Amy Peseller
Amy Peseller fell in love with clay in high school. She created and directed and after-school clay program to allow other high school art students like herself to have more time with the clay. From there, she pursued an education in pottery and crafts at The University of Fine Arts degree in 2008. Amy then traveled south accepting an internship in Florida at the St. Petersburg Clay Company. While there, she also worked full time at The Craftsman House art gallery. It was in Florida where Amy discovered her love for wood firing and being a part of the clay community. She followed this love to North Carolina and Involved herself in wood firing for a variety of artists all across a pottery town called Seagrove. There, she met artists Daniel Johnston and Mark Hewitt and gained plenty of hands-on learning experience.
Upon returning home to New Jersey in 2010, Amy found herself at Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center in Millville where she accepted an internship in the pottery studio under master potter, Terry Plasket. As a child, Amy had visited WheatonArts on a class tour, and Terry was the first person she had ever seen working on a pottery wheel. After eight years, Amy continues to work here today. She is now the direct assistant to Terry Plasket and a living resident artist on the WheatonArts grounds. She participates in many of WheatonArts’ events throughout the year while also performing daily pottery wheel demonstrations to the visiting public. Her time in Terry’s studio has provided her with endless opportunities from kilns to connections to being a part of a tightly knit clay family. it is here that she has learned how to pursue a full-time career as a potter.
Amy has built many kilns alongside Terry over the years. She has access to Wood firing, Salt firing, and Reduction/Oxidation gas firing. Learning all the fine tuning of firing these natural gas kilns has allowed Amy’s body of work to grow tremendously. Amy sells her work in the General Store on the Wheaton Arts grounds, in a co-op gallery in Rancocas Woods, NJ, and in a variety of craft shows throughout the year, including the Festival of Fine Crafts held at WheatonArts. She also accepts custom orders such as dinner sets, pie plates, and other functional tableware and baking items.
In 2017 Amy took a long trip to Japan and traveled around the country visiting famous pottery towns such as Tokoname and Shigaraki where clay has been in production for hundreds of years. She stayed with many clay artists and immersed herself in a great deal of pottery culture. This influenced and inspired her work in a big way.
Amy’s goal for the future is to continue to grow and gain skills as a potter and to hopefully one day be masterful at shaping clay. Amy hopes to remain at WheatonArts for the rest of her career while exploring other places and experiences along the way.
