Instructors

Kate Hamilton has worked with ceramics on and off throughout her life, fully committing to the medium in 2020. Influenced by fantasy, mythology, and otherworldly creatures, her work merges imagined forms while remaining rooted in the human body. Her intuitive process embraces silliness and play, allowing forms to emerge organically. As an educator, her goal is for students to leave her class feeling empowered to find their own style, weave levity into their creative process, and feel a strong sense of pride in their ability to create. Follow @kate.makesthings

Gloria Herman moved from Portland to Hood River after completing a BA in Linguistics at Reed College, where she spent many hours in the studio thanks to her work study job as an assistant to the art department. She works as a production potter for Wolf Ceramics, and teaches beginner and intermediate wheel throwing classes at the Clay Commons. Gloria enjoys making intentional thrown forms and experimenting with atmospheric firing.

Harris Wright is from Pennsylvania and moved to the Gorge in 2021. Harris was introduced to clay and ceramics at a young age and has had the privilege to access to a kiln since high school. She has a multi disciniplinary BFA in drawing/painting, photography, and ceramics from Westminster College in Salt Lake City where she worked as an assistant in the ceramic studio. She has worked on and off at the Clay Commons as a studio assistant and now as an instructor. Though she is not bound to any one art making medium, she primarily uses ceramic arts to explore her personal work. Harris is a handbuilder at heart and loves to explore color, illustration, and story telling on her pieces. The sillier the piece, the more in love with it Harris will fall. Follow @workofharris

Dyana Fiediga earned her BFA from Ohio University, specializing in Art History, 3D design, and ceramics. In 2007, she discovered wheel throwing through Trudy Irwin of Right Place Pottery on Orcas Island, WA, and later apprenticed with Jeremy Noet of @bluewaterpottery in Bellingham, WA. She taught in Bellingham at Baker Creek Studio before moving to Hood River in 2018. Dyana founded Clay Commons that year, creating a welcoming classroom and studio space where she offers wheel throwing and handbuilding classes to the community and small groups. She is passionate about providing a safe, supportive environment for others to explore the creative possibilities of working with clay.

Benn Stover is a multidisciplinary artist based in Hood River, OR. He earned a BFA in Industrial Design from the University of Kansas, with a focus on ceramics and a minor in visual arts. Benn is drawn to clay for its tactile nature and the balance it offers between intention and intuition. While ceramics are central to his practice, he also works in sculpture and abstract painting, with large-scale steel sculptures placed in outdoor public art programs.

In the studio, Benn works primarily on the wheel and enjoys exploring surface, texture, and form. As an instructor, he values strong fundamentals, curiosity, and a relaxed, supportive learning environment, and enjoys working with students at all levels. Follow  @studio_stover

Susie Meskill was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. She was introduced to pottery during high school at a local community studio. She continued to work with clay while pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Denver. In 2023, she completed a two year post-baccalaureate program at Western New Mexico University in Silver City, NM. She has been a short term resident at Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana and a winter resident at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina. Susie primarily creates wheel thrown utilitarian pieces with an emphasis on form and color and has recently been experimenting with slipcasting.

Coming soon...

Elizabeth Bowers

Hannah Martinson