Teachers and Staff

Debbie has lived and worked in the Vail Valley for 30+ years. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Ohio University with a major in painting, however, realized in her final quarter that her passion was really ceramics. From graduation on, she pursued ceramics beginning with work in a small pottery studio on the upper west side of Manhattan. Eventually, she began teaching pottery classes, entering her work in art shows around the city and finally became one of the founding members and owners of the 78th Street Pottery Coop in New York City. In 1976 she attended a summer workshop at the SummerVail Art Workshops, where she studied ceramics and fell in love with Colorado. She accepted a position with the SummerVail Art Workshops as ceramics assistant, and moved to Vail. Debbie says, “It was an inspiring summer and I continued to work for the Workshop for several summers, in addition to teaching pottery classes at Colorado Mountain College’s two facilities in Vail and Eagle.” She produced a line of dinner ware in her East Vail pottery studio, and her pottery was sold in galleries in Vail, Minturn, and Glenwood Springs, as well as numerous art shows and festivals throughout Colorado, including Vail Arts Festivals where she won Best of Show several years running. In addition to her ceramics career, Debbie taught Art at Red Sandstone Elementary School for many years.