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
207-229-3560 (voice and text)
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.
Anna Smith is a student and soon to be graduate of USM with a BFA concentration in ceramics. She grew up in the lakes region of New Hampshire and has since moved to the seacoast of Maine. She loves to explore the surface textures of different clay bodies when creating her functional clay vessels. She believes in everyone’s ability to be creative no matter what skills they start with.
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.
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.
Andrew Durham studied Ceramics at Scripps college with Paul Soldner where he learned to relate to ceramics as a fine art and not just a craft. He has since been inspired through his love of Japanese Ceramics, and tea culture specifically, to refine and develop cups, bowls and serving dishes. As a homeowner, Andrew likes to create natural plaster wall finishes (earth and lime based) and straw bale structures. Andrew is also currently working as a Geologist with a degree from UC Berkeley. See his work on Instagram.
Daisy Hutt is from rural Vermont and moved to Portland in 2018 to attend Maine College of Art. Since graduating with a BFA in Ceramics, she has been teaching pottery to all age groups and hosting community outreach clay and painting classes at memory care homes, senior living centers and most recently created a ceramics program within the women's center at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham. Daisy’s goal for her classes is to be accessible and welcoming space for building community around clay. See her work on Instagram.
Piper Smith is a multidisciplinary artist from Kittery, Maine, where she owns and operate Bracken & Briar. She studied ceramics at Maine College of Art and graduated with a BFA in Ceramics in May of 2020. Originally attending Maine College of Art for illustration and printmaking, these techniques and graphic qualities heavily influence her work. Nature, flowers and fruit are also a large influence. Plants frequent the surface of Piper’s ceramics. An appreciator of the ritual aspect of using functional ceramics, she mainly makes functional forms, often using a technique called sgraffito to carve through slip and colorful underglaze to reveal the red earthenware clay body underneath. See her work on Instagram and on her website.