albion College in Michigan. He earned his BA in Fine Art with a focus on Pottery and Printmaking and decided to pursue pottery as his career. In 1976, he purchased a farm in northern Michigan and built his first studio, where he and his wife, Nancy, lived and worked.

Chuck took a break from production pottery between 1986 and 2001 when they opened their art galleries, Koucky Gallery, in Michigan and Florida. During this time, however, Chuck taught workshops in raku, stoneware, and kiln building. He served as an “Artist in Residence” at Gulfcoast High School in Collier County, Florida, and was a guest speaker at other schools in the area.

In early 2001, Chuck and Nancy began considering a return to their own creative work. Encouraged by friends in Matlacha and Bokeelia, Florida, they explored the possibility of achieving this goal on Pine Island. They found the perfect property, which allowed them to combine their home and pottery studio in a tropical paradise, creating a unique and inspiring environment for both living and working.

Chuck not only loves working with clay, but he also embraces a diverse range of mediums. He experiments with laser etching on wood and slate, hand-stitches leather, creates cigar-box style guitars, and enjoys culinary adventures such as grilling, fermenting, and pickling.

Nancy received her BA in Art History from the College of Wooster in Ohio. After marrying Chuck in 1978, she began her artistic career as a weaver, crafting items for the home and women’s fashion items. However, when they opened the art galleries, she devoted her full attention to the operation of both locations.

In 2004, following Hurricane Charley, Chuck and Nancy decided to close their galleries and reside on Pine Island year-round. At this point, Nancy transitioned to a new career in Graphic Arts as an animator. Over the years, this passion evolved, and she became the Art Director for an international sailing magazine, retiring from that position in 2019. Currently, she designs and formats books for independent authors, offers publishing services, and creates marketing collateral for both her authors and other small businesses. You can visit her Graphic Design website at nrkdesigns.com.

Additionally, Nancy designs a series of fun and colorful images for prints, notecards, and stickers, and she creates the designs that Chuck etches onto wood and slate. When she needs a break from her computer, she enjoys using her wood lathe to hand-turn small projects in wood and resins. The tactile qualities of turned and sanded wood, as well as the depth and color of cast resins, continually enchant her.