Our first artist of the year, Sam Jones kicked off our 2020 Artist in Residence program with his stay in the Artist Cottage last week. Representing the third generation of his family to cook traditional whole hog barbecue at Skylight Inn in Ayden, North Carolina, Jones and Skylight Inn have been counted among the greats when it comes to the country’s legendary barbecue joints and pitmasters.

The week began with a Meet + Greet, gallery hours each morning, plus some one-on-one time with Sam as he taught attendees how to build a BBQ block pit during the Thursday workshop and then prepared a delicious dinner of ribs and chicken (cooked on the same pit) during Friday night's event. The meal was served family-style, along with lively stories (and perhaps a few tall tales) shared by Sam.

Check out the recap of Sam's stay below.