“I have been studying textures on functional ceramics, transforming conventional forms into works of art—pots that matter for people who care.”

I was introduced to clay in an introductory ceramics class at Keystone College in 1996, where I watched artist and professor Bill Tersteeg effortlessly shape a large bowl on his wheel. That moment changed everything. I fell in love with clay, its versatility, its honesty, its willingness to hold the mark of whoever touched it. I earned my AFA and went on to pursue a BFA in Ceramics at Marywood University, studying under artist and professor Matt Povse. During that time, I paused my studies to apprentice with Sharon DiGennaro at Wild Flower Pottery in Thompson, PA, learning what books couldn’t teach.

After graduation, student loans and the absence of studio space forced me to store my wheel and kilns for ten long years while I worked in manufacturing. When my wife and I bought our home, I finally dug them out and started again. That return to clay, encouraged by family and sustained by stubbornness, became Creek Road Pottery LLC.

That was ten years ago. What began as a small home studio in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania has grown into something I didn’t fully anticipate: a community.

Today I work primarily in gas reduction firing, producing functional stoneware designed for real life, pieces made to be used, shared, and passed around a table. I demonstrate raku publicly at shows, where the fire does its unpredictable work in front of whoever wants to watch. In 2025, I completed a nine-month throwing cohort under Amy Palatnick alongside twenty-four fellow students, a deliberate investment in going deeper rather than wider. I correspond with fellow pottery enthusiasts through my Pottery Pen Pal Program, where letters move slowly, and conversations go further, including exchanges with Jack Troy, author of Wood-Fired Stoneware and Porcelain.

I host the Pintool Podcast, now in its fifth season with over 20,000 cumulative downloads, and write The Pottery Dailies, a daily reflection on craft, practice, and what it means to keep showing up.

At the center of everything right now is Ana, our wood kiln, built by hand, brick by brick, on our property in Laceyville. Her first community firing is planned for late summer 2026. She is not just a kiln. She is the next chapter.

My goal has always been the same: make work that matters, find the people who care, and keep the fire burning, literally and otherwise.

Alford Wayman

Creek Road Pottery LLC,

Laceyville, Pennsylvania