Hana has worked as a potter and educator for 20 years, teaching ceramics to adults and children at the Potter's Shop and School in Needham, Southborough Art Center, and the Danforth Art Museum School in Framingham. She is a graduate of the School of Arts and Crafts in Prague, the Czech Republic.

Natalie Dahl (they/them) is an educator and artist based out of Malden, MA. Natalie graduated from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a degree in Art Education, Breadth, and considers themselves an artist and teacher. Their personal practice primarily explores functional, wheel-thrown forms with painterly illustrations, inspired by the natural world. Most recently, Natalie's work was chosen for the juried "Cup Show" at Mudflat Studios. Outside of ceramics, they enjoy spending time with their two cats and dog, hiking, birdwatching and painting.

Meghan Albee (she/her) is a sculptor and ceramist from Framingham. She has been making art and working with clay since her childhood. 

She got her BFA in sculpture from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, where she organized and was a part of multiple exhibitions with her peers. She has also exhibited work in Madrid, Spain, in 2022. Meghan currently works at Community Kiln teaching sculptural handbuilding. 

Amy fell in love with ceramics in high school and studied at the Massachusetts College of Art. Her career as a Pastry Chef has influenced her approach to working with clay, as has her functional hand-built work. Amy finds inspiration in the natural world, in community, and in the early pottery of many cultures. After years as a high school culinary arts instructor, she is excited to share her love of hand-building with others at the HCA.

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Mary (she/her) is a ceramic artist who left a successful corporate career to pursue her passion for pottery, which began 25 years ago. Known for her distinctive glaze combinations and one-of-a-kind designs, she incorporates intention, symbolism, and storytelling into every piece. Drawing inspiration from her Greek heritage, world travels, and nature, she has built a thriving online business, with her work cherished by collectors worldwide. She collaborates with art lovers to create meaningful, custom pieces designed to enrich daily rituals and inspire intentional living.

Michelle sculpture reflects our increasingly precarious relationship with the environment by contrasting material 

with imagery that ranges from microscopic forms to representations 

of nature. Her artwork has been shown internationally and locally at the Peabody Essex Museum, Heritage Museum and Gardens, Boston Sculptors Gallery and the Wilson Museum in Manchester, VT. In addition, she teaches at Lesley University School of Art and Design and Community Kiln. She resides with her family in Cambridge, MA and maintains a studio at Vernon Street Studios in Somerville, MA. 

Martha (she/her) worked as a production potter in Oregon and Connecticut from 1974 through 1987. After an eighteen year break, Martha now enjoys creating one-of-a-kind clay pieces without the pressure of production schedules. Function is still very important in her work, from kitchen and tabletop ware to Asian-inspired lanterns. Martha received a B.A. in Art History from Boston University.  

David LaPierre (he/him) has been working in clay for more than 35 years. He received his B.F.A. from the University of Connecticut, after which he apprenticed in pottery with Jim Cresswell in Milton Keynes, England. David set up a clay program for Navajo Nation teens in Window Rock, Arizona, where he worked for 4 years. He also set up a production pottery studio for a business in Curaçao, where he streamlined operations and developed glazes for a utilitarian line of pottery. 

Back in Massachusetts, David was part of the technical support staff for Dimitri Hadzi for almost two years and has taught at Mudflat Studio since the mid-nineties. His elegant clay work is wheelthrown, using porcelain and stoneware. David works in series of variables of the same form while manipulating the surfaces. His teaching includes learnings from Zen yoga and the physics of clay.

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Cheska earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees from Boston University. She has been experimenting with creativity her whole life and has used clay as her primary medium for well over a quarter century. With a background in special education, Cheska believes that, given the opportunity, everyone can be creative and turn their visions into realities. She believes in using all her senses and often stops whistling or humming to test the sounds of her clay.  

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Cheska Komissar earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees from Boston University. She has been experimenting with creativity her whole life and has used clay as her primary medium for well over a quarter century. With a background in special education, Cheska believes that, given the opportunity, everyone can be creative and turn their visions into realities. She believes in using all her senses and often stops whistling or humming to test the sounds of her clay.  

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Shel Senai (they/them) is a queer writer, editor, artist, maker, and communications consultant. Their writing explores themes of power, liberation, gender, identity, and the supernatural, and has been published in LEON Literary Review, The Keep Things, The Citron Review, and Reservoir Journal. Shel is the fiction co-editor at Raleigh Review. They hold a B.S. in communications with a minor in English from Boston University and an MFA in creative writing from the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. Their award-winning work has received financial support from the St. Botolph Club Foundation, The Aspen Institute, and the Mass Cultural Council.   

Shel began studying wheel throwing in 2021 with David LaPierre at Community Kiln. Their functional and dynamic ceramic work explores the relationship between glaze and form. Shel teaches private lessons and workshops focusing on wheel throwing basics and building community.

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