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My Pottery Story

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I had planned to go to med school, but after my first year of college, a series of "wake up!" accidents led me to shift my perception of "successful" away from my mainstream programming, and towards a vision of my own creative, unpredictable, and radical artistic life. ​

At 19, inspired by Joseph Campbell's wisdom, I made the definitive choice to "follow my bliss." I changed my major and spent most of my college hours in the pottery studio.

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After college, I had the most amazing apprenticeship experience! I found an ad in the back of a Ceramics Monthly magazine for a "paid" production pottery position ($4.25/hour!) in in Lake McQueeney, Texas (of all places). I worked there for almost a year, 40-60 hours/week, throwing lots and lots of tumblers! 

 

During that year, I was a "thrower," doing only wet clay work (throwing and trimming). There were other groups who glazed, fired, etc. I was one of about 10 wheelthrowing potters, the only woman.

The McQueeney Potters were an incredibly colorful cast of characters: Thanh Binh ("Tea") Duong, Craig McMillan, Vicente Garcia, Alan Miner, Zoltan Schubert from the Czech Republic, Teddy from Bulgaria, Ed (and a couple others). I was so lucky to (as the only official apprentice) be placed in the room with the master potters. Thanh Binh and I wound up falling in love and when my apprenticeship was over, we moved to Eugene, Oregon and started Circle Dove Pottery. 

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I learned an incredible amount from Thanh Binh over those years. He was my mentor, my real pottery teacher, and I still hear his wisdom and guidance daily. I feel eternally grateful for the opportunity to have been so close to Thanh Binh and his generous, masterful teaching. 

I then became "Amy the Potter" and developed my own line and style. I sold pots almost weekly at the Eugene Saturday Market for over 20 years.

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I have many other interests and pursuits: Nia, Processwork, Realization Process Meditation, Bioenergy, Coaching... I even wrote an inspirational memoir about dating in my forties! I've been incredibly fortunate to follow all of my passions.

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Recently, my partner Nima and I moved to California where we have an extremely beautiful indoor/outdoor pottery studio that overlooks the Monterey Bay! It's a dream come true, and Nima is the most amazing studio support person ever: he is always working in the background to make our studio life better.  

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This year, I've been inspired by my cohort: stretching myself creatively, making new forms, developing glazes, playing with innovations, and allowing my style to shift!​

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The most exciting part of my current pottery life is my

Mad Skills Pottery Apprenticeship Cohort!

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The 2024 Cohort is going better than I could have expected. It's such a beautiful group and we are all learning and growing so much! 

 

Applications for the 2025 Cohort is now available!

 

I offer the following ONLINE programs:

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1. Self-Guided Mad Skills Wheelthrowing Program (via recordings): Open to all skill levels. Join any time, work at your own pace, have access to 2 community open studios per month and ongoing coaching through a private Facebook group. Low contact but lots of content. 

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2. Mad Skills Apprenticeship Cohort: High-contact, live online classes with 20-30 international students. This is a 9 month program for motivated potters with wheelthrowing experience. We meet twice a week, with a break every 6th week.

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If you would like to be considered for the 2025 Mad Skills Apprenticeship Cohort,

submit your application by 12/31/2024.

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