Today we’d like to introduce you to Marlaina Mathisen.
Hi Marlaina, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey with pottery began long before I ever sat down at a pottery wheel. When I was seven or eight years old, I spent much of my time exploring the woods, valleys, and creeks near my home in Illinois. One day, while digging in a creek bed, I discovered a deposit of wild clay. Fascinated by the material, I began shaping it into simple forms and vessels. More than twenty years later, I still harvest clay from that same deposit. That discovery sparked a lifelong curiosity about natural materials and the joy of transforming them into functional objects.
Years later, while attending Principia Boarding School, I met a pottery instructor who believed in my potential and encouraged my growth as an artist. Although my teacher focused primarily on handbuilding, I fell in love with wheel throwing. The wheel felt like an endless tool for creating useful, beautiful forms, and I became captivated by its possibilities.
My teacher later submitted my artwork for a scholarship competition at Kansas City Art Institute, where I received an award and scholarship. After attending KCAI, I transferred to Principia College, where I earned a degree in Studio Art, studied Educational Studies, and completed a minor in Global Studies. Along the way, I continued learning through workshops across the country, classes at Elgin Community College, and studies at Jacobi Art Studio.
After college, I pursued every opportunity I could find to deepen my knowledge of ceramics. I taught pottery at several organizations, served as department head of ceramics at Camp High Rocks, taught within the University of Wisconsin–Madison ceramics program, and completed a year-long residency in Door County, Wisconsin, where I gained valuable production pottery and gallery experience.
At 25, I began saving to open my own pottery studio. I taught classes, sold commissioned pottery, worked in galleries, and picked up shifts at coffee shops, all while slowly building the financial foundation for my dream. Two years later, at age 27, I opened Throw Pottery Studio completely debt-free and without taking out loans.
Today, Throw Pottery Studio is more than a place to make pottery. It is a community space where people learn new skills, build confidence, create friendships, and experience the joy of making something with their hands. My passion for teaching comes from seeing how pottery changes people. It has expanded my own life in countless ways, and I love watching students discover that same confidence and sense of possibility within themselves.
Looking ahead, I hope to continue growing Throw Pottery into a thriving creative community with expanded facilities, more instructors, advanced programming, and opportunities for artists of all skill levels. At its core, my mission remains the same: helping people create, connect, and grow through clay.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like creating anything meaningful, the journey has involved a tremendous amount of uncertainty, fear, sacrifice, and hard work. I believe that anything of real value requires you to grow through challenges, and opening Throw Pottery was no exception.
One of the biggest struggles was simply not knowing if it would be possible. I spent years saving money and trying to build a financial foundation strong enough to open a studio without taking on debt. Even after saving, I wasn’t sure I would be able to find a building that met the needs of a pottery studio and was still affordable. There were many moments when the dream felt far away.
There were plenty of tears, difficult decisions, long workdays, and moments of self-doubt along the way. The studio exists today because of persistence, faith, and a willingness to keep moving forward even when the outcome was uncertain.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a ceramic artist, educator, and founder of Throw Pottery Studio & Gallery in Illinois. My work centers around functional pottery, community building, and arts education. Over the past 12 years, I have studied, taught, and created pottery in a variety of settings, from educational institutions and summer camps to artist residencies and my own studio. Today, I specialize in wheel-thrown functional ceramics and helping people of all skill levels discover the joy of working with clay.
What I am most proud of is building Throw Pottery Studio from the ground up. I spent years saving, planning, teaching, and selling pottery to make the dream a reality, eventually opening the studio debt-free at age 27. Beyond the physical space, I am proud of the community that has formed within it! Its a place where people can create, learn, gain confidence, and connect with one another through art.
What sets me apart is my combination of empathy as a teacher and curiosity as an artist. I strive to create an environment where students feel welcomed, encouraged, and capable, regardless of their experience level. As a maker, I approach clay with a childlike sense of wonder and exploration. I am constantly experimenting, learning, and pushing myself to grow. That curiosity has been with me since I first discovered wild clay in a creek near my childhood home, and it continues to inspire my work today.
What matters most to you?
I discovered something that expanded my life, and now I want to create opportunities for that expansion in other people’s lives.
This is what matters most to me. Helping people grow into the fullest version of themselves while continuing to grow myself. I believe life is meant to be explored with curiosity, courage, and a willingness to keep learning. Some of the most meaningful experiences in my own life have come from discovering that I was capable of more than I originally believed.
I believe a rising tide raises all ships. When we help others grow, create, and succeed, we grow as well. That’s why I am passionate about teaching, community, and creating spaces where people feel encouraged to explore, learn, and become more than they were yesterday.
Pricing:
- Around 85 for a one day workshop
- Around 65 per class for a multi-week class
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.throwpottery.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marlaina_thepotterylady/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584906386437
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Marlaina_thepotterylady
