Inas Agabein

Inas has been part of the District Clay Center community since 2016, when she enrolled in classes with the late Mike Pappas, whose early teaching sparked her love for clay. She joined the DCC team as a Studio Tech in January 2024 and now helps keep the studio running smoothly — from pugging reclaim and firing kilns to assigning shelves and making name tags for new members.

For Inas, pottery is more than making functional pieces; it’s a spiritual practice. She loves the mindfulness of working with her hands, the feeling of being connected to the earth, and the endless opportunities to learn from both teachers and fellow students at DCC. Mike’s frequent reminder to “inhale and exhale like a normal human being” still grounds her at the wheel and helps her practice being fully present in the studio and in real life. Her current work is inspired by exploring her indigenous connection to Sudanese art forms and motifs, weaving a piece of her heritage into everything she makes.

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Jahdiel Torres Cabá

Jahdiel Torres Cabá was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where, at a young age, he developed a love for ceramics inspired by his mother, who created arts and crafts for community events. That early exposure grew into a lasting curiosity, which he pursued more formally in 2021, when he began taking wheel-throwing classes at the District Clay Center (DCC) under the guidance of Jenny Beech. His dedication quickly deepened, and he became a studio technician at DCC to learn the many processes involved in ceramic making. Jahdiel especially enjoys glaze-making and glaze chemistry, exploring how colors, textures, melting behaviors, and material interactions can transform clay surfaces. 

Most recently, his work—often inadvertently—has been influenced by the 1980s Memphis Design movement. This influence has led him to experiment with simple yet bold designs, characterized by angular, symmetrical shapes and vibrant colors.

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Lillian Hawkins

Lily Hawkins first had the chance to use a potter's wheel for one week in a high school art class in 1996. Although she loved it and went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts (in painting) from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, she didn't return to pottery for more than 20 years. When a flexible day job allowed her to become a student at District Clay, she quickly started dropping into the studio whenever possible. She then became a community artist, a studio tech, and now a substitute teacher. Lily enjoys making functional objects and learning new pottery techniques.

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Maura McCandlish

Maura McCandlish has been working with clay for 15 years. Her affinity for clay started at a young age when she’d dig under the sandbox as a child to pinch little pots of clay she’d found. She started first learning on a kick wheel in high school. Maura studied at Marymount University where in her third year, they built the ceramic studio and she met her mentor Joseph Hicks. Her love of clay, materiality, surfaces and form of ceramics came rushing back.

​Maura was introduced to Aaron Brophy who was the head of the Landon School ceramics department and her love of teaching was sparked. She began teaching summers with Brophy until she graduated with a Biology degree and a minor in Studio Arts. She went on to teach with the Arlington Park & Recreation and then went on to help build the ceramics program for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Arlington before ending up at District Clay. Maura has experience with all ages from five to seventy-five. She draws her passion in continued learning within the ceramics process from the endless combinations of clay, firings, and glazes, and the endless chances for magic and growth.

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Thien Nguyen

Thien Nguyen is a studio tech at DCC. He was the first resident artist at DCC and has been doing pottery for 30 years.

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Esther Robbins

Esther Robbins started working with clay in the 1980s on the Stanford University campus--in the dorm basement across from the laundry room (so convenient--throw in a load, throw a couple of pots!). After a lengthy break, she is BACK and has been making pottery at District Clay Center since 2017. She loves trying new things, making bigger and bigger bowls, and expanding her clay repertoire. Her primary focus is functional pottery, and she believes strongly that food and drink are much more nourishing when consumed from handmade pottery!
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Now that she is a carefree retired person, she has even more time to devote to the studio. If you don't find her working at a wheel, she is likely loading a kiln or pugging clay (as a DCC Studio Tech).

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Kit Ruseau

Kit has been wrestling mud for 30 years.  Her love affair with clay began in a Prince George’s Community College ceramics class. The intimate and uncomplicated process of coiling and pinching pots was appealing and the perfect complement to her day job as an engineer at Goddard Space Flight Center. She has attended numerous workshops and classes in handbuilding and atmospheric firing.  Her current work is handbuilt unglazed wood-fired vessels. Kit teaches ceramics classes at District Clay Center and Material Things Studio, and also enjoys being a volunteer and foster for various animal rescue organizations.

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Lucy Soth

Lucy is originally from Madison, Wisconsin. She started doing ceramics in high school, and, once in college, spent much of her time in Oberlin’s student-run pottery coop. Ceramics opened the door to other tactile art forms, and she has since taken up crocheting, beading, engraving, punch needling, and lampshade-making. Ceramics remains her favorite, though, and after two years between studios, she’s thrilled to be a part of District Clay!

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Barbara Stauffer

Barbara grew up in the Boston area and, after a few international sojourns, moved to Washington, DC in 1989. In the District, she began taking pottery classes, first at Eastern Market Pottery and then at Hinckley Pottery. Weekly wheel-throwing classes were her zen during the first half of her more than 30-year career in exhibitions and education at the National Museum of Natural History. After a 15-year break to focus on her career and her family, Barbara rediscovered ceramics with District Clay Center during the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to pursue ceramics full time . She completed her Post-Baccalaureate Certificate of Ceramic Artisanry at UMass Dartmouth in May 2023 and enjoys teaching youth hand building classes at District Clay Center.