Making Their Home In Rocky Mount -Carole Mehle

Carole Mehle

An artist, a writer, Carole Mehle is a Rocky Mount native with a drive and dedication that contributes everyday to the place she calls home. She graduated from Rocky Mount High School and laughingly says, “I teach to support my art habit.” Edgecombe Community College, the Rocky Mount campus, is lucky to have Carole who teaches English and Humanities. Carole is downtown everyday, a prime example of staying at home and making a life that is creative and interesting. She has a grandmother who is 103!  and checks on her everyday. That gives you insight into this young professional woman.

Carole paints, collages, creates mixed media, makes jewelry and glass magnets. She wrote a novel when she was ten years old. I bet she drew the cover jacket for it as well. She has a studio at Bel Air Artisans Center and is involved in planning an Artists Open House this fall. Once the date is announced, I urge everyone to attend. Carole will tell you what an amazing place the Center is. The artists help critique each others work, inspire each other, and have formed a community that is important to Rocky Mount when seeking creative companionship. Carole is a great spokesman for working and living in Rocky Mount.

A quote from Carole: “I have so many good memories of growing up in Rocky Mount, from riding the train at Sunset Park to visiting the Children’s Museum and Braswell Library as a child. I remember many wonderful afternoons spent shopping on Main Street, and going in the back doors. Much of my life has centered around Main Street, from my first “nursery school” on Hill Street to a former workplace on Howard Street and my current workplace on Tarboro Street and my space at Bel Air Artisans Center. I have always made the arts a part of my life. In the last few years, between the emergence of the Dunn Center, the Imperial Center, Nash Arts, and the Bel Air Artisans Center, Rocky Mount has developed culturally. For me, that has really made staying here a much easier decision. Because I was interested in things like art, music, drama, books, and culture that the general populus of our area does not seem too interested in, finding outlets and people to encourage these outlets has greatly enhanced my life, and hopefully those I touch on a daily basis — perhaps without even having to say a word, thanks to my art.”