Instructor Profiles

Kelly Anderson

Hi, I am Kelly Anderson and so excited to be joining the talented group of Cream City Clay teachers.  I currently live in Wauwatosa and am inspired daily by the Menomonee River outside my home. A little about me,  I took every ceramics class my high school had to offer and enjoyed it as a creative outlet.  After high school I went on to get my Masters in Early Childhood Education from the University of Minnesota.   After my time in MN, I moved to New York City where I took a weekly pottery class that brought a peace to my day in the city that never sleeps. After teaching kindergarten for 10 years, raising three kids and being a stay at home mom, I was ready to get muddy again.  Along came classes and a studio membership at Cream City Clay and I was hooked.  I look forward to seeing the spark of creativity my students will bring and can’t wait to see what they create!

Francesco Carra

Francesco has recently relocated to the US from Italy where he worked at La Meridiana Ceramic School in Tuscany. He is an accomplished potter with a patient demeanor and a serious dedication to teaching. We are happy to have a teacher with a diverse experience to share.

Heather Eiden

Is an artist and educator for Milwaukee Monessori School in MPS. She has taught numerous classes for Cream City Clay including Handbuilding, Mosaics, New Year’s intentions and teen wheel. Heather has her BFA in Art and MA in Ceramics. Heather specializes in a unique carving style she learned while traveling in India. She brings her fun easy going spirit to teaching and will encourage you to try new things. 

Susan Gargiulo

I am a potter, sculptor and textile artist originally from the Chicago area. I settled here in Milwaukee after spending 13 years in New York City where I received my BFA from Pratt Institute. There I studied painting, but I have long history with sculpture and clay which I have come to consider my most natural and preferred medium. Since moving to Milwaukee in 2019 my focus has been on raising my daughter, Iris, as well as on pottery and weaving. The return to wheel throwing has been both a challenge and a pleasure; in my studio practice I always try to push my abilities and try new things. I use my pottery to explore the beauty and function of simple form; I try to make pieces that are useful and pleasing to the eye, a good weight and feel in the hand, a simple and elegant silhouette on the shelf. Pottery is an art form that has been practiced for centuries, all over the world and I believe there is no end of skills and techniques to discover and work towards mastering. Still, I am so happy to share what I have learned over the years and to help others explore and work towards their own aspirations with clay and the wheel.  

Instagram – @sounderhouse

Meagan Hahn

I am an art educator, mixed media artist and photographer with a passion for creativity and collaboration. With over 17 years teaching experience, I’ve had the unique opportunity to teach almost every art form (from pottery to animation) and every age (from kindergarten to retirees). My biggest goal as a teacher and an artist, is to embrace the process of discovery (including failed attempts, challenges and triumphs) and to share with others. The excitement that my students have over learning new techniques and seeing their ideas come to life is truly a huge motivator for me personally and professionally. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Art Education (UW Eau Claire) and a Master of Arts degree in Visual Studies (Cardinal Stritch). Once an eager traveler and full time art teacher, I’m now embracing the adventures of motherhood, freelance photography and teaching at Cream City Clay. I’m thrilled to work alongside other artists and hope to encourage the creative community here in Milwaukee.

Andrew Linderman

Andrew Linderman is a studio potter and former high school chemistry teacher originally from the twin cities and currently living and working in Milwaukee, WI. He makes functional pots to make the best moments in life better, to make the mundane moments more enjoyable, and to make the difficult moments more bearable. Linderman uses his background in chemistry to create glazes that are enhanced by the firing process in which he produces his pots. Recently, He has also explored how the wood-firing process affects the surfaces of his pots. He continually strives to create work in which the functionality of a piece is enhanced by its aesthetic and tactile qualities. Linderman graduated from Luther College (Decorah, IA) in 2012 with a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry. He has learned his art and craft primarily from George Lowe during his undergraduate studies, S.C. Rolf post-graduation and wood firing from Simon Levin.

Website: lindermanpottery.com
Email: alindermanpottery@gmail.com

Sami Mooney

Sami Mooney graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2011 from the University of Cincinnati. During her time in college she learned a variety of mediums, focusing on metal working, wood working, glass, and photography. Sami learned sewing from her grandmother at an early age, starting with simple projects, progressing to clothing, and finally decorative hand stitching. Sami’s grandmother greatly influenced her love of making things with her hands. As a mixed media artist, she enjoys working with a variety of mediums and techniques to continually evolve her art. Sami uses natural and floral imagery as a way to explore growth, grief, and overcoming depression. Originally from central Ohio, Sami currently works and lives in Port Washington, Wisconsin with her husband and their identical twin boys.

Sami Mooney is a new teacher as of 2023 and you will see her teaching couples night out hand building on Fridays and Adult Hand building 6 week session.

Hannah Muzzey

Originally from the Waukesha area, I got my bachelors in Art and Design with a concentration in photography at Northern Michigan University in the Upper Peninsula. During my last semester I took a wheel throwing class and fell in love. After moving back to the Milwaukee area I found Cream City Clay and quickly became a member, working to improve my wheel throwing skills! I find inspiration in the nature around me and have a passion for creating dish ware, focusing on unique and refined shapes and forms. Now teaching couples classes I strive for a fun and creative environment, encouraging couples to embrace the activity of learning something new and the beauty in creating pottery that wheel throwing offers. 

Lila Papenburg

Lila (Lee-Lah) is a talented clay artist with a background in art education, and curator of exhibits. She is originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil where she had a ceramic studio. She moved to the US in 2011 and joined the Ceramic League of Miami where she was chair of exhibitions and taught summer camp and private classes. After 6.5 years she moved with her family to Nashville and taught hand building classes at Mud Puddle Pottery and Arch Academy.
Lila loves to see when a student learns or finds their own “signature” in their work. She values originality over “cookie cutter projects.” Milwaukee became her new home since 2022 and looks forward to getting to know more clay people.

MaryAnne Roethle

I’m a studio potter, passionate about exploring the balance of function and artistry in my work. After a 25-year career in corporate America, I wanted to get back in touch with my creative side. In 2019, I made the jump from my 9-5 job into self-employment as the founder of Rockway Pottery. Now I’m my own boss, up to my elbows in clay creating beautiful & functional works of art!

In addition to events and art fairs throughout the Wisconsin area, my work is also featured at galleries in Milwaukee and De Pere Wisconsin. Check out my work at The Vintage Glass Garden, 5700 W Vliet Street in Milwaukee, a great shop of locally-created items and Artless Bastard, 353 Main Ave in De Pere, a fine art gallery featuring monthly themed group exhibits.

My daughter, Maggie, is my marketing and development director.

Olivia Tharpgeorge

Is a recent graduate of UWM with her bachelors degree in painting. She has a background working with children and adults. Her speciality in ceramic work is handbuilding. She is a new member to our team and is learning about loading kilns, mixing glazes and general studio opperations. You will see her teaching summer clay camp, parent child groups and adult hand-building classes. Welcome Olivia!

Colleen Volland

Colleen is the owner of Cream City Clay. What enables her to run this amazing business is the endless encouragement from her husband and two daughters.
Colleen has taught people of all ages since 1997. She holds a degree in K-12 grade Art Education and a Masters of Art. She loves to make large platters painted with a variety of  materials such as slips, oxides, under glazes and wax resist. The finished pieces are often carved with figurative imagery. Working with others is her passion. Colleen loves to make collaborative public art works in the form of tile murals, sculptures and mosaic.  In her free time you can often find her looking for new materials, tools and glaze recipes to share. Teaching is what she was put on the earth to do and she often says, “When my students excitedly tell me, they just created something that they didn’t think they could, I feel successful.”

Alanis Wagner

Alanis Wagner is currently a student at UWM majoring in art education with an emphasis in ceramics. She loves to teach children and inspire creativity. Alanis has experience in hand-building as well as throwing on the wheel. Her energy is contagious and her classes are fun.

Dan Walker

Hello there! My name is Dan Walker. I have been a Wisconsin Public School teacher for 27years. I am currently serving the West Allis- West Milwaukee School District as the curriculum lead for the visual arts, as well as, teaching ceramics and sculpture at Hale High School. I was pleased to start collaboration with Cream City Clay as a wheel instructor in the summer of 2018. I believe working in clay is the most therapeutic and rewarding of all the artistic endeavors. Whether hand building or working on the pottery wheel, the possibilities for form and techniques are only limited by your imagination. New innovative discoveries in glazes and tools are continually reinventing old traditions making it such an exciting media to work in. I look forward to sharing that excitement with you in my wheel throwing courses soon!