Meet Our Staff

Ceramicist and owner of Mill Valley Pottery Studio, Lucy has been teaching and making ceramics since 2010. She is inspired by food and functionality and is fascinated by the intersection of art and science through ceramics. Lucy also loves to dabble with graphic design and silkscreen printing. Much of Lucy’s work is decorated with hand made silkscreen prints transferred to the clay surface. Lucy believes that, ceramics is not just a creative form of self-expression, but is also a medium through which we can learn art, history, science, engineering, and self-reflection as a species.

When she’s not teaching, managing the studio, or making pots, Lucy can be found going on hikes with her daughter, husband, and dog in the hills of Sonoma County where they live.

Hallie Off is an artist, writer, and educator who has been working in the field of ceramics for 10 years. They received their BFA in 2018 from Grand Valley State University and studied at the University of Arkansas under Linda Lopez in 2023.

Jordan has been making ceramics as a hobby for over 8 years and has been enjoying being able to teach ceramics in his free time over the last 4 years. Jordan primarily makes functional ware and enjoys experimenting with new forms that accentuate a "handmade" aesthetic. When he's not playing with clay, Jordan enjoys reading and writing poetry and exploring the natural beauty and cultural delights of the Bay Area with his girlfriend and their dogs.

Serenity first discovered pottery in college in 2007 and has dabbled in everything from sculpture to slip cast porcelain. She has since fallen in love with the grounding power of throwing.

Her teaching style is hands on and personal. She keeps structured instruction to a minimum and instead prefers to work one and one with students. This allows her to tailor her approach to each individual's learning style. She especially loves teaching the basics to beginners, and has some tricks for centering and throwing that help students catch on quickly. Serenity is deeply inspired by nature. Much of her personal work incorporates carving, sgraffito, and sculptural motifs of plants and flowers. She pulls her palette from flowers and never met a pastel she didn't love.

During the day, Serenity is a product designer for Williams Sonoma, working on projects ranging from serveware to candles and pretty much everything in between. When she's not in the studio, you can find her hiking, doing yoga, caring for her many plants, or crocheting.

You can follow her finished pottery and process work on instagram: @sparrowandstarlight

www.sparrowandstarlight.com

John brings experience and perspective as a ceramic artist. His interest in clay began in elementary school. He continued his ceramics education through classes at Tamalpais High School, and then later, at MVPS. John’s also been working to advance his ceramics practice as an MVPS member and a Wheelhouse studio member for a combination of about 8 years. His pieces are influenced by the Bauhaus Movement and Mid Century Modern design.

As an instructor, John seeks to help students overcome the many challenges of working with clay. He focuses on wedging, centering, hand building and throwing off the hump. He also teaches sgraffito and decal application. Most importantly, John wants his students to have a positive experience while working with clay.

Ben was introduced to ceramics in a high school pottery class and hasn’t stopped working with clay since. He attended colleges locally and in North Carolina where he majored in ceramics and worked as a studio manager. Ben primarily works on the wheel and loves atmospheric firings for their organic finishes and unpredictability.

When he isn’t teaching, Ben likes to spend his time building custom recreational vehicles and going on culinary adventures in scenic places with friends and family.

Thea is a junior staff member and has been doing ceramics for a couple years at Tamalpais High School. She is in the 11th grade there and is active in the Tam ceramics community. She greatly enjoys throwing on the wheel and sculpting and is still discovering new things to love about the art form. When she is not doing ceramics she is probably drawing, crafting, listening to music or outdoors hanging out with friends.

Laura comes to MVPS with a background in fine arts and surface/textile design for the apparel industry.  She discovered an affinity for hand building with clay 5 years ago and is thrilled to have joined the MVPS clay community.

When not in the studio, She enjoys, running in golden gate park, cooking vegetarian meals, and tending to her urban potted plant garden. 

Yuli Barbosa is multimedia artist from Los Angeles California currently living and working in the East Bay. They received their MFA from University of California Berkeley in 2023. Their mixed media installations incorporate projections, photographs, ceramic, plaster, textile, and performance and have been shown in Bampfa, Somarts, and CCA.

Since Rachel began making pottery, she has spent nearly all of her free time at the wheel. She has been a student and member at MVPS and is excited to be back in the studio as an instructor.

Her work is inspired by surrealism and she loves to make art that is wacky and a little bit weird. You might recognize her pots with noses and ears from around the studio.

When Rachel is not playing with mud in the studio, she can be found playing with mud in her vegetable garden or while hiking and camping in the mountains.

You can find Rachel’s work on instagram @rach.pots

Robert Abrams, owner/curator of the Abrams Claghorn Gallery, has been part of the SF Bay Area art community for over 20 years. Since taking his first pottery class almost 30 years ago, his favorite medium has been clay. but he creates art in other media as well. Robert has taught ceramics since 2001 at various studios around the SF Bay Area, including The Berkeley Art Studio, The Potters' Studio in Berkeley, and The Crucible, and is a ceramics instructor and the gallery director at Laney College in Oakland.

Robert has been teaching ceramics and raku workshops at MVPS since 2012.

25 years ago I started the ceramics program at high school here in Marin and have been teaching clay classes ever since. Personally, I like work that shows the mark of the maker's hand. At the moment , I am experimenting with pinching everything (my poor hands…) . I pay a lot of attention to the surface and enjoy mishima , sgraffito , stamping, hand painting and applique. I like decoration because it makes you look a little closer. My decorations usually involve plants and / or critters of some sort. I am a Japanophile and this is the source of most of my ceramic inspiration. I am also studying to be a Master Gardener so I pretty much have my hands dirty all the time.

Bodhi is a junior at Tamalpais High School and has been working with clay in and out of school for the past couple years. She loves all aspects of the process, although handsculpting might be a favorite! She is always happy to learn more and try out new techniques, and to get new inspiration from other's works at the studio! Other than working with clay, she loves baking and cooking, all sorts of crafts, and just wandering around in town or out in nature!