Meet the Staff

This is the place to learn more about our talented and diverse staff here at the Potters Shop and School. You've spoken with us on the phone and popped by our studio, now find out who we are!

 We are all so different in every way, but we've come together to work for and in the Potters Shop. Our love of clay has brought us all to 31 Thorpe Road in Needham, Massachusetts.

 31 Thorpe Rd, Needham, MA 02494 

 781-449-7687

pottersshop@aol.com
Steven Branfman, Founder & Director

Steven Branfman

Years in clay: Too many. (only kidding) 38

Why clay?: Tactile and organic nature of the material

Where did I learn: Cortland State University with my first mentor John Jessiman with whom I am dear friends.

Favorite part of clay: throwing

Least favorite: glazing

When I'm not in the studio: Are you kidding? teaching, writing, travel, workshops, cycling, family,,,,,,,,,

What has clay taught me: humility

Goal as a potter for yourself and for your work: For me-to live a life of hands on creativity. For my work-constant growth, development, sophistication. To understand and express beauty.

Favorite styles or techniques: Ummm.....raku?

Favorite potters and why:
Warren Mackenzie-humble, natural, unassuming
Ah Leon-precise, realistic, abstract
Peter Voulkos-strength, power, surface
Don Reitz-personality, volume
Lucie Rie-grace, elegance, comfort
Margurite Wildenhain-control, imagry

Favorite clay quote:
"It is both the exercise of making clay things-handling and firing them, as well as the intimacy of touching, living with, and using them which drive me to make more." Jared Branfman

Amber Dorval

Years in clay

I’ve been working with clay for 10 years, only in the past year have I had enough guts to call myself a ‘potter.’

Why clay? 

Lots of reasons…

1. The self progression- First of all you must know that I am a perfectionist by nature- I like to be challenged like to be extremely efficient in finding a solution.  I am also a ‘why person’ - I like to know why things happen and also how they happen.  The chemistry involved with working with clay satisfies the ‘why’ need, while the everyday working and constant learning keeps the crazy perfection desires in check.  I’m always questioning and always learning.  The lengthy process, physical work, trial and error, possibility of variation and element of surprise- all of that keeps me striving- keeps the fire burning (pun intended).
2. There is something about the physical materials- about the earth- elements and minerals and rocks and dirt- the same iron in everyone's blood can be used to alter the color of a dish you’ll have in your cabinet…Blood is kind of a sick example…
3. For everyone else. I'm inspired by the levels of connectedness of the people involved- In a really broad sense…potters have been potting for roughly forever – all over the world- in all different cultures- all going through the same process- using the same old dirt and turning it into something useful… I feel lucky to be a part of a bigger thing.  On a smaller scale, how a piece of my work may sneak into your day and provide an unsuspected bit of joy to an otherwise ordinary task.  I feel honored you might serve your best soup to your loved ones in a set of bowls I made.

  

Where did you learn:

I learned that I loved clay in high school at Blackstone-Millville Regional High School (‘00-’04).  I was taught how to throw by my high school teacher and a few VHS tapes. At that point, I  believed that I did not want to make art my job so I did not go to art school.  I would go to a state school until I decided.

I learned that I wanted art to be my job when I was at Framingham State College(‘04-’10).  I took as many studio classes as I could manage.  I met some extraordinary professors of many different mediums, but all collectively supporting my goals.  At that point, I did not want to teach and I wasn’t sure clay was my medium.

I learned that I love to teach children and that clay was my medium at Concord Academy Summer Camp (‘10.) At that point, I wanted to open my own studio. I learned that I was not quite ready for that in 2011. So here I am at my newest place of learning : )

Favorite part of clay: throwing

Least favorite: 10 hour glazing marathons because I have again waited until the last minute!!!

When I’m not in the studio: I generally will be working the job that pays my bills. I would much rather be spending time with my friends and family.  I know that's really vague but...

What has clay taught me: Well right this moment, writing this(what I thought was just a quick filler outer kind of thing)  has taught me a lot about myself, where I’ve been, where I hope to be going and what I should either hang on to or just let go.

To be honest with myself…this wobbly pot is not because I wanted it that way, its because I’m just not there yet.  If I keep it up, I will get there.

Goal as a potter for yourself and for your work: I like to think, that maybe one day I will have a style and my work will be cohesive- but I don’t feel like its going that way.  I become interested in other techniques and kind of bumble along different paths.  My short term goal is to be able to combine the forms that I’m making now with my love of printmaking.

I would like to just get over my fear of art vs craft.

To make whats important to me and to own it.

Favorite potters and why: Well you see I am not very good at names- (I will be spending time in a really fantastic library so I will get to know some) but I can tell you some whys… I like object that possess one or more of these characteristics, depends on the piece and setting I suppose.

-Obsessive detail that appears to be effortless 

-Clean simple beauty

-A well cared for handmade quality that gives me a gist of the person who made it.

-I enjoy to be surprised by something I would never think of...something especially clever

-An object that is clearly honoring the history and the process

Favorite clay quote:  “...I think of love songs in the same way I think of functional pots.  They can be dreamy or morose, war-torn or sensual.  Nobody’s really writing new love songs.  They’re all about the same thing, though sometimes coming from varying points of view.” - Mike Jabbur

Website: www.clayincommon.com

Karen Mahoney

Years in clay? About 5; About a year and a half then a two year break, and I've been back for another three and a half years.

Why Clay? Because I feel like anything is possible. I can focus on 2D or 3D, I can make a cup to use or a tile to look at or a bench to sit on. Anything, it's just a matter of figuring out how. I also like that every day is something different to help keep the boredom away. Today I throw, tomorrow I glaze, the next day I'll recycle some clay and do some cleaning, the following day I'll take some photos and work on websites. It keeps things refreshing. I'd go nuts if I had a job that was sitting at a desk every day, how boring. Also, that there is ALWAYS something new to learn and figure out.

Where did you learn clay? I took some classes at the community college in Cheyenne, Wyoming but I feel like I am largely self taught. It seems like 90% of what I know I learned by reading, watching or doing on my own out of the classroom.

Favorite part of clay? Opening kilns and seeing my hard work pay off.

Least favorite part of clay? Wedging, glazing, and those days when nothing seems to be working out. Those days are the worst.

What do you do when you aren’t in the studio? I make beer (Peach Ginger Tea Cream Ale anyone?), see Phish, and relax with my wonderful husband, Kevin.

What has clay taught you? Patience. It's always a waiting game with ceramics. Waiting for pieces to dry, for the kiln to cool, for the recycling to slake down, for the weather to adjust.

Your goal as a potter, both for yourself and for your work? Myself: My own studio in a barn or garage next to my home I will someday buy. I want people to recognize my work, I want to be one of those names people have heard of and slowly hear of more and more. My work: I want people to integrate my work into their daily lives to give them a small piece of joy. Us potters know what it is like to admire a plate before you put food on it, to pick up the vase you've had forever and still adore it, to enjoy your morning coffee in a mug that just seems like it was made for your hands and lips. I want the warmth of my work to bring those feelings into lives that would not otherwise be touched by handmade pottery. It is a spectacular interaction and it is our duty as potters to bring that to others.

Favorite styles or techniques? I love work that you need to admire the surface up close to see the beauty in, to see those little marks and variances. Ash glazes, salt and soda firing, smoke and saggar firing, wood firing, anything that gives a warm and worn look.

Favorite potters and why? Sergei Isupov, his work is stunning and unique. His forms and imagery speak volumes of his talent. Also potters whose work display the warm, earthy, and humble styles I'm attracted to; Phil Rogers, Hamada, Leach, Shimaoka. If you wood or salt fire, use Japanese glazes, or paint designs with bamboo brushes chances are I'm a fan.

Favorite clay quote? "Pots serve their purpose through interaction"- Malcom Wright. Also, "Every artist was once an amateur"- Fortune Cookie

Websites:
Etsy
Facebook
citybytheseaceramics.com

Sarah Whitlock

Years in clay? I started taking lessons 26 years ago from a potter in my neighborhood who had a studio in her basement and taught groups of kids after school. I loved it!

Why Clay? I choose clay because of its versatility. Simply put, it can do what I ask of it. I marvel at the ability of clay to change its color, its surface, its texture at a touch. It can mimic the softness of a pillow or the coldness of steel. It is the elegance of a tea cup and the earthiness of a mud puddle. The challenge is to convince it to do what I want when I want.

Where did you learn clay? After my first teacher moved, I had private lessons with a number of teachers until I was 12 and joined… the teen class at The Potters Shop! Jodine Kuhlman was my teacher from age 12 until college where I majored in Studio Art. Since Smith College doesn’t have a Ceramics program specifically, I focused on sculpture where clay was the primary medium.

Favorite part of clay? That it never gets old. It is an endless well from which to draw. Functional, sculptural, temperature ranges, firing methods, surface decoration, clay body or glaze formulation to name a few… you could legitimately spend a career exploring a tiny corner of just one of those facets. Or, if you tire easily (like me), you could mix and match. And there is always a technical challenge, which I love.

Least favorite part of clay? The grunt work, mostly. Cleaning, recycling clay… it’s all time spent to make the creative part possible.

What do you do when you aren’t in the studio? Uhh… take my work home with me? Wait- is this the part where I say I like bubble baths and long walks on the beach?

What has clay taught you? To keep pushing myself.

Your goal as a potter, both for yourself and for your work? To keep learning. To learn as much as I can. And, hopefully, to apply that knowledge to make interesting work.

Favorite styles or techniques? Altering thrown work, image transfer, and I’m a sucker for a wood-fired pot.

Favorite potters and why? I’ll never be able to list them all, so just a few… I admire Beth Cavener Stichter because she makes thought-provoking, dark work that is also beautiful and realistically executed- frankly, I’m jealous. Of course, Paul Soldner for his freedom and willingness to experiment. Richard Notkin for his social and political commentary on top of his technical prowess. I love Jennifer Lee’s work because of her measured restraint and command of clay as a raw surface. Rebekah Bogard’s unexpected contradictions in sculpture, Ruth Borgenicht’s meticulous construction, Seth Payne’s functional organic forms, Karen Karnes’s deceptive simplicity… and everyone else I can’t think of right now.

Favorite clay quote? Just about everything that comes out of Karen Karnes mouth in her DVD “Don’t know, We’ll See.”

Website? That’s a goal right there. All I have at the moment is my Etsy page where I sell my more saleable items, www.noordinarybeastie.etsy.com In the future, I hope to have www.sarahkwhitlock.com up and running.