VOLUNTEER POWERED

Nonprofit, Volunteer Powered, Pottery Focused.

The mission of the Minnesota Pottery Festival is to provide a venue for high quality clay artists to educate and engage with an increasingly knowledgeable public by raising the public’s appreciation and understanding of pottery and help broaden the depth and breadth of ceramic arts in Minnesota.

Grateful to our Generous Supporters

The Minnesota Pottery Festival is made possible in part by grants provided by the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Southwest Minnesota Arts Council (SMAC) through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature from the State's arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

The Minnesota Pottery Festival Board would also like to thank our generous supporters: Continental Clay Company, Crow River Winery, Hutchinson Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, Minnesota Clay Company, Smith-Sharpe Fire Brick Supply, Shimpo Ceramics, and all of our generous individual donors and volunteers.

Meet our Board of Directors

Betsy Price (Board President) is the former owner of the Clay Coyote Pottery and Gallery with her business partner Tom Wirt. Together they opened the Clay Coyote in Hutchinson in 1994. Tom and Betsy have collaborated to make over 145,000 handcrafted, one-of-a-kind pots. Betsy currently serves as the Board President for the MN Pottery Festival. Betsy has a passion for organizing community arts. She is a founding member of the Hutchinson Theatre Company and the RiverSong Music Festival and The Minnesota Pottery Festival. Other volunteer activities include Hutchinson Chamber of Commerce, Hutchinson Arts and Crafts committees, Hutchinson Hospital Auxiliary, and the Forest City Stockade. In 2010, Betsy was named “Volunteer of the Year” in Hutchinson. Other career highlights include Regional Recruiter at Bakers Square, a holding of Vicorp Restaurants, Inc. And in the 1970’s, she was a partner in a vegetarian restaurant and music club called Juicy John Pinks in DeKalb, IL and started a food co-op there that is still running to this day. When not in the studio or gallery, you can find Betsy in the garden, with her grandchildren, rooting for the Chicago Cubs, or planning her next travel adventure.

Morgan Baum (Board Member) is the Owner and CEO of The Clay Coyote in Hutchinson, Minnesota. The Clay Coyote is a small business incubator for emerging ceramic artists in central Minnesota. From 2004 to 2016, Morgan worked for the national nonprofit Consumer Reports where she educated the public and helped to empower consumers to make the marketplace more fair, safe, and healthy for everyone. Most recently serving as the Associate Director of Development, leading the Consumer Reports’ major donor giving efforts. Morgan previously worked for the Center for Public Integrity as an investigative reporter and researcher. Morgan is a 2001 graduate from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls where she studied political science, journalism, and art. In 2013, Morgan graduated with honors from Columbia University where she completed her Master’s in fundraising and nonprofit management. In her spare time she and her husband enjoy traveling, playing golf, and working with local nonprofits.

Kerry Brooks (Board Member) is the sole proprietor of Dock 6 Pottery in Minneapolis, MN. Dock 6 started in 1994 as a collective of 4 potters looking to share expenses. The other founding members have moved on, and Kerry has run the business for the past 11 years, growing the company to its current level of 45 employees, with several nationwide chains representing her work. Kerry’s formal training as a potter was in Ann Arbor, MI from 1988 to 1992, and Minneapolis has been her home since 1993. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Music from California State University (1988), and another bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan in American Cultures (1992). She was a graduate student and PhD candidate in American Cultures at the University of Minnesota where she taught many undergraduate courses including American History, Women’s Studies, and Writing for the Arts. Her philanthropic work has centered mostly around her daughter’s education as Kerry has volunteered in various educational settings and with the Girl Scouts of America. Pottery remains her passion, but she loves to travel and sing when she’s not running her business or raising her daughter.

Nicole Grobe (Board Member) Nicole was born and raised in Hutchinson, MN and graduated from Hutchinson High School.  After, she attended the University of Wisconsin Stout with a major in Fine Arts with a concentration in Graphic Design.  Graduating in 2002 into a very tough job market she found herself working in the finance world.  She moved on to retail management and then back into banking management.  She is now the Manager of two branches of MidCountry Bank in Hutchinson and Glencoe.  She spends time on the Glencoe Days Committee, Economic Development in Glencoe, The Hutchinson Ambassadors and supporting other community events by volunteering her time.  She currently lives in Hutchinson with her husband and two kids.  She spends time hiking and relaxing at their cabin in Finland MN, reading, watching her son play baseball and is currently learning how to play golf along with her daughter.

Lori Krenik (Board Member) is an Official Court Reporter in Minnesota's First Judicial District – Sibley County.  She worked in Richmond, VA, as a freelance court reporter for 30+ years, moving back to her native Hutchinson, MN, in 2018.  Lori has a wide array of volunteering experience, including advocating for children in the court system, sitting on the board of an education foundation, organizing volunteers for PTAs and other organizations, and working on behalf of many sociopolitical issues.  She currently is a Board member for the McLeod Alliance which provides assistance to those affected by domestic violence.  Lori lives with her husband, Mike, and their dog, Buster, in Hutchinson.  They have two adult children, Alyssa and Matthew, and daughter-in-law, Erin, in Richmond, VA.   Lori enjoys reading, biking the many MN trails, antiquing, and cooking.

Nate Saunders (Board Member) began taking pottery classes at the Edina Art Center at the age of 5. He quickly fell in love with the responsiveness of clay and was hooked a couple of years after when he tried throwing on the wheel for the first time. Something about it just kept bringing him back constantly and leaving each class he’d remember hardly being able to wait for the next. As he grew, he began taking adult classes at the Art Center at age 11. Being challenges in this way really helped Nate to grow as a person and develop his skills in clay. Shortly thereafter Nate was given the opportunity to start working as an Intern in the ceramics studio. This was one of his most valuable experiences in life. Nate was truly immersed in clay. Through this job he began to learn about mixing and recycling clay, mixing slips and glazes, as well as, fire kilns. He learned so much from this experience that he will carry for the rest of his life. Nate’s work for the past few years has been primarily salt/soda fired. In addition, he quite often fires wood or gas reduction kilns. All of his work is wheel thrown on a Leach Treadle Wheel and is made for daily use. Nate strives for a high level of craftsmanship and makes pots that are aesthetically beautiful. His goal is to create pieces that create a conversation with the user and truly enhance daily life. Nate started selling his work here and there, but in 2015 was when he really started to participate in art fairs, sales, and shows. After graduating high school, Nate is attending the College at Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. He feels that he is truly blessed to be apart of this incredible ceramics community and to be working with two incredible potters, Samuel Johnson, and Joe Singewald.

Mary Jo Schmith (Board Member) As a BFA graduate from the University of Minnesota, artist & potter Mary Jo was undoubtedly influenced by professors Warren MacKenzie & Mark Pharis & their commitment to functional pottery.  Now with more than 20 years of clay production experience she works daily to produce inspired functional fine craft for your table, kitchen & home.

“CLAY gives me a medium to celebrate the never-ending life cycles that surround & move with us thru our days!  A glimpse fired into permanence, the pottery’s surface becomes a sketch book capturing the nuance of a blossoming birch flower or a stem of Rudbeckia bending in the hot summer’s breeze. I LOVE that I can make functional art!”

 Front Avenue Pottery was established in 2001 and designs and creates fine crafted, high quality, playfully decorative dinner & serving ware & clay tile.

Dany Stoufer (Board Member) is a graduate of Hutchinson High School. He went on to study graphic design at Minnesota State University, Mankato and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. During college he worked as a sound technician and event set up at the student union. He has an eye for detail and wants to make sure every event is the best it can be. He’s been behind the scenes for the Minnesota Pottery Festival for the past few years but was recruited to be on the board in 2022. He works as a graphic designer at Crow River Press and part time at The Paint Factory, both in Hutchinson. Dany won Hutchinson’s Water Carnival button design in 2019 and his work hangs down Hutchinson’s Main Street in the summer months on a banner of Library Square. He and his wife live in Hutch along with their dog and two cats. Dany enjoys all sports and especially going to Vikings and Wild games. Dany is an avid fan of Hard Rock Cafe. It’s a goal of his to visit each one in the US and has been to 26 so far!