Meet our amazing teachers
Randy Bill
I work with chance. The objects I find, the marks I make, and the happy accidents that appear along the way are all shaped by unexpected encounters. My first love is the creative process itself, a journey I’ve learned to trust. I’m drawn to bold graphic marks and elegant forms, guided by a practiced instinct for organizing and editing.
My explorations have led to sculptural constructions I call Stack, SpinOffs, and, most recently, Call and Response. I move between sculpture and pottery, letting each discipline refresh the other. This counterpoint clears the creative palate and opens space for new influences and inspiration.
BFA, Virginia Commonwealth University.
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Becky Garrity
Becky studied sculpture and ceramics at the College of William and Mary, then completed a two-year pottery apprenticeship in Okinawa, Japan. She now teaches in a variety of settings, including Innisfree Village, where she works with adults with differing abilities.
She recently transitioned to a white stoneware clay, brightening her glazes and opening new possibilities in her palette. Her forms reflect her long-standing interest in Asian aesthetics, balancing clean lines with subtle elegance. Lately, she’s been carving wave-like patterns into her surfaces, adding both tactile richness and visual movement to each piece.
BA in Studio Art, College of William and Mary.
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Steve Palmer
My passion for working with clay truly took shape while I was a Studio Member at the South County Art Association. Being able to create and teach in a supportive, artist-filled environment is, for me, the ideal. I earned my BFA from Rhode Island College and studied sculpture in Italy at the Tuscan Renaissance Center.
As a member of both SCAA and City Clay, I continue to explore the many forms and functions of clay. Through teaching, I hope to share that same excitement and spark the passion for ceramic form that has inspired me throughout my practice.
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Patrick Gibson
My focus is on creating ceramics to enhance our everyday rituals. Eating meals together, drinking a cup of tea, or even grabbing that morning cup of coffee, can be transformed from something ordinary into a meaningful experience through the use of beautiful and thoughtfully designed vessels.
I create work in stoneware, primarily thrown on the potter’s wheel, seeking to strike a balance between durability and aesthetics. I favor clean lines with minimal surface design and use simple glaze combinations to enhance the forms. Handles and rims enhance functionality by being pleasing to hold and drink from yet they are durable enough to stand up to daily use. Nothing pleases me more than imagining my work bringing a moment of joy into people’s daily lives.
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Nancy Ross
In a one-woman studio in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Central Virginia, I produce a line of functional, wheel-thrown stoneware with some one-of-a-kind, altered pieces. Forms are classical; glazes are reminiscent of surrounding mountains, both in color and design, using rich blues and greens offset by creamy whites.
In 2002 I began teaching the ceramics program at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton. I added an introductory course in ceramics as adjunct faculty at PVCC in 2009. I find teaching a perfect complement to my personal studio work, as it stimulates and expands my approaches to clay. I’m happy to be a part of City Clay.
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Harry Moxley
Experimentation and the exploration of new ideas and techniques is at the heart of all my work. I find beauty in that which is imperfect and unintentional. I create wheel-thrown, functional stoneware, and my firing processes include the electric kiln, wood fire, and raku. I have always been drawn to the spontaneous and unpredictable results that atmospheric wood-firing and raku methods produce. The uniqueness of the vessels that emerge from these types of firing processes inspire me to seek similar results using the electric kiln. To produce those one-of-a-kind, unexpected and intentionally imperfect results, I experiment with different clay bodies, surface design, textures, glazes, slips and intentional alteration while often varying the firing program.
While I teach pottery at City Clay, I consider myself first and foremost a perpetual student of the craft. I am an avid follower of the work of many contemporary potters, and I draw much of my inspiration from the diverse work of past teachers and contemporary ceramic artists such as Nick Joerling, Martina Lantin, Takuro Shibata, and Akira Satake. I am also strongly influenced by the natural elegance of traditional Japanese forms, glazing and firing techniques.
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Emma Terry
Emma Terry • @madebyemmapie • is a Charlottesville-based ceramic artist, teaching artist at City Clay, and member of Milkweed Clay Studio. A lifelong maker who discovered clay in 2023, she approaches her practice with a spirit of play, curiosity, and wonder.
Emma creates sculptural and functional works that act as vessels for joy and imagination :: shrines, wonderkeepers, and whimsical companions that invite pause and connection. Blending clean forms with lively glazes and inventive hand built details, her pieces celebrate the quiet magic of everyday life and the beauty of discovery through play.
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Sophie Gibson
Sophie Gibson lives and works in her hometown, Charlottesville, Virginia. A graduate of the Brown | RISD Dual Degree Program, she works in both clay and stop-motion animation. Her ceramic work combines figurative and abstract elements that arise from her interest in people, plants, rivers, and ground. Sophie has worked as a teaching assistant for Figure Modelling Marathon courses at the Rhode Island School of Design, and in the summer of 2019, she interned for ceramic artist Cristina Cordova. For the past two years, Sophie has taught Upper School Visual Arts at St. Anne’s-Belfield School.
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Carol Price
I started working with clay at City Clay in 2017. I've been taking classes and developing ever since. I've been fortunate enough to be a student with many of our teachers, including Randy Bill, Becky Garrity, Shari Jacobs, and Steve Palmer.
My goal is to convey more than basic skills, to show that there are an endless number of ways to be a ceramicist, and that exploration and growth is encouraged at City Clay. I'm eager to share my excitement about the discovery process, the endless opportunities for creativity, and the wonderful community at City Clay.
Malenka Luckett
Malenka Luckett has been making pots at City Clay since 2015. She has a BA in Studio Art and Art History from Ashland University and an MFA in Printmaking from Ohio State University where she also taught in the studio art foundations program.
Outside of the studio, Malenka spends her time gardening, camping, and paddling the rivers of Central Virginia.
Jon Yager
In our college art studio, I helped put on a weekend workshop by a Japanese potter. That weekend changed the course of my life. I never really intended to become a potter. I just couldn't help it. The magic drew me on.
I went through a traditional Japanese apprenticeship here in the U.S., fired in a three chamber wood kiln, bought acreage in Maine, cleared land and built buildings, made my own wheel, built wood and gas kilns, made my kiln shelves and posts, mixed my own clay and glazes.
Pottery is the interplay of skill, nature and chance. And the goal is all along the path. No matter where you are in the journey, the rewards abound.
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Hairuo Yi
Hairuo started learning ceramics in a functional approach, from Tom Clarkson at PVCC and later became more interested in exploring sculptural designs. She is known for her delicate sculptural forms.
Sue Heflin
Sue discovered her love of wheel throwing after retiring in 2015 and has found a second home at City Clay. She prefers making functional pottery and loves experimenting with color. She can also be found helping out as a volunteer City Clay kiln tech.
Shari Jacobs
Originally from the Midwest, I have called central Virginia home for over 20 years. In 2022, I earned an MFA in ceramics from Hood College in Frederick, MD, and have since taught ceramics at Mary Baldwin University and Woodberry Forest School.
In my own studio, I make functional, wheel-thrown porcelain and stoneware vessels intended for daily use. I enjoy the unique surface qualities created in the atmosphere of wood and soda-fired kilns coupled with the delicate quality of dramatic curves. Often ceramics are one or the other: rustic or refined. I like to think mine are both. Shari is a member of the Artian Studio Tour.
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Sarah Raffinan
Sarah Raffinan was a kid who lived for afterschool art classes and summer camps, but didn't discover a love of wheel throwing until trying to fulfill an art requirement in college. She continued to practice at community studios in Denver and Washington, DC as a young adult, but stepped away when she became a mother. Now she's thrilled to be working and creating at CityClay and now as the owner of Milkweed Clay Studio.
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Nan Rothwell
I’ve been making pots since 1969, yet the process has never grown old for me. Most of my work is on the wheel. I love altering thrown forms, playing with texture and shape. I fire my work in salt glaze and cone ten reductions. The alchemy of changing soft clay into finished forms continues to enchant me. I’ve taught clay classes in a variety of settings. I love sharing what I have learned and helping newer potters achieve their goals. I’m delighted to join the roster of teachers at City Clay. After 36 years of making functional pots and teaching classes and workshops in my Nelson County, Virginia studio, we’re moving to Charlottesville. It’s great to join a ready-made clay community. Diploma in Studio Pottery from Harrow School of Art in Middlesex, UK, MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College.
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Tom Clarkson
I have worked with clay for over 40 years and I still feel I’m learning about its endless possibilities. In addition to my ongoing commitment to produce fine, functional vessels, I try to capture the wet plastic nature of the wet clay in the finished piece. I use a runny, active wood ash glaze to enhance the textured surfaces. I seek a harmony between form, surface, and function. The work is made to be used and is fine in the oven, microwave, and dishwasher.
Laura Toscano
As a potter, I see my work as a way to renew an everyday appreciation for the things we do with our hands, from pouring a cup of tea to serving a meal to family and friends. My goal is to create pottery that encourages the sharing of stories and experiences, opening up the kinds of spaces that build communities both in and outside the studio.
I specialize in hand-thrown wheel work and have a deep passion for the community aspect of pottery. I am an active member of the wood-firing community, and have worked for many years with the kiln crews in Nelson county. In my teaching, I hope to share this same spirit of intentionality and community, helping students find joy in the process of creating functional vessels for their own daily rituals.
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Robin Teas
An accomplished ceramic artist Robin’s work has won numerous awards and is included in national and international collections. Robin is published in the Lark 500 Book Series, “500 Bowls”. She has received several grants from private and state agencies on behalf of her work and currently maintains at Milkweed Clay Studios.
After retiring from teaching ceramics, sculpture and other art courses at the college and university level for 30 years, Robin moved to the Charlottesville area with her husband in June of 2025.
and She is looking forward to joining the team at City Clay and getting to know more of the clay community. Her very favorite thing is sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm for ceramics.