Teachers

Randy Bill

I work with chance. The objects I find, the marks I make, and the happy accidents that occur in the process are a direct result of chance encounters. My first love is the creative process, a journey of the mind, a process I have grown to trust. My filter consists of a strong preference for the graphic mark and elegant form with an orientation toward organizing and editing. My explorations have taken me into sculptural constructions I call Stack, SpinOffs, and most recently Call and Response. I go back and forth between sculpture and pottery. This counterpoint of opposites has the effect of cleansing the creative palate and inviting 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, followed by a two-year pottery apprenticeship in Okinawa, Japan. She teaches pottery in several different settings including Innisfree Village where she works with adults with differing abilities. Becky recently switched to a white stoneware clay effectively brightening her glazes. Becky’s designs are aesthetically pleasing, with the forms reflecting her experience and interest in all things Asian. Lately, she is carving wavelike images on the pottery surfaces expanding the tactile and visual interest of each piece. BA Studio Art, College of William and Mary.

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Steve Palmer

My passion for working in clay took off while I was a Studio Member of the South County Art Association. The opportunity to work and teach in a creative, supportive environment, surrounded by artists for me is the ideal. I received my B.F.A. from Rhode Island College, and studied sculpture in Italy at the Tuscan Renaissance Center. As a member of SCAA and City Clay, I continue to explore the many forms and functions of clay. Through teaching, I hope to share and ignite the same passion and excitement in my students that I have for the ceramic form.

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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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Kevin Crow

Kevin Crowe wood fires Asian-English inspired pots. He has taught workshops throughout the United States and Great Britain focused on wood firing, large-scale throwing, and tea bowls. Kevin lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with his wife Linda and studio companion/dog Tem.

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Judd Jarvis

I started my first ceramics class at a community college in Iowa and was hooked. I later received my B.F.A. from the University of Miami and then completed my M.F.A. at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. In 2005, I started Jarvis Ceramics. My primary focus has been salt and soda ﬁred functional pottery. My notions of what is strictly functional and my relationship with traditional forming techniques are undergoing a gradual evolution. I am starting to incorporate slip casting, different glazing patterns, and various hand-building techniques with wheel-thrown work. It is definitely an exciting process though it seems very gradual and frustrating at times, like when I first started ceramics.

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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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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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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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