MudPie Clayworks Studio
Making Things Cozy
Reds McGuillicuddy, our roo, and his hen, Chawk, stop by the studio on a beautiful spring day to see what’s doin’.
Mission
Our mission is to offer a variety of handmade, high quality pottery that is useful, unique, and has a sense of whimsy. The designs are created with mother nature’s beauty & fortitude in mind, and with the belief that everyday household items can be made “for keeps,” and shared with a loved one or handed down.
Philosophy
In this modern life of mass-production and disposability, I am noticing a newfound appreciation and respect for handmade pieces and their place in our homes. Like many handmade crafts that are utilitarian as well as aesthetically pleasing, pottery has the ability to share or carry the stories of “its people” over the ages, as history has shown. 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 is 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 took a long and winding path. My background is in psychology & instructional design, but I am happiest in my studio. I enjoy the quiet solitude of the studio 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. She also gave me a lot of pointers on successfully using a slab to create unique pieces. 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) and occasionally a lighter, smoother stoneware clay (Standard 182), but I’m still experimenting! The glazes I use are commercial and food-safe. I bisque-fire to Cone 06 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.
Please reach out if you are interested in a custom version of one of the pieces in my shop, such as its size or glaze. I will accommodate you as best I can.
I also make wedding/party favors with custom stamps (example below). Let me know if you’d like to collaborate on something original for your special event.
