Meet The 2026 Artists
Our 2026 Artists
Alysha Baier
Atlanta NY
Alysha Baier is a ceramic artist working from her studio in Atlanta, New York. Her work is primarily functional pottery made from dark stoneware, using stained porcelain slips to build layered surfaces. She applies sgraffito to carve through these layers, creating precise line work and controlled contrast between clay bodies. Her current process centers on electric oxidation firing, which allows for consistency, surface clarity, and detailed slip work. Alysha’s practice is rooted in long-term material testing and technical refinement, balancing durability, surface development, and form. In addition to her studio work, she teaches ceramics, offers private instruction, and is an organizer of the Western New York Pottery Festival.
Jennifer Buckley
The Tea Pottery
Jennifer Buckley is a longtime potter working in Rochester NY. She is a co owner of East Main Clay. Shoppers come back year after year to add another todem to their lawn ornaments.
“My love of the craft started 55 years ago, there is always something new to learn and explore. The pottery community is wonderful. I hope to be part of it for many more years.”
Rochester NY
Roxanne Clark
Flying Dog Gardens Pottery
“I grew up near Binghamton, NY. After high school, I attended Allegheny College in Meadville, PA. A semester of ceramics sparked a lifelong interest in clay. The fire smoldered while life, children and a career took precedence.
I joined the lesson program at Studio Sales Pottery when nearing retirement.
That was years ago and the flame burns on. Always pushing to improve, I am exploring the challenge of making truly functional pottery that is beautiful to the eye and kindles the imagination.”
Avon NY
Ffion Collinsworth
Slip and Score Ceramics
Ffion Collinsworth is a Rochester-based artist who sees clay as a vehicle for connection with both the material and her community. With a foundation built at Alfred University (BFA) and Boston University (MAAE), her practice flows between sculptural exploration and functional utility. Drawing deep inspiration from the natural world, specifically the movement and life of birds, she specializes in sgraffito techniques to carve these organic narratives directly into the surface of her pots.
For Ffion, the studio and the classroom are deeply intertwined. She believes that teaching art is as creative an act as making it, a philosophy she lives out daily as a K–5 Art Educator in Rochester and an instructor at a local studio in Honeoye Falls. This balance of sharing knowledge and refining her own craft has led her to residencies at the Red Lodge Clay Center and, most recently, the Sister Jane Mary Residency at Lourdes University.
Rochester, NY
Jacob Dambra
Jacob Dambra is a ceramicist based in Rochester, NY. Currently working at Flower City Arts Center as a Studio Technician, their practice is greatly supported by community engagement and designed to help share the joy of clay with the city.
Jacob attended RIT to study ceramics and has recently expanded their practice with a winter residency at Penland School of Craft and the Winter Pentaculum at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Their colorful and playful work brings joy to all who see it.
Rochester NY
Stacey Esslinger
Stacey Esslinger lives in Corning, NY where she makes functional slab-built porcelain pottery that combines a love of ceramics and textile arts. She imprints the clay with textured antique and vintage fabrics then "sews with the slabs". She cuts out a pattern, joins the seams, adds darts, buttons, and zippers. The finished piece creates a routine of luxury, combining traditionally extravagant items like embroidery and lace with the everyday utility of hand-built pottery.
Corning, NY
Andy Foster
I am a potter who was raised, trained, and educated in New York State. While much of ceramics education draws from Asian history and aesthetic, it was not until much later in my career that I was exposed to the rich ceramic history that existed in New York from the late 18th century through much of the 19th. While this work draws heavily from the potters European origins, it is astounding in the skill of its making, and the resourcefulness of the makers in how they utilized what materials they could access.
My work celebrates this tradition. As I align my personal experience and narrative I imagine, through objects, a world where these vessels are continued. I seek to not only revere New York pottery, but extend it through a personal relationship with making.
Smithville, TN
Joe Frank McKee
“I have always loved working with clay, from the beginning on the wheel to the finished work of art that it becomes. What I have found intriguing and inspiring are the many different low-fire techniques because I believe that fire completes pottery. I love the interaction that smoke and controlled heat can generate on the surface of a clay vessel. It feels like the art of the unknown because low-fired pieces are unique, mysterious and unpredictable. Each pot is a puzzle I enjoy solving to achieve the best outcome. For me personally, the firing process makes a pot finished, and I strive to create pots that feel that way.”
Sylva, NC
Daisy Goldstein Cross
Daisy started making pots while getting her BS in Geology at SUNY New Paltz. After college, she worked at Studio Sales Pottery teaching clay classes. She then moved to Virginia to be a long term resident at the Cub Creek Foundation followed by a year and a half studio assistantship at the Oki Doki studio in Germantown, NY. She recently relocated to Rochester, NY where she makes work and manages Studio Sales Pottery’s community studio.
She specializes in functional soda and wood fired pottery with an emphasis on beautifully decorated humble forms. She is inspired and fascinated by both nature and human’s impulse to decorate space with colors and patterns. With a background in historic preservation, geology and ecology, Daisy makes work to fill everyday routines with a sense of wonder.
Rochester, NY
Betsy Gram
Straddling the line between functional and decorative, Betsy’s work is made to bring joy and beauty to the lives of their users. Her hope is that the use of her pieces will inspire mindful enjoyment of food and beverage, and elevate the mundane routine to meaningful moments.
Ithaca, NY
Karrie Gurnow
Formed in the rural hills of Wyoming, New York, my ceramic work is the outcome of continual experimentation, curiosity, and desire to reflect the natural world in the simple forms we use every day. Bringing meaning to the mundane offers an opportunity to connect us to moments we’d typically let pass by. And there’s just something about taking a lump of dirt, forming it, firing it, and then ladling some soup in it, that feels so satisfying to me.
Wyoming, NY
Dia and Ellen Haffar
Smoke Pail Studios
Smoke Pail consists of a collaborative mother and daughter team, Dia and Ellen Haffar. We specialize in highly decorated and illustrated mugs, bowls and vases. Our functional ceramic work is hand thrown, then hand painting utilizing colored slips and underglazes. We strive to create functional art which enhances everyday with beauty and whimsy. Our work reflects our collective love of nature, travel and an adventurous spirit.
Lafayette, NY
Hodaka Hasebe
“I was born and grew up in Tokyo, and have lived in Rochester, N.Y. since 1989 when I started potting. Why pottery? A potter, it sounds good, doesn't it? I dreamed of being one for a long time. . When I married and moved here, my dream was realized with my wife's warmest support. I have had no formal pottery training except a pottery club during my university days, when I became possessed by the clay.
I love making pottery, especially functional; I call it "Zakki (a bunch of pots)". My pots are designed to be simple, easy to handle, and go with any kind of foods at a reasonable price for you to use everyday. My pottery is glazed with tenmoku black or turquoise, inspired by mountains and a sky with a hint of Japanese flavor. Indeed, I am named Hodaka after the third highest mountain in Japan where I enjoyed camping, climbing and hot springs many times. Vast clouds and sky in the US are incredible. I hope you enjoy my pottery for many years to come.”
Pittsford, NY
Kate Hevers
Katydid Ceramics
Kate is a Livingston County native and a regular at the WNY Pottery Festival. She co-owns East Main Clay and works as a village potter at the Genesee Country Village and Museum.
Kate makes pottery that celebrates the beauty of everyday moments. Inspired by florals and the rhythms of making, her work focuses on thoughtful forms made to be used and lived with. Each piece is made by hand with the hope it will be loved, and woven into daily life.
Rochester NY
Cathy Higgins
I produce functional pottery concentrating on marbled designs, both wheel thrown and slab creations.
Conesus, NY
Gina Inzinna
Gina creates a mesmerizing array of pottery in striking clay and glaze combinations. Her maximalist work will catch your eyes and make you smile! With each unique piece the surface, form and function are thoughtfully considered, top to bottom inside and out.
Enjoy a sensory delight while you sip, serve, dine or display!
Brooktondale, NY
Kyle Lascelle
Kyle Lascelle, born 1992, attended Arcadia University majoring in Philosophy. It was here when Kyle discovered the joy of making pots. After graduating Kyle moved to Rochester, NY attending The School for American crafts at Rochester Institute of Technology where he eventually got his MFA in Ceramics. Kyle decided Rochester was nice enough place to settle down. He spends his days puttering around the house contemplating the weather, making pots, raising his two daughters, working as a studio manager at Flower City arts center, and occasionally teaching others to make and think about pots. Pottery, for Kyle, ultimately rests in the delicate balance between recollection, history, and craft transforming into reflections of whimsy and parody.
Rochester, NY
Jessie Marianacci Valone
Jmv Ceramics
I enjoy working with my hands and have an immense appreciation for the handmade. My practice allows me to honor my love of working with my hands while creating functional pieces that will be used and loved for years to come. The physical demands and intellectual choices in my work keep me inspired and provide space for growth and exploration. I strive to advance my skills as a potter through the process of research, planning, repetition and experimentation.
I have attended winter residences at Penland School of Craft, completed summer internships at Coach Street Clay in Canandaigua as well as a year long apprenticeship at the Rochester Folk Art Guild. I received my BFA from Alfred University. When I am not in my studio I am most likely reading a good book, working on a project in our farmhouse or surfing on one of our beautiful lakes.
Canandaigua NY
Colleen McCall
Colleen McCall is a painter who pots. She studied both in college earning a MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics in 1998. Today she is a full time independent artist working out of her home studio in Elmira, NY. Her unique functional art has become widely treasured in the region and beyond for it’s durability, quality and joyfulness.
Elmira, NY
Tori Motyl
I work in terracotta for its earthyness and warmth. My pieces are wheel-thrown and I enjoy the challenge of pushing my skills in this technique to create sculptural forms that are monolithic and fluid. I am particularly interested in the way that shape, proportion, and balance create a push-pull movement of volume in static forms that can be felt by the viewer.
Putney, VT
Vivian Purcell
“My work calls attention to the importance of historical ornamentation as a way to bring about a sense of wonder to daily life. The historical brickwork of my neighborhood in Philadelphia contains an abundance of carved floral motifs. Old cellar doors in the sidewalk or eves above a hidden garden contain intricate patterns remnant of a time where beauty often went hand in hand with functionality. Society has largely shifted to aesthetics of minimalism and modernity, clashing with my love of these patterns and nature.
I carve the surfaces of my pots with historical patterns containing plants and flowers, creating a tactile surface that invites exploration through touch. The use of glazes serves as a way to unify the visual saturation of the carving beneath. The ways in which a pot is interacted with on a daily basis can change with attention to detail over time. My work is a reminder that a single object can inhabit or reframe ideas of home, comfort, and ritual.”
Philadelphia, PA
Victoria Savka
Victoria Savka is an interdisciplinary artist who highlights the silliest and the sweetest moments in nature. Victoria grew up in the marshes, creeks, and gardens of Western New York where she caught frogs, planted flowers, and assisted snails. Victoria finds inspiration in the small moments of nature where stories are waiting to be discovered and told.
Philadelphia, PA
Annie Schliffer
Rochester Folk Art Guild
Annie is the master potter at the Rochester Folk Art Guild where she has been making for over 40 years. She also is a yoga instructor and has traveled to India, China, and Puru to study both yoga and ceriamics.
Annie makes “Finely made pottery with an aim to fully engage the owner with a connection to clay, color, process, and the love of beautiful objects in daily life..”
Middlesex, NY
John Vorstadt
He's Alright
John Vorstadt teaches pottery classes at ClayBird Studio and works from his home studio in Dryden NY. His work focuses on material, the handmade and native local New York wildlife portraiture.
Dryden, NY
Jesse Warech
Jesse Warech is a ceramic artist based in Philadelphia. He received his B.F.A. in Ceramics from the University of Montevallo in 2019 and also spent time studying at the Tainan National University for the Arts in Taiwan. His work mainly stems from his love of atmospheric fired functional pots and vessels. By firing his work in atmospheric kilns, Jesse's work shows off the raw materials that make up the clay used for the pots. These pots with both subtle and highly active surfaces are full of nuance that demand countless investigations through sustained use.
Philadelphia, PA
Jason Wolff
“J.W.P Pottery is wheel thrown altered stoneware pottery. Our wares are food, oven, microwave & dishwasher safe. Our goal is to create unique hand made pieces that will be cherished for years to come.”
Corning, NY
Be sure to check out our two emerging artists featured on our home page who will be doing their very first craft show with us this year!
Featuring Pottery from Community Studios
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Student and Member Work from Studio Sales Pottery
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Student Work From the Turk Hill Craft School
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Student and Member Work from the Wheel & Slab Pottery Club