McCree Simmons’ love of art and creative inspiration began at an early age with her family and now, the Gainesville native, has turned her passion for art into a career.
“My favorite medium is charcoal. I focus mainly on charcoal portraits but have recently branched out into watercolors, acrylic abstract painting and jewelry making,” McCree said. “I was blessed to grow up surrounded by creativity. My mother, Debbie Puckett, is a wonderfully talented interior designer, along with my grandmother who also is greatly talented as an interior designer, and my aunt who was a photographer.”
McCree added than many  Gainesvillians would remember her mother’s shop,  The Mulberry Shop.
“I spent my childhood watching my mother and grandmother make arrangements, adorn packages with meticulously tied bows, decorate wreaths and sell all things interior,” she said. “The shop was a hub of creativity and a place for friends and family to come together.”
McCree was recently honored as a featured artist for the 10th Annual WomenSource Power of the Purse event. She also is donating a charcoal portrait for the 2017 Marketplace Auction in November.

She said her family showed her how to create beautiful things out of what most would see as “leftovers” or “waste.”
“To create something from ‘nothing’…is a wonderful lesson in imagination, perseverance and, sometimes, necessity.”
McCree attended Gainesville City schools and graduated from the University of Georgia with an ABJ in Advertising from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. After graduation, she worked for the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce until leaving to stay home with her beautiful children, Grayson, 12, and Keeley, 6.
You can find more of McCree’s work at:

Handmade in Hall County is a blog series by The Abernathy Cochran Group. If you would like to nominate a local person or company to be featured please email: babernathy@gonorton.com.