Beth Ryan, owner of Grand Salon and Gallery in Stillwater, MN, started making pottery in high school. Like many artists, she took a hiatus from clay to get married and raise a family.

In 1996, Beth returned to clay with a focus on sharing her love of pottery with others through her gallery and the Annual Rustic Road Pottery Sale (the 3rd weekend in September) at her historic homestead in Hudson, WI. Teaching Clay Dates is just one more way for her to share the joy of pottery with others.

Ernest Miller earned a B.A. in Three-Dimensional Studio Art from Eastern Illinois University, Carleston, IL. A ceramicist and sculptor, he has extensive experience teaching adults and children in Minnesota and Illinois. An exhibitor and award winner in many juried shows, his work is widely collected.

Judy Anderson began making pottery in 1977. She attended the University of Minnesota where she received her B.A., with an emphasis on Studio Arts in 2006. She has been a member of Fired Up Studios since 1998. She began teaching at Fired Up Studios in August, 2008.

Peter Jadoonath earned a B.F.A in Studio Arts from Bemidji State University in 1998. Since then he has developed roots in Lowertown, St. Paul where he established his studio "Toppot Clay" in the 262 Building. Peter received a Jerome Project Grant in 2007 from the Northern Clay Center. He used this opportunity to investigate the sculptural qualities of his pottery vocabulary. Peter makes functional pottery, he focuses on texture, gesture, balance and proportion.

Ralph Nuara began making pottery while attending Rhode Island School of Design where he received a BFA in Textiles in 2003. He continued his pottery practice while working in NYC as a designer and buyer in the textiles and home furnishings industry. After three years of designing full time he decided to dedicate more time to hands-on making in the studio. Before relocating to Minneapolis in 2008 he has moved about studying and making pottery at studios in RI, NY, and IL. He is continually exploring the relationships between function, form, and surface to keep his pieces fresh and his time in the studio challenging. He draws inspiration from a wide variety of sources ranging from traditional Japanese folk pottery and textiles to Abstract Expressionist painting. He makes pieces with the intention that they be used regularly and strongly feels that a broken pot has fulfilled its role better than one which has never been used.

Steve Hemingway, a Michigan native, has been residing in Minnesota for fifteen years. He is an accomplished artist in all media, specializing in ceramics, with a focus on extensive detail and the raku firing process. Steve's work is influenced by the forces of nature and worldwide cultures, often creating pieces related to the seasons, migrations, and geography of areas visited. His commissioned work has led to numerous private collections throughout the United States.

Sue joined Fired Up Studios nearly 10 years ago and before that worked on her pottery in Florida. For several years, she spearheaded a collaborative fundraising effort with Fired Up Studio and Canterbury Park, benefiting Children’s Surgery International, which provides free, life changing surgery to children all over the world. The artists of Fired Up threw hundreds of bowls which were sold and ‘filled’ at Canterbury Park on a summer Sunday, dedicated to CSI. Consequently, Sue is pretty proficient at making bowls! When she gets time to work on her own projects, she enjoys carving, in both stoneware and porcelain.