Our Instructors
Yiu-Keung Lee | Head Instructor
After graduating with an MFA from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1995, Lee continued to teach at several institutions in Michigan including University of Michigan, Residential College in Ann Arbor, Eastern Michigan University, Henry Ford Community College, Schoolcraft College, Oakland Community College, and the College of Creative Studies… Learn More About Lee
Dennison Dorsey | Wheel THrowing
Dennison received a BFA with a concentration in sculpture from Eastern Michigan University in 2015. After graduating, Dennison continued studying ceramics under the instruction of Lee and began working at Clay Work Studio. He also worked as an assistant for ceramic artists, Susanne Stephenson and Kate Tremel. Dennison has been teaching at Clay Work Studio since 2016 and currently teaches wheel throwing classes. His personal artistic practice consists of sculpture, pottery, drawing, painting, and music. His work explores the interface of nature, technology and language.
Jenn Gerrity | Wheel Throwing
Jenn Gerrity stepped away from her career as a medical speech-language pathologist to pursue graduate studies in ceramics at Cranbrook Academy of Art, earning her MFA in 2025.
Today, she moves between teaching ceramics, working as a speech-language pathologist, and maintaining an active studio practice. Her work typically begins on the potter’s wheel and is then playfully altered through gesture, color, and line to create both sculptural and functional work.
Maggie Valle | Wheel Throwing
Maggie graduated from Michigan State University with a BFA in ceramics and double major in teaching in 2012. Since then, Maggie professionally teaches special education students at the young adult level while sharing her love of clay both with her students and anyone interested. She produces mainly functional work with a focus on surface treatment through slip, carved texture, underglaze, and glaze. She believes that the use of handmade goods improves quality of life and she wants everyone to experience that feeling of making and using well-crafted, distinctive pieces.
Monica Wilson
Monica Rickhoff Wilson creates tactile lifescapes – snapshots of performance, experience, and technique in both clay and image.
Wilson majored in ceramics and sculpture, studies glaze chemistry, and has interests in design and photography. She works from her home studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan… Learn More about Monica
Nicole Pangas | Wheel Throwing
Nicole has been a studio artist for more than 30 years. She earned her BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art, studying ceramics with minors in printmaking and painting. She continued her studies in drawing and ceramics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and in stone carving, poetry, and photography at the LaCoste School of Arts in France.
Nicole moved to Detroit to become an Artist-in-Residence at Pewabic Pottery, where she also worked as a master potter and ceramics instructor. She later taught ceramics at the College for Creative Studies. Nicole also owned and operated her own ceramics business for more than 14 years.
Her work has encompassed printmaking, painting, collage, handmade tile, sculpture, utilitarian pottery, and drawing. Material and process are the driving forces behind her work, serving as a means of creating imagery and form.
Margaret Miller
After graduating with a BA in Ceramics from Aquinas College in 2015, Margaret met Lee while studying for her MFA in printmaking and teaching at Eastern Michigan University (2019). Margaret has been an instructor at Clay Work Studio since 2016. She also currently works in the kiln room and as a glaze technician at Motawi Tile Co. She has exhibited her work at the Ann Arbor Art Fair, the MCAA biannual show and many other places around Michigan.
Kaylon Khorsheed | Hand Building
Kaylon went to Western Michigan University for her bachelors degree in fine arts with a concentration in ceramics, and is hoping to be accepted in a graduate program this Fall. For the past 8 years Kaylon has worked at art camps and taught youth ceramics classes. Kaylon has been working at Clay Works for about 2 years now teaching youth classes, hand building, and wheel throwing for beginners. She is passionate about learning, teaching and self expression. Kaylon’s long term goal is to continue being a part of a space of learning through creative practices.
