Baltimore Clayworks–Take a Class

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LORNA AWALT began taking pottery courses at Baltimore Clayworks in 1998 and became obsessed with the process of making functional pottery. Lorna currently lives and works in Annapolis, MD and has been an instructor for Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts since 2007. She continues to attend workshops across the country when possible in addition to exhibiting and selling her artwork in area shows and galleries. Her functional pottery is influenced primarily by nature and music, and most of her pieces include altering and carving. Additional information and images of her current work are available at: www.adagiostudio.com

DEBORAH BEDWELL is executive director at Baltimore Clayworks and one of its founding artists. She has received much acclaim for her success in creating Clayworks’ community arts programs, which for more than 16 years have made the arts accessible to underserved individuals throughout Baltimore and the region. Her extensive knowledge of contemporary ceramics has taken her throughout the US and abroad where she has served as a panelist, curator, lecturer and workshop presenter. In addition she is an accomplished potter who continues to exhibit her clay work both locally and nationally.

PATTY BILBRO graduated from Haywood Community College Clay Production Program and completed her BA in Psychology at the University of North Carolina, Asheville. Prior to relocating to Baltimore, Patty worked as a resident artist and instructor at the Odyssey Center for the Ceramic Arts in NC from 2008-2010. Patty’s background in psychology combined with her love of illustration, subtlety, and humor provides an endless inspiration for her narrative functional pottery. Additional information and images of her current work are available at: www.pattybilbrofoxfirepottery.com

AMY CARNAHAN holds a BA in Architecture and minor in Ceramic Arts from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Amy began teaching at Baltimore Clayworks in 2010 after moving to Baltimore from Little Rock, AR where she worked as an architect for 5 years. Her background in architecture has led to an exploration of space and volume within the context of ceramic vessel while employing drafting and modeling as techniques for working through concept.

COURTNEY GOVER is a certified Spanish teacher, tutor, and professional on-line rater for the Educational Testing Service, who has been making functional pottery on the wheel for the last five years. She has studied Ceramics at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, The Potter's Guild of Baltimore, and Baltimore Clayworks. Courtney works from home on her potter's wheel, creating serving dishes, cups, and teapots, while raising her 3 year old son, Darbey.

TRISHA KYNER has a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA in ceramics from the University of Montana, Missoula. She has recently moved to Baltimore from the San Francisco bay area where she taught both ceramics and sculpture. Her ceramic figures have been shown at Grounds For Sculpture in New Jersey and at the California Clay Conference in Davis, CA. She is also co-founder of the public sculpture collaborative “Grendel’s Mother.”

SHIN-YEON JEON received a B.F.A. in Oriental Painting from Ewha Womans University in 1992, a graduate certificate in Ceramic Art from Hood College in 2003 and her M.F.A from Towson University in 2007. She has been actively exhibiting her sculpture internationally and in the Baltimore area and currently teaches a variety of ceramics foundation, concept and process classes at Towson University. Since 2004, Shin-Yeon has authored numerous articles for publication in Ceramic Art Monthly in Korea, Ceramics: Art and Perception in Australia and Ceramics: Technical in the U.S. Additional images of current work and full resume are available at: www.shinyeon.com

SARAH MCCANN received a B.S. in studio art from New York University and an MA in Community Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2008. She partners with individuals and organizations to facilitate projects that use existing systems of behavior to form deeper human relationships and create opportunities for reflection and growth. She is currently the Wide Angle Youth Media Festival Coordinator where she facilitates a group of Baltimore City high school students to plan, curate, install, and run all aspects of the Who Are You? Youth Media Festival. In addition to working with Wide Angle, Sarah teaches at Baltimore Clayworks, Mother Seton Academy, and has been the community artist-in-residence with the Stadium School Youth Dreamers. Sarah has facilitated public and collaborative projects in Baltimore and looks forward to continuing her work in Baltimore City and other urban centers.

FAYE MENIS graduated with a BFA from Alfred University in 2000. She recently taught at Catonsville Community College where she was the ceramic technician since 2006. Faye has over 6 years of teaching experience from Vermont Clay Studio, Shelburne Craft School, Studio 250, and was a resident artist at Anderson Ranch in 2001. Faye is a fabulous studio potter who has recently begun the life-long quest of motherhood and she is excited to get her hands dirty again.

AMANDA PELLERIN is a resident artist at Baltimore Clayworks, where she creates her sculpture and handbuilt functional works. She is a teacher at Clayworks, Maryland Hall and other venues, where her mosaic classes and workshops have produced wonderful student work. Amanda received her BFA from Maine College of Art and her MFA in Studio Ceramics from Towson University.

VOLKER SCHOENFLIESS is one of the founding member artists of Baltimore Clayworks and he is a graduate of Towson University. In addition to being an instructor with Clayworks for 27 years Volker is an instructor at the Baltimore School for the Arts and the JCC at Owings Mills. His narrative figurative ceramic work illustrates a wry sense of humor and whimsical take on human nature.

JEREMY SIMS holds a BFA in ceramics from MICA in Baltimore. Jeremy currently works as an instructor within the Clayworks Community Arts program and the Chesapeake Arts Center. As an artist Jeremy explores the romantic side of creativity and craft, delighting in the immediacy of clay between his fingers. His modern renaissance work has been recognized by art historians and curators alike and can be found peppered along the east coast. To learn more or view images of Jeremy’s current work please visit www.jeremysimsart.com

GARY SLAVINSKY holds a BFA from Alfred University in New York and an MFA from MICA in Baltimore. Gary has been a teacher at Clayworks since fall 2007 and continues to explore and refine his wheel thrown and hand-built ceramic expressions. His teaching experience ranges from college level ceramic foundations to working with pre-school age youngsters. He is currently working for Union Memorial Hospital leading online marketing efforts. You may review his work at: www.garyslavinsky.com

JOE VITEK started with Baltimore Clayworks in 1987, and was a resident until 1995. Joe worked as hospital corpsman/medical illustration tech, and a production medical artist. In 1964 he started working with clay while at the Corcoran, studied in Tamba, Japan and has been a functional potter ever since.

JEREMY WALLACE completed his course work towards a BFA with a concentration in ceramics from the University of Wisconsin Superior in the fall of 2009. He has recently moved to Baltimore from northern Minnesota where he actively volunteered at the North End Arts Gallery. He began work as the Noborigama assistant with Baltimore Clayworks in February 2011. Jeremy’s functional and sculptural vessels explore expression through line, texture and movement.

DINA WESTON completed her MFA at Syracuse University in 2007 and she holds a BFA from the Corcoran School of Art and Design. She has taught as an adjunct instructor at Syracuse University, Towson University and Goucher College. Her figurative ceramic works confront the vulnerabilities of human interaction and relationships. Interested in social disparities and cultural differences, she places her figures into situations that call a response within the viewer.

Meet the resident artists of Baltimore Clayworks

RONNI ARONIN is a founding member of Baltimore Clayworks and current resident artist and has been creating production porcelain since completing graduate level courses at Towson University in 1980. Her utilitarian porcelain work is adorned by vigorous and brightly colored brushwork. Over a career spanning nearly 3 decades Ronni has made her living selling her work nationally through a variety of competitive wholesale and retail craft fairs.

KYLE BAUER is a native of Southern Illinois. He graduated in 2003 with a BFA in Sculpture from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and again in 2011 with an MFA in Ceramics from Louisiana State University. Kyle’s work is an exploration of both traditional and alternative ceramic processes that are realized within the context of mixed media sculpture.

MARY CLOONAN is a Clayworks resident artist and sculptor. She holds her MFA from Syracuse University and her BS Fine Arts from Nazareth College. She is the ceramics professor at American University in Washington, DC and teaches after school programming at Park School, Brooklandville, MD. Mary has recently completed an artist-in-residence program at Tainan National University for the Arts in Tainan, Taiwan ROC.

JIM DUGAN is a resident artist of Baltimore Clayworks where he also manages all resident artists in addition to working as the wood kiln manager since the summer of 2005. He has been working with clay since 1995 where he attended California University of PA. Since that time he has spent 4 years as the studio manager at Touchstone Center for Crafts and 5 years as the kiln technician at Vermont Clay Studio. Since his arrival at Clayworks Jim has taught a variety of classes and introduced scores of students to the communal fun and magic of firing a 2-chamber noborigama style wood and salt kiln.

PEGGY FOWLER is one of the newest members of the Clayworks community, becoming a resident artist in the fall of 2007. Her small scale sculptural vessels are inspired by her observations of nature found in the Maryland landscape, her garden and the local farmer’s market. Her work has been featured in regional and national exhibitions and she recently received a purchase award in the 2008 International Orton Cone Box Show hosted by Baker University in Baldwin, KS.

SHALYA MARSH is the recipient of the 2010–11 Lormina Salter Fellowship. She earned a BFA in Ceramics from the State University of New York at New Paltz and has participated in numerous residencies and workshops including a Kiln God Residency at Watershed, a Studio Assistantship at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and Penland. Her work has been widely exhibited regionally and nationally. Her sculptures express the intrinsic limitation that language places on communication; through the use of decipherable codes and symbols the viewer is invited to decode the artwork’s nonsensical pangrams and whimsical definitions. She has been teaching ceramics classes and participating in teaching residencies and outreach for over ten years. Her current work and additional information are available at: www.shalyamarsh.com

YOSHI FUJII was the Baltimore Clayworks 2008–09 Lormina Salter Fellow and remains a current artist-resident in addition to joining the Clayworks staff as Gallery Associate in August 2009. Yoshi received his B.F.A from University of Southern Mississippi in 2002 and his M.F.A. from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2008. In the Fall of 2010 he completed an artist-in-residence program at Tainan National University for the Arts in Tainan, Taiwan ROC. His interest is in wheel-thrown porcelain utilitarian and sculptural work. His current work and additional information is available at: www.yoshifujii.com

AISHA HARRISON is currently a resident artist and is the recipient of the 2010–11 Lormina Salter Fellowship and the newest addition to the Clayworks as well as the city of Baltimore. Aisha is a native of Olympia, WA. She earned her BA from Grinnell College, IA, BFA from Washington State University, WA and her MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, NE. Aisha’s figurative work explores the intricacies of human emotion that arise from owning a biracial identity in contemporary American society. Her work has been exhibited nationally and recently received an award at the National Juried Student Exhibition at the 2010 NCECA in Philadelphia, PA. Her current work and additional information are available at: www.aishaharrison.com

MATT HYLECK received a BFA from Xavier University in 1997. He is a resident artist of Baltimore Clayworks whose outstanding functional pots earned him a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship award in Craft both in 2007 and 2005. He was identified in the May 2008 Ceramics Monthly as an “emerging artist” and his studio work has received multiple awards including the 2009 NCECA Biennial exhibition and 2009 Jersey Shore Clay National. In the summer of 2005 he completed an artist-in-residence program at Tainan National University for the Arts in Tainan, Taiwan ROC. He currently serves as the education director for adult programs at Baltimore Clayworks Mt. Washington campus. You may view his recent work atwww.matthewhyleck.com

SONYA MEEKER has been a resident artist for over 8 years with Baltimore Clayworks. She began her clay career first as a student in the Clayworks classrooms in 1996. Over the years she has pushed and refined her delicate stoneware and porcelain while continuing to explore and expand her glaze vocabulary. Sonya spends her days working as a researcher at the Johns Hopkins University while working in her studio late in to the night.

NICK RAMEY earned a BFA from Indiana University and MFA from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. While in graduate school he developed an interest in using representational imagery which eventually led to a switch in focus from functional pottery to figurative sculpture. Nick creates sculptures that reveal a narrative, one that might be different for each viewer, depending on their own personal history and life experiences. It is the journey of life and the process of growing up that most influences this work. Additional information and images of his current work are available at: www.nickrameyceramics.com

TIM SHERMAN received a BS in art and design from Towson University in 2010 with a concentration in ceramics. His work on the potter’s wheel began in high school and he continues to make and sell pottery in the Baltimore area. His current work addresses issues of utility and woodfiring; specifically the atmospheric effects of ash and salt on clay and glazes, while maintaining usability, comfort and beauty. Tim has worked as a Baltimore Clayworks Noborigama intern since the summer 2009.

MICHELLE SWAFFORD is an Artist-in-Residence at Baltimore Clayworks in Baltimore, Maryland. Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Michelle threw her first pots as a teenager in a recreational community center clay program, where she would later become a studio assistant and instructor. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Graphic Design from the University of Colorado-Denver in 2002, but continued to study ceramics on the side by attending workshops and classes at local art centers and community colleges. Her current work consists of high-fired functional porcelain pots embellished with colorful patterns, imagery, and architectural-style details.

SAM WALLACE is a traditional Jamaican potter who became a resident artist and kiln technician for Baltimore Clayworks in 1993. His work has been featured in numerous regional and national exhibitions. He was a featured demonstrator for the 1995 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Conference. Sam continues to teach and exhibit his work primarily through a wide range of artist residencies throughout Baltimore City, surrounding counties, and the neighboring mid-Atlantic region, including New Hampshire, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

LARS WESTBY is a resident artist of Baltimore Clayworks whose earthenware sculpture has been exhibited in prestigious galleries in the Baltimore area region and across the U.S. and Taiwan. Notably Lars was a recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship award in Craft both in 2005 and 2007. In spring 2007 he completed a 4 month artist-residency at Tainan National University for the Arts in Tainan, Taiwan ROC.

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Meet the resident artists of Baltimore Clayworks

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