Staff
Tamsyn Bodwell, Founder & Owner
Tamsyn Leigh Bodwell (formerly Ackerman) earned her B.A. in Fine Art with a focus in ceramics from Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Before founding Mill Pond Ceramics Studio in 2023, she spent much of her career as a graphic designer, and still currently runs Mill Pond Creative. In addition, she cofounded and ran the arts nonprofit ENGINE from 2009 to 2020. In her own ceramics practice, Bodwell has a strong passion for the atmospheric results of wood and raku firings. See her work on Instagram and on her website.
Contact
Email
Bessa Smith, Studio Tech
Bessa was our intern from Maine College of Art in the spring of 2025 and was hired upon graduation from their ceramics program. An Air Force veteran and ceramicist, Bessa and her son live in Saco. Photo credit Leah’s Lens
Instructors
Mill Pond Ceramics Studio is lucky to work with many talented instructors. Some of our regular freelance instructors include:
Isabella Rotman is a cartoonist and illustrator living and drawing in Maine. Isabella has been making ceramics for two and a half years, and has been at Mill Pond since the beginning. Her ceramics work combines nature illustration with functional forms, and she particularly enjoys underglaze painting under a crystal clear glaze. See her work on Instagram and on her website.
Daisy Clennon Daisy Clennon attended Bennington College in Vermont and graduations in ‘21 with a BA in Environmental Studies and Visual Art. She's been teaching at Handful Studios in Portland and previously was a ceramic technical assistant at Haystack and production potter at Wolf Ceramics in Seattle, WA. See her work on Instagram.
Grace Mendenhall (she/her) is a multidisciplinary ceramic artist and educator. Her pinch-formed, functionally-sculptural work is an exploration of memory, grief, and tactile connection across time. Born and raised in Austin, TX, Grace began her clay practice as a wood-fire studio assistant at 28A Clay in the Catskill Mountains. She has since built a career firing kilns, as well as teaching beginner and intermediate wheel-throwing and hand-building at community studios including Feats of Clay Pottery, East Side Pot Shop, Tumbleweed Clay, Dougherty Arts Center, and ArtShack Brooklyn. Grace also teaches workshops in atmospheric firing, including soda, pit and barrel, raku, and wood-firing, as well as kiln building and wild clay processing.
Her work can be seen on Instagram at @et.al.pottery
Portrait photos by Riley Gately.
Amy Jane Larkin is an artist and illustrator living and working in Arundel, Maine. Amy has a BFA in Sculpture from MassArt. She has been making ceramics at Mill Pond for the last two years, primarily focusing on hand-built sculptures and vessels and loves to experiment with color and texture Amy’s work can be seen on Instagram or on her website.