Kara Doescher

I started doing pottery in high school and instantly fell in love with it. I took as many ceramics classes in college as I could fit into a busy schedule. I can't resist the methodical but messy nature of making pottery, and I love being able to make beautiful but useful pieces. Since moving to Grant County, I've been so happy to find a ceramics studio with such an incredibly kind, welcoming community of artists. When I'm not playing with mud in the studio you can find me doing something (anything!) outdoors with my border collie, baking, and trying out any kind of arts and crafts.

Genevieve Paddock

Like so many other potters, I was first introduced to clay in a high school ceramics class. By senior year, I was taking most of my lunches in the ceramics room with the other art geeks, spending as much time playing with clay as I could. But, again, it was the clay’s versatility that I was drawn to. You can make it look like anything you can imagine - tree bark, skin, leather, metal - you name it! And the meditative spin of a wheel, who can resist that?

To pursue my interest in the arts, I attended Bennington College in Vermont, a school with a deep history in ceramic arts, where I received my B.A. in ceramics. During that time, I also worked in a ceramics factory, under glazing literally hundreds of pots a day! The following year I had the opportunity to go to Washington D.C. and intern at the Capitol Children’s Museum and create a ceramics studio and program. In 2003, I moved to Grant County where I met my husband, David, and joined him in the Nomad Sign Art studio and learned the old school art of hand lettering and hand-crafting signs. These days my 500-pound potter’s wheel sits cozily in our living room next to the woodstove, where our whole family can learn to play on it.

I am extremely excited to share my love of clay at the Painted Sky Center for the Arts. So many of my best memories and closest bonds have been made working in studios, making art, and playing in the mud.

Ceramics Committee

We are a group of individuals who meet monthly to discuss ceramic department needs. Members actively participate in the upkeep and maintenance of the studio. Many of us also teach classes or host open studios. Stop by and say hi!

If you are interested in joining the committee, please contact Lizz or Kara at paintedsky.ceramics@gmail.com

From left to right: Amy Charette, Genevieve Paddock, Kara Doescher (co-manager), Melody Feden, Brenna DesJardin, Jemery Henderson and Lizz Blackburn (co-manager).

Interested in teaching or volunteering for the Ceramics Department?

Contact Amanda Moss, Programs Coordinator at ampaintedsky@gmail.com