Educators & Instructors
Scenic City Clay Arts believes in providing high-quality clay arts education to anyone who wants to experience it.
We are honored to have an amazing team of instructors who lead our classes and programs for all ages and skill levels.
Meet the SCCA instructors
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Debby Dunn
Teaching style:
As a hand-building instructor, Debby provides an organized yet relaxed and inviting learning experience. Through demonstration of hand-building techniques and sharing works of other clay artists, she motivates and inspires. Students work independently, and Debby provides feedback as needed to help students develop and explore their own creative expression through coil, slab, or pinch methods of building. -
Hannah Ligon
Teaching style:
Leading a mix of beginner to intermediate handbuilding classes, Hannah provides a relaxed environment that allows students to freely practice and create in clay. Hannah encourages students to explore their creativity independently while providing hands-on assistance when needed. -
Chase Guajardo
Teaching style:
Chase enjoys teaching all students with different levels of experience. Whether it’s through answering questions, demonstrations, feedback, or guided activities, Chase is always there to help her students grow. By introducing them to new ideas, techniques, and tools, she hopes to encourage her students and challenge them as artists. -
Loren Howard
Teaching style:
Loren leads a majority of our glaze + kiln workshops, and intermediate-advanced wheel classes. For specialty workshops, he likes to provide lecture-based curriculum with some demonstrations. For all other hands-on classes, Loren provides demonstration and encourages guided exploration and creative freedom for students within their own projects. He likes to provide constructive criticism to help challenge students to improve their skills. -
Marialice Hatch
Teaching style:
Marialice cultivates an encouraging environment of learning, providing guided activities and demonstrations to her students. She enjoys providing hands-on instruction and improvements to students, so they get the correct hand and body posture for proper throwing techniques. -
Nicole Johnson
Teaching style:
Nicole is our youth and family instructor and also leads private and specialty workshops. She provides extensive demonstrations, so there is clear direction for the students to follow. After reviewing the project, she likes to encourage creative freedom for students to explore in clay, while providing hands-on support when needed. -
Joy Leister
Teaching style:
Joy enjoys teaching a variety of wheel and handbuilding classes. She starts each class with general demonstration of what the class will be working on. Then, she works with each student individually to troubleshoot and encourage creativity. Joy loves helping to find the techniques that work for each individual. -
Nicole Nichols
Teaching style:
As an outreach program and Wheel 1 instructor, Nicole likes to provide demonstrations and hands-on instruction for her students. She sets a guided activity for students to follow but encourages creative freedom. Nicole likes to provide constructive feedback to students to help ensure that students are challenging themselves to improve their skills and forms. -
Justin Perreault
Teaching style:
Justin begins each class with a short demonstration of techniques that will be used while also addressing common issues that may arise and different way to approach them. Students will work freely on their pieces, and Justin will provide feedback to those who ask or answer questions at any time. Justin encourages students to work loosely and not become overly focused on the intended outcome. Learning to let go of expectations can lead to surprising outcomes and helps you grow as an artist. -
Summer Tomes
Teaching style:
Within the classroom, Summer’s main goal is to inspire and foster creativity. She provides detailed instructions of what the class will be working on and then delivers one-on-one guidance with students depending on their personal needs. As a handbuilding and wheel-throwing instructor, Summer enjoys problem solving and coming up with ways her students can accomplish their goals. -
Sara Wiggins
Teaching style:
As a Wheel 1 instructor, Sara likes to provide demonstrations and hands-on instructions for her students. Sara likes to show a wide variety of techniques, forms, and tips in her demonstrations and encourages her students to have creative freedom as they practice their craft. She likes to provide individual feedback to ensure students are being challenged and growing their skills as a potter and artist.