Larissa McPherson is a metalsmith and jewelry artist from Adairsville, GA. She holds an MFA in Jewelry & Metalsmithing at the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art. Larissa graduated from the University of West Georgia with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in studio art. By studying metalsmithing with an old professor and joining the Metal Arts Guild of Georgia in early 2022, Larissa started a path toward pursuing metalsmithing full-time. 

Larissa is the daughter of a pre-k teacher and a disabled veteran wood carver. An appreciation for craft and the arts was instilled in her from a young age. Later in life, seeing her father use wood carving as an outlet for the pain from his disability would inspire her to explore craft as an outlet for herself. After graduation, Larissa was part of the metal guild as a studio monitor, student, and AV specialist in MAGG’s hybrid workshops.  She was a resident artist and teacher at Arts Beacon Studio in Atlanta, from 2022-2023. Additionally, Larissa has experience as a studio assistant for Eddie Farr, an electrical artist at South River Studios in Atlanta, and Aalia Mujtaba a jewelry artist in Clarkston, GA. She also assisted two artists, Ellie Richards and Dan Essig, at Penland School of Craft (Spruce Pine, NC) in a live /work exchange. All of this while working on her own studio practice. In May of 2026, Larissa completed her MFA program at UGA where her research focus was jewelry, metalsmithing, bone working, and plastics. She worked across campus studying how microplastics affected animal bodies and created thesis work exploring how this accumulation might manifest in the future.