POTTERS SHOP - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Raku Firing Workshop Leader
Debbie Winnick began working in clay as a student at Skidmore College in the 1970's. She was immediately in love with the medium and has been "at it" ever since. Debbie joined The Potters Shop as a student in 1985, started teaching kids and adult classes after the move to Needham in 1989, and continues today as the studio Raku Workshop leader.
Debbie's work is mostly low-fire and non-functional; Raku and sawdust fired…except when it's not. She also makes mugs, bowls, vases, pitchers, and plates. Her newest functional work are platters that are first thrown on the wheel and then altered by stretching. These are influenced by the sea and especially oyster shells.
Debbie's work is available through the Potters Shop Gallery and Mallard Road Pottery at http://debbiewinnickpottery.blogspot.com/ dswinnick@comcast.net
Debbie is a long time member of our studio family.
Job Titles:
- Raku Firing Workshop Leader
Gretchen is a long time member of our studio family.
I have been working in clay since I was 15 when I took a pottery class in high school and never looked back. I love to teach almost as much as I love to work in clay and have been teaching for almost 30 years. I love exposing young people to clay since I feel fortunate that such a wonderful teacher exposed me at a young age giving me an expressive outlet. For me, clay is limitless, therapeutic and humbling. I hope you enjoy looking at my work.
Job Titles:
- Administrator Manager. Raku Firing Workshop Leader
- Member of Our Studio
Sarah is a long time member of our studio family and teaches our Tuesday and Thursday classes.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Founder
- Member of the International Academy of Ceramics
Steven Branfman founded The Potters Shop & School in 1977 and has been the Director since its inception. He studied at Cortland State University with John Jessiman and Rhode Island School Of Design with Norm Schulman and Jun Kaneko where he received his Masters Degree and discovered Raku. After completing his formal studies, Steven worked in stoneware and porcelain creating functional as well as decorative vessels, and Raku. In 1982 he abandoned stoneware and porcelain and has been focused and dedicated to Raku since.
Steven is a member of the International Academy Of Ceramics, and the author of many articles on clay and the potters art. He has written five books, his most recent being Mastering Raku; Making Ware-Glazes- Building Kilns-Firing published in 2009 by Lark books.
Steven Branfman (born 1953, L.A. California) grew up in N.Y.C. and credits a rich cultural childhood as being the influence that led him to an art career. He was further influenced by a dynamic high school sculpture teacher. Branfman studied studio art and art history at Cortland State University, NY with Gerald Diguisto (sculpture) George Dugan (drawing) and John Jessiman (pottery). He received his graduate degree at Rhode Island School Of Design working under Norm Schulman and Jun Kaneko. He says of RISD, The time spent at RISD was the most influential and important experience in my development as an artist. The teachers were dedicated, the students were serious, and the atmosphere was exciting and productive.
Branfman has been a studio potter since 1975. In 1977 he founded The Potters Shop & School which has become an internationally known studio, school, and artists workspace, and he enjoys an international reputation as a potter, teacher, and writer. He is a member of the International Academy Of Ceramics, and the author of Mastering Raku: Making Ware-Glazes-Building Kilns-Firing published by Lark Books, Raku: A Practical Approach first and second editions, published by Krause Publications, and The Potters Professional Handbook published by The American Ceramic Society. Steven is a popular workshop presenter and his work has been exhibited in many one person and group shows throughout the U.S and abroad. Articles about, or by him, have appeared in Ceramics Monthly, The Crafts Report, Clay Times, Boston Globe, Studio Potter, Neue Keramik, and Pottery Making Illustrated, among others. His clayworking techniques, examples of his work, and personal profiles appear in many books on pottery and ceramics as well as Who's Who In American Art and Who's Who Among America's Teachers. Steven's time is spent working in his studio, writing, traveling to present workshops and demonstrations, and Thayer Academy in Braintree Massachusetts where he teaches pottery. Steven, his wife Ellen and their dog Bruno live in Newton Massachusetts.
Job Titles:
- Raku Firing Workshop Leader
Hello! I first tried ceramics with a few courses in college, and came to the Potters Shop the summer after I graduated as an intern. A year later I transitioned to become a regular staff member. Since then, I've been learning everyday from Steve, my coworkers, and the rest of the folks in the studio.
Recently, I've been focusing mainly on porcelain, and particularly on form and texture. I make a lot of cups, ranging from large tea bowls all the way down to tiny sippers and shot glasses. Most of my work is cone six, but recently I've been getting involved in some cone ten wood firings and reduction gas kilns that I'm really excited about!
I love clay because of its versatility as a medium, the cycles it provides, and how forgiving it is. Even when a favorite cup cracks while drying, knowing that I can recycle that clay and make it all over again, gives me great peace of mind. I like to think that the cup is already there, just going through its different stages until I finally get it right, and it makes it all the way through the firing process. Opening the kiln after weeks of seeing the piece in your mind, then meeting them in real life, is just lovely.