Lissa
owner and studio creator
Lately, Lissa has been obsessed with throwing orchid pots for her horticulturalist family and friends, and she’s super excited and a bit anxious to tell everyone that her latest creations have been accepted into a gallery for the spring. Lissa’s dear mother was an artist, and taught her children to draw and paint before they knew how to walk; when JoLou sent Lissa’s painting of a school bus to a children’s art contest, it won Lissa a series of classes at a local art center; and of course, she chose pottery. That was at age 12, and she’s been throwing ever since. Today, she teaches beginning through advanced wheel at Fire and Sky, the studio she opened in December of 2022. Lissa also teaches writing at university, has three grown children who are forces to be reckoned with, is a beekeeper, kombucha maker, gardener, writer, and loves going to the movies and coffee more than she’s capable of saying. She’s looking forward to welcoming you into what we know will become your home away from home!
Sarah
studio co-director and instructor
Sarah fell in love with pottery while studying studio art as an undergrad at Virginia Tech. She came to us two years ago from the Cultural Arts Center in Glen Allen where she spent over ten years learning from Jane Fancher Hendley (a well-known artist in Richmond, VA). Sarah loves to carve her pieces and especially enjoys throwing little magical pumpkins. She firmly believes that nothing compares to drinking coffee out a mug she made herself. She is always creating art; from mosaics and paintings to drawings and knit baby blankets. When she isn’t working full time at Virginia Tech or in the studio, she can be found outside hiking or canoeing on the river with friends. Some of the best people in Sarah’s life have come from the pottery studio, and she looks forward to all the new friendships that will be formed here at Fire and Sky!
Rude
studio co-director and instructor
Rude is a retired Master Tile Setter, Spoon Carver, Spring Pole Lathe Turner, Traditional Archer, and Art Handler. He and his long time partner, Diane, and their lovely dog, a Mcnab named Pfinn, moved back to Blacksburg after 25 years in the Pacific Northwest. His love of clay started while slip casting ceramic bells in a small factory in the late 1980’s and has developed over the years to include wheel thrown, press-molded, jiggered, pounded, carved, mixed, coiled, sculpted, paddled, punched, rolled, and extruded forms. He has a deep interest in ceramic history and all traditional methods of creating and firing pottery, and is right now obsessed with making pour-overs. Rude listens to all kinds of music, and he is consistently (yet adoringly) teased for his playlists which jump from classical to doom metal, jazz to opera. You might see Rude at the Taubman Museum in Roanoke, the Moss Art Center at VT, or hopefully in class here at the Studio, making stuff out of clay and showing you how to make stuff out of clay.
Q
our newest instructor
And introducing our newest instructor, “Q”! Born in Beijing, China, Qingnan (or “Q”) is an all-around artist specializing in landscaping, horticulture, design, and ceramics. She pursued her education at Pratt Institute in New York City for four years, and has lived everywhere; Brooklyn is her favorite city so far. Her artistic style is characterized by its endearing nature, reflecting the culture and environments she has experienced — from idyllic countryside scenes to the bustling cityscape. Qingnan initially learned the art of hand building under Rude’s guidance, but she has since honed her skills to include slab building, pinching, coiling, and wheel throwing, each technique contributing to her unique style. When Lissa, Sarah, and Rude saw Q’s dedication to the studio, we invited her to be our intern – and as part of her artist-in-internship program, she teaches our one-night handbuilding classes, where students make cups, animals, hanging pockets, planters, and tiny houses. Q has three cacti that are 6 years old, and she enjoys making dumplings – for friends to eat – and dumplings in clay, that are the most adorable little pieces we’ve ever seen. During her leisure time, Q enjoys hiking, where she collects various botanicals to press their forms onto clay, but her favorite piece she has made thus far is the vase, pictured here!
