Colleen makes work in her Berkeley, CA studio. She took her first ceramics class more than ten years ago with Mary Law at Contra Costa College and later studied ceramics at Diablo Valley College. Since then, she has joined Mary Law’s firing team and participates in group firings throughout the year at Mary’s Berkeley studio.

Colleen in her studio with her favorite pot.

“Parts/Work”, handbuilt porcelain, glazed. 2022.
A pot about therapy, inner children and giving thanks to the Internal Family Systems therapeutic model.

Colleen teaches community classes at the Richmond Art Center as well as one-on-one lessons at her studio in Berkeley. She has taught at studios around the Bay, and loves working with students.

She is interested in researching and sharing the history of ceramics, especially the stories of women, trans and nonbinary people working in clay. Learn more in her class “Women in Ceramics” at the Richmond Art Center.

Komodo Dragon Mug, 2022. Soda fired stoneware.

In her own work, Colleen focuses on functionality, form and surface decoration. She loves color and illustration, and especially drawing self portraits and animals. Colleen’s favorite animals are albatrosses and brown pelicans, komodo dragons and crocodiles, nudibranchs and house cats.

Colleen is a fourth-generation Richmond resident and is an avid reader, enjoys amateur bird watching, day hikes, and loves cooking as much as she loves clay.