CANVAS ArtSpace was co-founded in 2016 by the husband and wife team Joel & Jennifer Edwards. The young art-school grads met and fell in love in New York City. They were married in 2006 in Flat Rock, NC, a place that was distant from New York, but close to their hearts. 10 years, 2 kids, and 750 miles later, they returned to Western North Carolina, this time permanently.  For these two artists, now not so young, creating CANVAS ArtSpace, a resource and gathering place for the thriving arts community here in WNC, is a dream realized.

​We look forward to meeting you!

Joel Edwards / Co-Director & Lead Instructor

Joel Edwards, founder and Co-Director of CANVAS ArtSpace earned his bachelor’s degree in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD and also studied painting at the AICA Studio Program in New York and at the Sante Fe Master’s program with American figurative painter Eric Fischl. 

After graduating in 1991, Joel had the unique opportunity to work under American artist Helen Frankenthaler as her studio and teaching assistant, and feeling at home in a teaching role, went on to earn his teaching certification with a concentration in visual art from the Parsons School of Design, New York, NY. Since then, Joel has taught art in public schools and private studio settings, on subjects ranging from cartooning to traditional painting. 

When he’s not teaching, Joel continues to develop his art practice, working on his paintings, as well as commissioned art for clients across the United States. He has exhibited for over 20 years in the New York metro area, including solo exhibitions at the Susan Berke Gallery, “RSVP24,” at the Society of Illustrators, and “Greater Brooklyn” at CRG Gallery.

Jennifer Steifle Edwards / Co-Director

Jennifer Edwards is a founder and Co-Director of CANVAS ArtSpace.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design at the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, and studied photography abroad at the Speos International Photography School in Paris, France.  Based in NYC, Jennifer worked as commercial photographer specializing in interior architecture for luxury retail brands including Chanel, Burberry, Tiffany and Bergdorf Goodman.

Eventually opting for a career less commercial and more authentic to her love of art, Jennifer transitioned to arts administration, working for several years in exhibitions and collections at the Museum of Arts & Design (MAD) in New York City, and later as a grant-writing and fundraising consultant for regional nonprofit arts organizations. While at MAD, she co-authored the award winning exhibition catalogue, Radical Lace & Subversive Knitting, and contributed to a handful of other museum publications including Changing Hands: Art Without Reservation 2 and the 2008 permanent collection survey, Permanently MAD: Revealing the Collection.  

Jennifer put her career on pause to raise two wonderful children, now aged 9 and 11. In 2016, Joel, Jennifer, and their two children moved from the Catskill region of New York State to Hendersonville, NC, and Jennifer is now enjoying her return to the professional art world at CANVAS ArtSpace.