About MudPie Clayworks
Making Things Cozy
Reds McGuillicuddy & Chawk stop by the studio on a lovely spring day to see what’s doin’.
Mission
My mission is to offer a variety of high quality, handmade pottery that is useful & unique with a sense of whimsy. Designs are created with mother nature’s beauty & fortitude in mind, and with the belief that everyday household items can be made and shared “for keeps.”
Philosophy
In this modern life of mass-production and disposability, there is a newfound appreciation and respect for slow, handmade wares and their place in our homes. Like many handmade crafts that are utilitarian as well as aesthetically pleasing, history has shown over the ages that pottery has the ability to share the stories of “its people.” Likewise, its direct connection to the earth (it is earth, after all) provides the observer an opportunity to hold, use, and delight in an extension of our planet, shaped through human hands, that will remain long after we are gone. My work is inspired by mother nature and made with tremendous gratitude for the opportunity to make mudpies, or some version of them, every day!
About Me
Hi, I’m Michelle, the maker behind MudPie Clayworks. My journey into the world of pottery was long and winding. My educational background is in psychology & instructional design, but I am happiest pottering in my studio. I enjoy the quiet solitude and find that I work best/most efficiently in this environment. I had been an admirer of handmade pottery for many years before being introduced to it as a craft by our friend and master potter, Becky Moy Behre,* at her charming studio & gallery in Dayton, Maryland, Greenbridge Pottery, During the eight years I worked at Greenbridge, I wore many hats, as is typical for an independent and thriving pottery business. The last four of those years were spent as a studio production potter of slab ware, which included all aspects of pottery-making – from mixing & pugging clay, to glazing & firing, to mopping the floor & tidying the studio. I also served as the main curator of the on-site ceramics gallery, and sometimes ran the shop. I am proud of my work there and very grateful for the experience. However, in September 2024, I flew that coop and, with the support & enthusiasm of my dear hubby, set up a cozy studio at our home with everything I need to create wheel-thrown and slab ware pottery from raw clay to fired pieces. Since then, aside from making pots (of course!), I have been working on the other necessities of a budding pottery venture, such as developing this website, and the beginnings of an Instagram presence, etc.
Instructors: I have been incredibly lucky to have had wonderful pottery instructors over the last several years. Becky Moy Behre taught me about the science of clay, e.g. the importance of aligning clay particles in the making to ensure strong finished pieces. She also gave me a lot of pointers on successfully using slabs to create unique designs. I have received instruction in hand-building and wheel-throwing from long-time, tireless, ceramics teacher, Nancy Ziegenfus Mcintosh and, most recently, wheel-throwing from the very talented and patient, Natalia Kurmeluk, both of the Columbia Art Center in Columbia, Maryland.
Materials & Equipment: I use a Buff stoneware clay almost entirely at this point (Standard 553). The glazes I use are commercial graded and food-safe. I bisque-fire to Cone 08 and glaze-fire to Cone 5 or 6 in an Evenheat Rampmaster II 2322 electric kiln.
*I want to share my sincere gratitude to Becky of Greenbridge for facilitating the donations of my Brent CXC pottery wheel (from a neighbor of Greenbridge) and my awesome slab roller (from a dear friend of Becky’s). The startup costs for little MudPie would have been much more daunting without these generous gifts.
