Susan Filley has worked as a potter and artist for over 25 years. She has an MFA in ceramics and she has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally. Susan returned to NC several years ago and has a beautiful home studio just outside of Chapel Hill. Susan works in porcelain and makes pots that are both graceful and lively with color and figurative gesture. She is know for her 'Dancing Teapots' and sculptural pots, but also continues to make functional pots that are elegantly designed. See her work at: www.susanfilley.com. Susan has extensive teaching experience and a broad perspective on ceramics, having served on the Board and as President of National Council on Education of Ceramic Art for 10 years. She loves to teach and focuses on designing good pots. She offers a great deal of technical information in her classes as well as tips on throwing and studio management.
Nancy began working with clay under the loving tutelage of Ann Settle at Durham’s Edison Johnson Recreation Center in 2003. Here she learned to throw with a kick wheel and soon apprenticed as a studio and teaching assistant. In 2007, her interest in pottery led her to Claymakers, an exploration of the unpredictable and often forgiving nature of atmospheric firings, and additional behind the scenes responsibilities in the studio. You may see her around cutting up with fellow students and instructors during class, mixing glazes or loading kilns, and adding pots to any soda firing she can.
Deborah Harris
Deborah Harris is a studio potter based in Chapel Hill, NC. Her clay explorations began with local workshops including Arrowmont and Penland. Most recently, her adventures expanded to China, Japan and South Korea enriching her pottery perspective. This experience has her melding eastern and western aesthetics into her current passion of creating contemporary porcelain forms, dressed in the ancient glazes of Japanese shinos and Chinese celadons.
Laura Korch
Laura Korch received her BFA from Eastern Michigan University in Ceramics. In Michigan, she was the Ceramics Studio Manager for the Ann Arbor Art Factory. Korch also spent a year as an apprentice to John Glick, learning the life of a studio potter. Laura lives and makes her work in Durham. Recently, she has explored a narrative theme, using details of her own relationships and conversations as a starting point. Korch draws from references such as children's books, traffic signs, retro video games, fabrics and the weather to exaggerate elements otherwise abstract.
Barbara McKenzie
Barbara McKenzie's pottery education began at Haywood Community College (Clyde, NC) and continued in Tokoname, Japan. In 1992, she established her pottery studio in Durham where she fires in both a Raku and gas kiln. She has participated in many workshops, including raku workshops with Rick Berman (Maryland), and Steve Branfman (NC). Her Raku pottery is represented by new Elements Gallery, Wilmington, NC.
Marsha OwenMarsha Owen has been working out of her studio in Raleigh, NC, for over seventeen years making a variety of ceramic objects for everyday use. Her first exposure to pottery was through a class at the NC State University Craft Center, but her greatest influences come from experiences at Penland School of Crafts. “The craftsmen living the Penland area exposed me to others who were making a living doing what they loved. This inspired and strengthened my desire to continue on the path of the professional potter.” For more information visit www.marshaowenpottery.com.
Elizabeth Paley
Elizabeth Paley took her first pottery class in 2002 and has been teaching at Claymakers since 2007. A professional organist and pianist, she likens working with clay to practicing a musical instrument: both processes invite one to balance technique with improvisation, to develop an appreciation for form and detail, and to discover a personal creative voice. Her pots typically start at the wheel and are often altered or combined with other thrown or hand-built elements. She enjoys the tinkering and problem-solving challenges of moving from an initial concept for a form to its realization as an actual pot.
Gillian Parke
Gillian Parke graduated from Boston University with a BA in chemistry. Her journey with clay began in 1995 with a wheel throwing class offered through the Parks and Recreation Department of Chapel Hill. After spending a year taking courses towards a MFA in ceramics at East Carolina University, Gillian returned to Durham where she currently has a studio. She was chosen by Ceramics Monthly Magazine as one of 13 Emerging Artists in 2008 and was featured as a cover artist in the February 2009 issue. In 2008 she received an Emerging Artist Grant from the Durham Arts Council. Gillian Parke’s work explores the fusion of rough and fine textures and surfaces into complete pieces of ceramics. More information is available at GillianParke.com.
Ronan Peterson
Ronan Peterson graduated from the University of North Carolina. He lives and works full time in his studio in Chapel Hill. He was chosen by Ceramics Monthly Magazine as one of 13 Emerging Artists in 2004; in 2005 he received an Emerging Artist Grant from the Durham Arts Council. He was a core student at Penland School of Crafts in 2000 and 2001. Ronan's pots are decorative with some concern for function and his forms and surfaces draw heavily from the natural world. More information is available at NineToesPottery.com.
Teresa Pietsch
Teresa Pietsch has been working with clay since 2001 and has been a part of the Claymakers community since she moved to Durham in 2004. Teresa got her BA at Seattle Pacific University where she studied Art and Religion. She has enjoyed being a studio assistant at Claymakers since 2006, working with glazes, kilns and all the little aspects of studio life. She loves making pottery for people to use, currently focusing on the decorative aspects of pottery, inspired by leaves and trees. In teaching, Teresa tries to generate enthusiasm for getting your hands dirty while working with clay.
Caroly Van Duyn
Caroly Van Duyn is a graduate of S.U.N.Y. at Purchase, with further studies at Wesleyan Guild and The Silvermine Guild of Artists, and The Taos Institute of Art in New Mexico. Caroly was the 2006 Artist in Residence at The North Rim of the Grand Canyon, AZ. Visit www.carolyvanduyn.com to see more.
Evelyn Ward
Evelyn Ward received her BFA from California State at Fullerton and although her focus was in Printmaking, developed a love for clay while there. After moving to NC in 1995, she started pursuing pottery seriously. Over the years, Evelyn has attended many workshops and classes, including a course at Penland in 2004. She recently moved to Hurdle Mills, NC, and set up a new studio where she works full-time making soda-fired pots. For more information visit www.evelynwardpottery.com.
Sarah White
Sarah White is a native North Carolinian who has recently moved back to Durham after 3 years in Alexandria, Virginia. She has a B.F.A. in studio arts from UNC-Chapel Hill and a M.F.A. in Ceramic Art from the University of Colorado. She has exhibited throughout the United States and is currently working on a series of large, hand-built sculptures. She lives in Durham with her husband, Joe, and her daughters Lucy and Stella.
