Scroll down to find the list of ceramics mentors for 2026.

Application for 2026 will open August 15, 2025

    • A 1-year course, beginning in January.

    • 24 one-on-one, online meetings with your mentor.

    • 12 online group meetings.

    • 1 weeklong in-person workshop with your Mentor and Cohort.

  • $4,200 USD Annually

    • We break this down into twelve $340 automatic monthly payments plus a $120 non-refundable deposit at the time of registration.

    • Student is responsible for travel and lodging expense for the in-person workshop.

    • We will have several scholarships available. Please visit our Art Equity Scholarship page for more information.

  • Applications for the next session open in the summer.
    Plan ahead! The application will include several questions to help us get to know you and your goals, and asks for 5 photos of your work.

    The selection process is an earnest effort to build a cohesive Cohort while placing you with a mentor who best pairs with your gifts and goals.

    • Our growing Resource page for students includes a video library of our Cohorts Guest Lecture Series and other useful materials for artistic and professional growth.

    • Students will have the opportunity to guest host our social media.

    • Listing and links to your website on our Students/Alumni page.

    • Networking, community building and more!

2026 Canadian Mentors

  • Carole Epp (she/her)

    Individual Meetings: 2nd & 4th Tuesdays or Thursdays

    Group Meeting: Last Sundays

    Workshop Agenda: In-Person Workshop Dates TBD (May/June).

    A fun yet intensive week-long creative problem-solving workshop at a local ceramic studio in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. We will also be touring artists’ studios, meeting with gallery staff and touring ceramics in the provincial collections, including Picasso ceramics at The Remai Art Gallery, and works in the permanent collection at the Mackenzie Art Gallery which include pieces from artists made during the funk movement as there is a direct connection between Saskatchewan ceramics and the California Funk movement.

    Studio ADA accessibility unknown in each situation but I will address any issues prior to participants arriving.

  • Sarah Pike (she/her)

    Individual Meetings: 1st and 3rd Tuesdays or Thursdays

    Group Meetings: last Fridays

    Workshop Agenda: In person workshop: dates to be determined. Ideally summer months (because mountains in winter equals snow)

    One-week workshop in my studio in Fernie BC, Canada. Focus will be on hand building form, design, and function. (No wheels here, lots of tables.) We’ll focus on your favorite (or most maddening!) form. Expect a mix of experimentation, group/individual feedback, and good studio vibes all round. 

  • Carly Slade (she/her)

    Individual Meetings: to be decided in agreement with the student

    Group Meetings: from Friday to Sunday

    Workshop Agenda: In-Person Workshop Dates TBD with students (June/July-ish).

    A fun yet intensive week-long workshop at a local ceramic studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We will decide as a group beforehand what would be most helpful for me to demonstrate or what kind of activities I can lead in the studio during that week. We'll also be touring local artists’ studios, local museums/galleries, exploring Nova Scotia and eating lobsters ( I will find you a vegetable shaped as a lobster if needed)! Studio ADA accessibility unknown in each situation but I will address any issues prior to participants arriving.

2026 US Mentors

  • Birdie Boone (she/her)

    Individual Meetings: 2nd & 4th Tuesdays or Thursdays

    Group Meeting: Last Sundays

    Workshop Agenda: In-Person Workshop Dates TBD (April/May).

    A fun, week-long creative problem-solving and glaze testing workshop at my studio in Meadowview, Virginia.

    Studio ADA accessibility limited by a few stairs.

  • Adam Field with a large porcelain vessel

    Adam Field (he/him)

    Individual meeting schedule and workshop agenda TBA.

  • Martha Grover (she/her)

    Individual Meetings: 1st and 3rd Mondays or Fridays; Group Meetings, Last Sunday; In-Person Workshop in June.

    Workshop Agenda: Hands on Making retreat at my studio in Maine. Demos, critiques, ideation and group bonding in my well-equipped space, with delicious food and great conversation.

    Studio is ADA accessible

  • Kenyon Hansen (he/him)

    Individual Meetings, 1st & 3rd Wednesdays or Fridays; Group Meetings, Last Sunday; In-Person Workshop Dates TBD.

    Workshop Agenda: Hands on making and a soda firing at my home studio in Dollar Bay, Michigan.

    Studio ADA accessibility limited, willing to make adjustments.

  • Sam Harvey (he/him)

    Individual Meetings:1st & 3rd Mondays, with the exception of January 1st, in which case the first meeting will be on Tuesday, January 2nd. Group Meetings, last Sundays; In-Person Workshop Dates TBD.

    Workshop Agenda: Content will be determined by the needs of the cohorts, as we establish each persons' interests and desires. That being said, I would like to focus a few of our discussions on issues surrounding artists' roles in their communities, locally and societally.

    Studio can be made ADA accessible

  • Simon Levin (he/him)

    Individual Meetings, 2nd & 4th Wednesdays or Fridays; Group Meetings, Last Sundays; In-Person Workshop Dates TBD.

    Workshop Agenda: Wood-firing in my train kiln in Pawnee, Illinois.

    Studio ADA accessibility limited, willing to make adjustments.

  • Liz Lurie (she/her)

    Individual Meetings 1st & 3rd Wednesdays; Group Meetings, Last Sundays; In-Person Workshop during the last full week of July.

    Workshop Agenda: The content will be determined by the needs of the cohort as I get to know the group. It may be a firing workshop (gas, electric or wood), or a making workshop, and/or a combination, at my studio in Cazenovia, New York.

    Studio ADA accessible

  • Lisa Orr (she/her)

    Individual Meetings, 2nd & 4th Wednesdays or Fridays; Group Meetings, Last Sundays; In-Person Workshop Dates TBD.

    Workshop Agenda: Making, glazing, rocket kiln firing in her Massachusetts studio.

    Studio ADA acessible.

  • Jared Tso (he/him)

    Individual Meetings: 1st and 3rd Tuesdays

    Group Meetings: the last Thursday of each month

    Workshop Agenda: The workshop agenda will be determined by the needs and wants from the cohort. Some possibilities are firing together at my home in Nahata' Dziil, Arizona, a group show, or site visits for clay and material gathering. 

  • Rhonda Willers (she/her)

    Meeting schedule and workshop agenda TBA

2026 Italy, India, and Thailand

  • Isabella Fazzo (she/her) - ITALY

    Individual meetings to be decided in agreement with the student, group meetings from Friday to Sunday. In-Person Workshop Dates TBD (January/August).

    Workshop agenda: A week in Fazzo, Italy with technical and artistic experiments of various kinds and adaptable to the interests of the group.

    Studio ADA accessibility limited by a few stairs

    ***

    Incontri individuali da concordare con lo studente, incontri di gruppo dal venerdì alla domenica.

    Seminario Annuale: Classe di una settimana in presenza in Italia con sperimentazioni tecniche e artistiche di vario genere e adattabili agli interessi del gruppo.

  • Aarti Manik (she/her) - INDIA

    Individual Meetings: 2nd and 4th Tuesdays or Thursdays

    Group Meetings: Last Sundays

    In person workshop TBD in August/September

    Workshop Agenda: A week in my studio at Golden Bridge Pottery in Pondicherry, India. Based on the needs of the Cohort, we can have a making workshop and fire one of the wood kilns at the pottery.

  • Punch Semachai (she/her) - THAILAND

    Individual Meetings, 2nd & 4th Wednesdays or Thursdays; Group Meeting, Last Sundays; In-Person Workshop Dates TBD (Aug/Sep).

    Workshop Agenda: A fun, week-long creative/ narrative sculptural work and surface decoration workshop at my university's studio in Bangkok, Thailand.

    Studio ADA accessibility limited by a few stairs. (Might be a little bit more limited for sightseeing around the area.)

Our Incredible Staff and Resources

  • Mary Barringer (she/her)

    Word Up with Mary! A special opportunity for past and present Cohorts students to schedule time with a professional writer for review of written projects.

  • Camille Beckles (she/her)

    As Community Coordinator, Camille maintains our website resources and social media.

  • AnnMarie Cooper (she/her)

    Cohorts Manager with her finger on all the administrative pulses.

  • Simon Levin (he/him)

    Founder, director, mastermind of the Cohorts program.

  • Liz Lurie (she/her)

    In addition to her mentor role, Liz is our Continuum Coordinator, in charge of creating each year’s Continuum offerings.

“Some of my best teachers have been full-time studio artists. Linda Christianson, Michael Simon, and Clary Illian, all stepped into academia briefly to do sabbatical replacements for my professors. Their real-world experience, a lifelong love of material, coupled with articulate teaching skills, made working with them life-changing. The Cohorts.Art program was created with professional artists as mentors, these are people who I wish I could have had as teachers. Having one of these wonderful folks on your side for a year and a small group of committed colleagues along with you is a game changer!“
-Simon Levin