MECA&D Ceramics

Come work in these incredible, 5th floor, sun drenched studios! Fully equipped studios: gas kilns, indoor raku and soda, electric kilns, a sun filled classroom with over 50 plants ( I take care of those), clay mixing room, glaze lab, a brand new clay digital printer, and everything a fully equipped studio could need. We are looking for a ceramic studio technician to continue the fantastic stewardship of our soon to be departing technician We will miss him dearly but he’s left the studios in tip-top shape for who ever is next. Position even comes with a private studio! Application link is in the profile bio.

Huge thanks and a bittersweet farewell to our Ceramics Studio Technician, Owen Laurion! While we are so sad to see him go, we are incredibly excited for his next adventure as he heads off to Chicago this summer.
Owen has been the backbone of the Ceramics department for the past few years, and he truly left the studio better than he found it. He didn’t just keep things running; he tackled some massive projects, from overseeing the full demolition and structural rebuild of our gas kiln with faculty Tyler Gulden, to digitizing our entire glaze and slip library on Glazy.org. He also completely overhauled the clay mixing, kiln, and plaster rooms, ensuring our infrastructure stayed at professional-grade standards and was accessible to all.
Beyond the heavy lifting, Owen implemented new safety protocols that made the studio more organized and safer for everyone. He was also a dedicated mentor, successfully training and supervising our student work-study team to keep the studio humming along. Owen, thank you for your hard work, your constant problem-solving, and for keeping the kilns firing through it all. Chicago is lucky to have you!
WE’RE HIRING! 📢 With Owen moving on, we are looking for a new Ceramics Studio Technician to join the MECA&D team starting in June. If you have experience with kiln maintenance and material management, and love working with a vibrant community of artists, we want to hear from you!
Check the link in our bio for the full job description and application details!

Some recent images of live model sculpting from the figurative ceramics class. The students have been knocking it out of the park in this class and we are so thankful the model was comfortable having the staff photographer capture the experience.

& just wrapped up one of the best wood firings I’ve seen in a long time! Lots of flashing and juicy surfaces throughout the entire train kiln! Big thanks to and for leading the two classes to such a successful firing. If you are feeling left out there are two spots left in the wood kiln workshop lead by at this weekend. Enjoy this before and after set of images to see how great the transformation was!

Loading the train kiln the BFA Atmospheric firing class taught by & the Continuing Studies class taught by had a beautiful albeit breezy day to pack this kiln to the brim! Firing starts tomorrow morning and goes well into Tuesday. Stay tuned for unloading pics!

Figure model in session for today’s’ figurative ceramics class. We will have a model for the next 5 classes working on a range of poses to capture gesture and proportional accuracy. Today was a huge success and we can’t wait to see the finished work

Some beautiful in process photos of the Figurative Ceramics class’ perceptual studies of life casts. Each student took a cast of their own hand using alginate (the same stuff dentists use for dental casts) made a plaster copy of their hand and then sculpted it at a 1-1 scale and then sculpted it at 2-3 times scale.

Print on Clay magic happening with faculty Hope Rovelto ! Not only is hope an entrepreneur and master printer running her business Little Chair Printing, she also holds an MFA in ceramics from the School of American Craft. We are so lucky to have this magical unicorn of skill sets teaching our students! The plates are made by ceramics major Lilah Grove

Learn the art of porcelain from potter Martha Grover in this 3-day workshop from January 28–30, 2026.

Workshop Highlights
In this hands-on class, you will work with porcelain on and off the wheel to create fluid, functional forms. Martha will demonstrate her signature throwing and altering techniques, focusing on:

Building: Creating cups, bowls, pitchers, and baskets using wheel-thrown parts and slabs.
Detailing: Learning to add handles and spouts to your work.
Refining: Mastering crack repair and using a spray gun

Meet Martha Grover
Martha Grover is an internationally recognized functional potter based in Bethel, Maine. She holds an MFA from UMass Dartmouth and her work has been featured on the cover of Ceramics Monthly. Her aesthetic is inspired by organic forms like orchids and the fluid movement of dancers.

Details: links to sign up are in our bio!

Dates: January 28–30, 2026.

Time: Starts at 9:00 AM EST.

Location: Porteous Building, 522 Congress St., Portland, ME.

Cost: $295.00. Includes cost of materials
Required Skills: Students should have basic throwing skills.
What to Bring: Please bring your own pottery tool kit.

Last week we had the great opportunity to attend a Lisa Orr workshop at Bates College and see the exhibition “Precision and Expression: American Studio Ceramics from the E. John Bullard collection”. Big thanks to Susan Dewsnap for inviting to such a fantastic opportunity. Everyone left wowed by Lisa’s enthusiasm, depth of knowledge, skill, and generosity! The exhibition is also a truly stunning collection of American studio ceramics that shouldn’t be missed. I know I will be going again to see it soon.

Every Thursday the kiln gets a few feet taller thanks to who is teaching a special topics class on kiln building! The arch is just around the corner!!! Big thanks to all the students for hustling bricks and working hard to make this new kiln happen! Add your handle to the comments if you want to be tagged in the photos. Photos by Natalie Conn