The day Katie Messersmith touched clay for the first time in high school, she knew her life was on a new path. The clay had her. She had found her passion.

Katie looked for every opportunity to study clay. She worked and studied at an Art Center in Kentucky making pots, loading kilns, and wood firing. She took a skill building class three times, honing her abilities to move clay efficiently, and making pots that interested her. When she came to Asheville, she took classes at AB Tech, and after several years working diligently on her craft, she began looking for her next step to challenge herself and better her craft. We happened to meet the day she strolled into The Village Potters Clay Center, and she told me about herself and her love for clay, the process of making pottery, and pots. I shared with her that I teach a twelve week advanced throwing class, and she signed up that day.

Katie is what we call “a natural”. She works hard, but she has a gift, too. She soared through my class, and then in November 2018 she applied for our Advanced Ceramics Studies Program (ISMP). She is now a fixture around this place! Awarded one of three full scholarship apprentice positions, Katie is learning the workings of a very diverse, and large clay center. She teaches beginning wheel to people who have never touched clay, and her enthusiasm is contagious.
Katie makes functional pots for everyday use, big pots that demand a home, and she is exploring art pots that pull you in and hold your gaze. Katie’s future as a potter is bright, full of promise, and a lot of pots!

Katie will be exhibiting her work with our team of Apprentices in our Emerging Artist Showroom, with an opening on Saturday, August 10th.
Watch our blogs for stories about our other two full scholarship Apprentices, and five partial scholarship Apprentices, and learn how they have come to The Village Potters Clay Center to craft their lives.