Meet Our Instructors

Jen Labie

Arts Programming, Marketing & Communications

For inquiries about clay and fiber arts classes, advertising, and gift certificates, please reach out to Jen at jen.labie@middleburystudioschool.org

Carrie Ade

Arts Programming & Community Outreach

Want to book a private event or set up a class for your school or group? Contact Carrie at carrie.ade@middleburystudioschool.org with questions about outreach programs, parties, summer camps, and fine arts classes.

General Contact

Not sure who to reach out to? Email us at info@middleburystudioschool.org

Saisorn Peemanao

Jane Ploughman

Jen Roberts

Katalin Tolgyesi

Kristi Tolgyesi

Abigail Wentz

Ying-lei Zhang

Carrie Ade

PAINTING

Carrie is a professional botanical and landscape artist that has worked for over 20 years with national parks, botanical gardens, and environmental conservation organizations around the world to expand knowledge and appreciation of native ecosystems in the public with dedication to intertwine the two fields of environmental education and the arts.

Instagram: @the_artist_naturalist

Catherine Brooks

CLAY: Hand Building

After practicing pottery over the years, since retirement, Catherine has focused primarily on hand building, making her home-away-from-home Middlebury Studio School. She delights in the endless possibilities with clay – from the many forms it can take, to the variety of approaches for adding texture and color to handbuilt pieces. In addition to crediting Kathy Clarke for inspiration and instruction, Catherine has also studied with handbuilders Mollie Brotherton (France) and Liz Pechacek (Minnesota).

Catherine is a Vergennes resident and has taught art, history and literature to youth and adults in a variety of settings, including public schools, libraries, museums and colleges

Kathy Clarke

CLAY: Handbuilding & Wheel

Kathy Clarke has over 25 years of experience with clay; both as a working artist and instructor of children and adults. Most of her pottery education has come through master-level workshops and instruction from resident potters at Frog Hollow Craft Center. She believes that handmade objects can have a positive impact on people’s lives…that the “love of making” can be mysteriously injected into the piece and stays there for centuries.

Bethany Farrell

POTTERY: Hand Building & Alternative Firing

Art has been central to my life since my first box of crayons. While I’ve worked in many mediums, oil and acrylic painting and ceramics have been my primary focus throughout my adult life.

For the past five years, I have concentrated on building hand-crafted ceramic work, exploring surface design techniques such as sgraffito, carving, stippling, and wax resist. Over the last year and a half, I have also been deepening my practice in alternative firing methods including raku, pit firing, and obvara. These processes have captured my imagination, and I am focused on creating sculptural pieces that reflect the transformative magic of fire.

I graduated from the University of Vermont in 1999 with a degree in art education. Since then, I have taught art in a wide range of settings, including public schools, nonprofit organizations, and my own private studio in Vergennes from 2009–2015. I am grateful to be part of the Middlebury Studio School community.

Pam Fogg

ARTIST & DESIGNER

Pam Fogg works across a wide range of media, including gouache, watercolor, acrylic, and collage. Her vibrant work captures landscapes from the hills of Vermont to scenes inspired by her travels. Time spent in France—including several artist residencies—is reflected in her paintings, which convey a strong sense of place. Much of her work is richly layered, incorporating vintage stamps, postcards, and old documents that add a narrative within each piece.

She earned a BFA in Design and Advertising from the School of Visual Arts in New York City and has built a career in graphic design, marketing, and communications, focused on editorial design—a background that complements both her artwork and teaching

pamelafogg.art

Eileen Gombosi

FIBER ARTS

My inspiration is steeped in the wonders of nature. I am both an artist and activist for nature.  My current body of work consists of a series of pastels and oil paintings that spotlight creatures that are negatively affected by the warming planet. Although the subject is grave, the art accentuates the colors, shapes and forms, and unique beauty of each living organism.

My Studio is located in Ripton, Vermont. It is alive with art-making throughout the week! In addition to the Climate Series, I rejuvenate paintings and other art objects that are in need of restoration, and enjoy bringing these pieces “back to life”.  Private commissions are a meaningful aspect to my work, as I work with clients to “illustrate” something they have always wanted in a painting.

Each Wednesday afternoon my studio becomes an “Art Studio Annex” for the Middlebury Studio School with a variety of active online classes for all ages. From landscape paintings to magic wands and happy sloths, there is always a fun class offered. The online classes give families who wish to choose this type of venue a fun way to get together and simply make art during this challenging time of social isolation. I enjoy “sprinkling in” fun facts about the subject matter during the lesson to instill a sense of wonder. For me, the classes bring happiness and peace and provide students with creative methods that can be extended beyond each class!

I am a licensed art educator and passionate about living my art in just about everything I do! I currently work as an art specialist with the Addison Central School District, and teach art classes in both Ripton and Salisbury Schools. Our projects reach out to world communities and empower young people to know they can make a positive difference through art.

Instagram: #art.tra123

Steven Jupiter

WATERCOLORS

Steven Jupiter is originally from New York City. He studied studio art at Brandeis University in Massachusetts and at L’Ecole Normale Superieure des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. In fact, he bought his first set of watercolors in Paris in 1988 and has been hooked ever since. His work encompasses many styles, from the abstract to the realistic, and many themes, with a special fondness for mythology and history. He taught math in New York for 15 years before moving to Vermont with his husband, David, in 2014. He ran the Steven Jupiter Gallery in Middlebury from 2015 to 2020 and has been featured several times in Seven Days. He and David now live in Brandon.

Stevenjupiter.com

Dasha Kalisz

POTTERY

Dasha Kalisz is a ceramic artist who creates both functional and sculptural work.  She begins by creating clay forms on the potter’s wheel.  The forms either stay utilitarian or are altered into biomorphic sculptures. Kalisz earned her MFA from Maine College of Art.  She graduated from Burlington College with a BA focused on ceramics and art history. Kalisz traveled extensively throughout the United States, Oaxaca, Mexico and Europe where she investigated ceramic cultures. She participated in a residency at La Meridiana International School for Ceramics in Tuscany. Kalisz belongs to the Brandon Artists Guild where she exhibits and sells her work.  Kalisz has exhibited in group at the Paper and Clay Show in Lagan, Utah, The Clay Studio National in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Clay + at the New Orleans Clay Center in Louisiana.  Kalisz works and lives in Vermont and is a public-school arts educator dedicated to cultivating creativity.

Jen Labie

POTTERY: Wheel & Hand Building

Jen Labie is an artist who works in graphic design, clay and batik. She creates pottery and batiks at the Leaning Tree Studio in Ferrisburgh, Vermont.

Natural materials such as leaves, herbs and flowers are used for texture in her pottery. Her work consists of silk batiks, functional, elegant tableware, as well as custom pieces such as belly bowls for pregnant women.

Jen has been a dedicated teacher for over 20 years. Her clay classes range in style from wheel & hand building, to specialty classes such as tile and surface design. She enjoys being involved in the local arts community as an Art Education Coordinator at Middlebury Studio School.

leaningtreestudio

Fred Lower

DRAWING, PAINTING

Fred Lower is an artist living and working in Middlebury, Vermont. His work has been featured in galleries in New York, Montana and Vermont. Lower taught painting and drawing for more than three decades at the Dalton School in NYC and Rutland Public High School in Vermont. Lower studied painting at UC Berkeley, and received his MFA from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.

www.fredlower.com

Jill Madden

OIL PAINTING

I am a landscape painter with a specific interest in fragile northern ecosystems, including boreal forests and northern oceans, and the people working to preserve these ecosystems. I have been a fellow at The Jentel Foundation, Banner, Wyoming; The Fairfield Porter Foundation, Great Spruce Head Island, Maine: the Baer Art Center, Hofsos, Iceland and the Pouch Cove Foundation, Pouch Cove, Newfoundland. The richness of our environment and importance of preservation are essential to my work. I work with scientists to further my understanding of the landscape, spending long hours onsite drawing, painting, and researching flora and fauna. In August, for my show “You are Here” at Middlebury College Johnson Gallery, I am bringing together LiDAR mapping from geology professor Will Amidon and my paintings from the two undeveloped arctic ecosystems in Vermont- Mt Abraham and Camel’s Hump. By basing my work on the interconnectedness of science and art, as in my 2022 “Mapping the Wilderness” show at Vermont Natural Resources Council, I hope to illuminate the fragility and beauty of our environment.

jillmadden.com

Cath Manegold

POTTERY: Wheel

Catherine Mangold’s pottery journey started in high school but she put the wheel aside to work as a journalist. From 1980 to 2000 she moved around the world covering wars, environmental degradation, politics and international relations for The New York Times, Newsweek and the Philadelphia Inquirer. For her, the joy of creativity was evident in every corner of the globe, like an engine forever humming in the background. She answered the call of that hum herself in 2010 while teaching and writing her second book. Putting her hands back in clay after such a long absence felt like a homecoming. She has been with MSS since 2014. Catherine’s interest in porcelain, glazes and functional forms results in stunning art work. You can see more of her work at Bridporthill.com

Mary McKay Lower

PAINTING

Mary McKay Lower received a B.S. in Studio Art and a M.A. in Art Education from New York University. In New York City, she taught middle and high school at The Dalton School and then The Chapin School. Also, she taught adult drawing for The Dalton Evening Arts Program and the Saturday Children’s Drawing Workshop at the National Academy Museum and School. In Vermont, she has taught art to all ages in a variety of venues including Frog Hollow, public and independent schools, and Middlebury Studio School. Her paintings have been exhibited in New York, New Jersey, Montana, China and Vermont.

www.marymckaylower.com

Dave Meath

POTTERY: Alternative Firing, Hand Building & Wheel

David has been making pottery off and on since his college days. As a business major, he spent every free moment in the art building, working on sculpture, pottery, and participating in firings.

During a career in business and real estate, Dave still found time to work in the studio. He continued to work on wheel projects, while creating large pots, using experimental and soda firings and developing his Raku skills. Currently, he now enjoys helping others have fun and learn about the unexpected results from Raku, slip resistance Raku, pit firings, and more.

Jenny Muskopf

PAINTING & DRAWING

Jenny makes paintings and sculptures that explore unseen elements in our natural world and cityscapes. She uses hand mixed acrylics and oil paint to create scenes depicting the action and energy of rocks and water, buildings and people, or fields and sky through magical realism. Her sculptures are also narrative and explore our relationship between the physical and psychological. Her mediums include fabric, plaster, clay, egg tempera, gouache, watercolor and gold leaf. She received a BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute in 1993 and much later, an MA in Education from Goddard College in 2021. She is currently a 5th grade classroom teacher at Cornwall School. jennifermuskopf.com

Saisorn Peemanao

CLAY: Handbuilding & Wheel

Saisorn Peemanao was born in Thailand and lives in Middlebury, Vermont. Before becoming Studio Manager in 2024, she had been a studio assistant at MSS for the past 7 years. She began to take pottery classes in 2012, and by 2013, she became a studio assistant. Saisorn enjoys sharing her passion for clay with others. Her belief is that all can benefit by using their hands to create something special. In 2018, Saisorn began teaching young children’s and, ultimately, adult classes after a while. In addition to pottery, she practices yoga and gives Thai yoga massage.

Jane Ploughman

BOOK ARTS

Jane Ploughman has been making books and prints for more than a decade. She began learning the craft of  book binding, book arts, paper and print making by attending many workshops and through self-directed study. Teaching others is both a way for Jane to share what she feels  fortunate to be able to do as well as a way for her to continue learning  and exploring the art and craft of handmade books and printmaking.

Ethan Quillen

POTTERY: Wheel & Alternative Firing

After years of working in marketing and academia, Ethan Quillen discovered a love of clay during an introduction to wheel throwing class in 2022. He has since devoted himself fulltime to the craft, and his pieces can be seen in galleries across Vermont. His work explores the exciting ways we can manipulate thrown pieces using slips, as well as the uniqueness and unpredictable joy in utilizing alternative firing practices, such as pit-firing and Raku. 

egquillen.com
@egquillen

Jen Roberts

POTTERY

Growing up on a farm in Cornwall Vermont I was lucky enough to also grow up studying pottery with Kathy Clarke and the resident potters at Frog Hollow Art. I went on to get a BFA in Studio Art from Johnson State College, now Northern Vermont University. 

I love to work with my hands and have built gardens, houses, and stone walls, while also working in finer things like fiber, fabric and food, knitting hats and sweaters, sewing clothes and costumes, and creating cakes and chocolates. 

I love all stages of making pottery, I have come to realize that I enjoy the process as much as the finished product. 

Find my art @jennymadevt on Instagram 

Katalin Tolgyesi

OIL PAINTING

Katalin is a Vermont-born oil portrait artist whose work has been exhibited in galleries and small venues across Vermont and New York City. In addition to commissioned work, she has been teaching oil portraiture classes and workshops since 2022. Her instruction focuses on technique and process to help students gain confidence with the challenges of oil painting.

Katalin studied International Management at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy and completed her degree at Pace University in New York City in 2024. She is excited to continue to bridge her background in International Business with art and art education. Her recent projects include designing and leading a Spanish-language paint-and-sip workshop as an immersion event for Middlebury College.

Kristi Tolgyesi

POTTERY: Wheel & Hand Building

Throwing pottery has interested me since childhood after I saw a film clip demonstrating the wheel. I did not get to try myself until 1989 when I took my first class at Frog Hollow. From then on, I was hooked. I learned from multiple resident potters, worked as a studio assistant for several years, and taught a few children’s classes. Despite a couple interludes, including a move to California and time to raise my kids, I have always returned to pottery. I truly appreciate the potters and atmosphere at MSS and have loved that people I worked with and learned from over 30 years ago are still active here. Beyond the studio I have taught a variety of programs for adults and children ranging from topics in natural science, to crafts and archery. My pottery often incorporates both sculptural and thrown components, and I draw heavily from natural objects and animal themes. Much of my recent work has been donated to the Empty Bowl fundraiser.
Currently I have pottery on 3 continents and have become skilled in transporting heavy, delicate pots on planes.

Abigail Wentz

POTTERY

Originally from South Jersey, I grew up as an ocean girl but fell in love with the mountains. I moved to Vermont in 2014 to earn a degree in professional baking and pastry. I was mainly a watercolor & ink artist until finding pottery as an outlet in October 2020, when I took my first wheel throwing class. Sure enough, I fell in love with the studio, craft and pottery community, and became a studio assistant in August 2021. Currently, I’m in the process of earning a BFA in Studio Arts. My parents always hoped I would become an art teacher, and after trying many different things, I came to find they were right all along.

@whimsywentz

Ying-lei Zhang

CHINESE PAINTING

Ying-lei Zhang lives in Middlebury, Vermont. Ying-lei has a BA in Chinese language and literature, an advanced certificate in Chinese classical literature, and a Masters in Education. She began teaching at Frog Hollow in 1999.  She has taught Chinese painting at Williams College, Middlebury College, Saint Michael’s College, Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy, and many institutes in New England.