Meet our Instructors and Support Staff, who help us keep
our classes, studio, and gallery, running smoothly:

ANNE KOSZALKA / Anne is our longtime friend, studio assistant and instructor. She is a very popular teacher, who loves teaching beginners and turning people on to the beautiful art of making pots. Anne is also an animal lover, and a huge advocate for the safety and placement of dogs. Her work reflects that love and passion. Follow Anne on Instagram @anne_koszalka_pottery.

ADAM LEDFORD / Adam has been an amazing, dedicated, assistant and instructor for over a dozen years. A much beloved teacher with a big following, he is now the studio manager at our Brewerytown studio, as well as having his own studio in that space, and also teaching classes there. His work reflects his happy energy, personal glazes, and inspired surface design ideas. Follow Adam on Instagram @adamledfordceramics.

JOSEPHINE METTE LARSEN / Josephine teaches at our Brewerytown studio. She says of her work: “I believe in and value process. This segment of my ceramic-based practice is abundant in ideas and experimentation - unrestricted and creative freedom - where right and wrong simply do not exist. Thinking through materials, I receive and respond to the information at hand, revealed by the process. This essential push and pull between myself and the material, clay, is where my experience of being a craftsman is enriched – mentally and physically immersed in the process.
“ Follow Josephine on Instagram @josephinemette
, or www.josephinemette.com.

DANIELLE CRITELLI / Danielle is a teacher and teaching assistant with us, as well as a gallery assistant. Originally from Monmouth County, NJ, Danielle has lived in Philadelphia since graduating from Saint Joseph’s University in 2013, where now works full time. Her main work is sustaining partnerships with local agencies and overseeing service-learning placements. Since fall 2020 she’s been teaching as an adjunct professor in management/organizational behavior. She loves taking day trips to the ocean and going on bike rides through Philadelphia parks. Inspired by two high school ceramics classes, she took her first class at Neighborhood Potters in 2017 and hasn’t looked back since! She quickly became part of our studio family!

SELAH BOWMAN / Selah is a recent graduate of Community College of Philadelphia, and is pursuing her final degree in art at Tyler School of Art, where she will focus on clay as a material for sculpture. She is a gallery and studio assistant, helping us with various projects at both our Fairmount and Brewerytown studios. Selah joined our studio family in September, 2023.

ERIK WRIGHT / Erik came to Philly from California in 2017 where he worked as a studio tech in a number of different kinds of clay studios. From 2014-2016 he apprenticed as a production potter, honing his technical throwing skills and learning the ins and outs of what it's like to run a small-scale studio pottery. After spending a few years bouncing around in the Philly clay scene, he started his own studio in South Philly where he focuses on the production of functional tableware. As a teacher, he cares about careful technique and aims to foster a strong understanding of the ceramics process. Overall, he just loves pots. Erik is part of our adjunct teaching staff. Follow Erik on Instagram @wc.pottery.

KELLY ANN GARTLAND / Kelly graduated from the University of the Arts with a degree in Sculpture and a concentration in education. Since College, Kelly has been teaching ceramics in Moorestown NJ. Kelly is a passionate educator and maker, specializing in clay, and dabbling in bookmaking, metals, and many different mediums. Her current work is both wheel thrown and hand built, taking loose inspiration from the repeating motifs of the middle east. Kelly joined Neighborhood Potter’s teaching staff in 2024, and loves sharing her ceramic knowledge and experience with the local community members. Follow Kelly on Instagram @KellyGartlandCeramics.

CLAIRE DOWNES WHITEHURST / Claire earned her MFA at the University of Iowa (2020) after earning a BFA at the University of Mississippi (2015). She draws from the physical and emotional landscape of the deep South, exploring queer narrative, memory, time, and identity through color, form, surface and composition. She was a Stanley Fellow at the University of Iowa in 2018, where she traveled to southern France to study polychromatic cave paintings. Her research in France focused on the relationship between surface and image. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and a book of her work was published in 2021 through Drum Machine Editions in Asheville, North Carolina. She has taught painting, printmaking and ceramics at all levels. She recently moved to Philadelphia after being the Artist in Residence at Furman University where she taught classes in printmaking and ceramics. Claire has is teaching our Kids Classes. Follow Claire on Instagram @claire_downes.

EMILY KLEAVER / Emily Kleaver is a primarily ceramic and sculptural artist who is based in Philadelphia, PA. She has been lucky enough to be part of the Philly ceramics community since 2019 and received her BFA in Ceramics from Tyler School of Art & Architecture in 2021. Kleaver utilizes a concept-driven practice that incorporates contrasting clay bodies, codified imagery, and a variety of materials including performance, to give physical space to seemingly ephemeral and fleeting ideas and examine societal systems. Most recently, she has taught ceramics at Black Hound Clay Studio West and Neighborhood Potters.

LORIN KLEIN / Lorin [they/them] is a non-binary photographer living in North Philly and working up and down the east coast. Lorin loves primary colors, natural light, and the Jersey shore. They grew up in central New Jersey and moved to Philadelphia in 2003 to pursue their Bachelor of Sciences in Design and Merchandising at Drexel University. Since then, their career has taken many paths and lead them to the occasional wonderful destination. In 2023 they graduated from Temple University with a Master of Social Work, and are especially interested in gender-affirming care. Their creative body of work centers body liberation and LGBTQ+ identities. They have shown work at Gravy Studio, Lot 49, American Sardine Bar, The Warner Gallery, The Artists’ Circle, and Vox Populi, and have been published in the Luna Collective Magazine. Lorin is a gallery assistant with us and helps us with various projects around the studio.

JESSE WARECH / Jesse Warech is part of our adjunct teaching and assistant staff. Jesse is a ceramic artist who’s work focuses mainly on the functionality and materiality of clay. Primarily firing his work in a wood fire kiln, Jesse’s goal is to make the most of the raw materials used in ceramics. At the same time, he also attempts to make objects that will bring people joy and comfort during moments of routine in their daily life. Follow Jesse on Instagram @jrwarech or www.jrwarechceramics.com

VIVIAN PURCELL / Vivian Purcell is part of our adjunct teaching and assistant staff. Vivian is a ceramic artist based in Philadelphia, whose work is focused on material and surface investigations through wood firing. Her work aims to bring joy to people's lives through the daily use of handmade ceramic objects meant for the home. Follow Vivian on Instagram @vivian.l.purcell or www.vivianpurcell.com 

NEIGHBORHOOD POTTERS EVENT HISTORY
Sandi and Neil host a few events each year highlighting local artists, and they also have a big December sale when they transform their workspace into a showroom. To be notified of their events, just go to our “Contact” page and sign up for our mailing list.
We do not bombard you with emails, just a notice when we have events!
Potters who have previously shown with Sandi and Neil in the past are:
Ellen Shankin, Nick Joerling, McKenzie Smith, Linda McFarling, Susan Filley, Lisa Naples, Royce Yoder, Michael Connelly, Kari Radasch & Brenda Quinn, Melissa Mytty, Victoria Smith, Sasha Barrett, Jessica Hans, Adam Ledford, Stefani Threet, Nathan Willever, Anne Koszalka, John Anthony, Kat Harrison, Anthony Romero, Ryan Wheeler & Dominique Ellis.

Below are photos from previous Events.