Meet the Instructors
Noah W. Smith
I began making ceramics as a tool to delve into the seemingly simple objects we use every day. With a background in Culinary Arts and Biochemistry, I use ceramics as a vehicle to explore the combination of artistic expression, functionality, and scientific experimentation. I work on various themes in my collections, seeking to understand the ways in which materials can be combined to create beautiful works while at the same time understanding the science behind those effects.
The importance of sharing knowledge and teaching others has remained a core philosophy in my practice. Through educating others and collaborating with talented artists, I aim to create a community of innovators that have a unique voice capable of discussing and exploring being through artistic output.
Utilizing ceramics as a medium to design contemporary artwork, expand ceramic knowledge, and cultivate innovative communities.
Sara Hensel
I earned a BFA in ceramics from University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2018, where summer opportunities to teach ceramics to youths nurtured an ethic of playful earnestness in my work. Now, as a full time potter and ceramics instructor for adults, I believe a clay practice offers a powerful opportunity to not only develop a technical toolkit, but to also explore our philosophy and intention around making. In my teaching, I emphasize the potency of clay as a medium as well as the ways in which form and surface dovetail to elevate a user's experience of the objects we create.
I strive to imbue my work and my introduction with humor, curiosity, and observation, and hope to convey the harvest around and within. Nerd out with me about pottery, vegetable gardening, making music, cooking, D&D, bouldering, and dogs!
Twig Cosby
My name is Twig, and I am a functional potter based out of Portland, OR. I graduated from Lewis & Clark College in 2017 and have since worked in the medium professionally, beginning as a production assistant for Mary Carroll Ceramics and growing into my own studio practice as a wood-fire potter and ceramics instructor. My experiences as a production potter, ceramics instructor, and woodfire artist have instilled a deep respect for the value that community support systems provide in fostering meaningful connections, personal growth, and creative discovery.
I feel a magnetism behind the grounded, tangible nature of clay. When I throw there is always an image in my mind that I am chasing after, whether it be a particular form, curve, or the precise meeting of contour lines. For me, the magic is in these subtle details. The repetitive aspect of production throwing fuels my search for that special “something”, as within every pot there is a new opportunity to reveal and refine these subtleties.
