From the artists:

We are a married couple working collaboratively to make woodfired functional stoneware pottery on an old Vermont farmstead.  We decorate our pots using traditional slipware techniques and brushwork that is designed to interact with the unique atmosphere in our wood fired kiln. 

Kathryn Myers is a potter in Woodstock, Vermont.

Kathryn Myers has been a potter for 35 years, producing functional wheel-thrown stoneware and white stoneware pieces, meant to be used and enjoyed everyday. After apprenticing at Stowe Pottery and graduating in ceramics from Kirkland College, Kathryn moved to Middlebury, VT to her first studio in the basement of Frog Hollow Craft Center.

After a year at Pottery Northwest in Seattle, she returned to Vermont, this time to Woodstock. She began the partnership Woodstock Artisans, a gallery and pottery workshop. For 25 years, visitors were invited to watch potters at work. Kathryn was pleased to bring this experience to cooperatively run Collective, an artisan-run and collectively-owned gallery in Woodstock.

Heather Stearns is the founder and owner of Muddy Creek Pottery in North Wolcott, Vermont.  She has been working in clay since 1991 and teaching since 1993 in numerous capacities.  She learned to make pots at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, where she earned a B.A. in Ceramics and Education. Further study in ceramics at Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Truro Center for the Arts, and the Moravian Tile Works have all influenced her work and teaching.

Heather’s own production work features wheel-thrown functional stoneware pieces. Her work is known for its earthy elegance. Many pieces feature strong carving or wax resist design work. Her hope it that both of these techniques will allow the nature of the clay and the handmade process to show through in the finished piece. Muddy Creek Pottery is exhibited regularly in 10 galleries across New England, and has been featured in several catalogs.

Teaching has always been an important part of Muddy Creek Pottery. Heather is a trained public and Waldorf School teacher. She has taught clay classes for ages 3 to 100 (Even one class with 3 year olds AND 100 year olds together!). She has worked with children, teens, adults, library programs, art teachers, special needs adults, blind people, at-risk teens, girls empowerment groups, teen mothers, elders, summer camp groups, and school programs. She has been teaching Pottery I and Pottery II for Sterling College for the since 2009.

Elizabeth Saslaw of York Hill Pottery is a ceramic artist in Lincoln, Vermont.

For as far back as I can remember, I wanted to earn a living as a seller of things I created with my own hands. I think it was pretty clear to me (not to mention my family and friends) that a 9 to 5 job in an office was not a direction I wanted to go.

The realization of this lifelong dream is something I'm truly grateful for. I went from being a young, slightly unfocused college art student who casually stumbled into pottery—to a committed potter in love with the feel of wet, slippery clay between my fingertips. The rhythmic process of slapping a lump of clay on the wheel and coaxing each piece into shape is still something that enthralls and challenges me, even 30-plus years later.

The freedom and flexibility that comes from working in a studio right beside my home—allowing me to be a stay at home Mom and a working one at the same time—I wouldn't have it any other way. Whenever I get “potter’s block” or simply find the weather too good to resist, I only have to step outside the studio for new ideas. We are fortunate enough to be surrounded by 25 wooded acres located off a little-traveled dirt road. It’s amazing what a dip in the pond, a gardening session in the perennial beds, or a bike ride with my daughter will do to rejuvenate the creative process.

I thank all you supporters of York Hill Pottery, who continue to buy, use, and give our handmade Vermont stoneware. And my very special thanks to Susan Kuehnl: my work would not be what it is today without her friendship, understanding, and artistic inspiration.

“My name is Jessica Cedergren LaBonte. I specialize in use-specific pieces, ranging from mugs to sponge holders to garlic grater plates, and many objects in between. I have been making pottery since the mid nineties and it has been a dream come true to do it for a living.”

Leslie Montalto began her ceramics studies in the early 90's working in many different firings! She presently works with an electric kiln, combining unglazed and glazed surfaces to give her pieces a sense of warmth when holding. Montalto combines her knowledge and technique with her love of nature to create her functional pottery. She uses the wheel as a tool and her artist's license to transform lumps of clay into unique individual vessels.

Vermont native Zoé Bedell crafts functional and decorative pottery at her studio in Stowe.

Inspired by the creative freedom inherit in working with clay, Zoé’s creations are characterized by exuberant experimentation in texture and color.

Kileh works in a small studio in a shared space in the heart of the arts district in Burlington, Vermont, firing pieces in a Bailey reduction kiln and a raku kiln. She also enjoys providing workshops where interested ones can learn the basics of glazing, brush making, and wheel throwing.

Jamie McCutcheon of Highland Pottery operates out of his studio in Fletcher VT producing functional wood-fired pieces intended for everyday use.

Zoe operates out of her studio in Stowe VT creating pottery that reflects her unique sense of freedom and expression. Bold colors and experimental textures are staples of her work, building them through more traditional means like wheel-throwing or crafting custom stamps and texturing tools to add flare and interest to her pieces.