Creativity & Community: Meet Hand In Hand Honorees

Join us for Hand in Hand 2025, as we celebrate some of the passionate and dedicated students who have been part of our Clay Art Center community for more than 15 years. Meet some of our honorees - Wendy Kaufman, Susan Leifer, Stephanie Mark, and Renie Raiti - below, and keep your eye out for future posts on more of the honorees.

Wendy Kaufman lived outside of Boston until she was 13, when her family moved to Mamaroneck, NY. It was only a few years later, at the age of 15, that Wendy took her first clay class during summer school - although she also remembers loving the clay projects she did during summer camp in earlier years. When Wendy first began taking classes at Clay Art Center, she took wheel throwing with Georgia Tenore, and this and future classes gave Wendy the space, tools, and support that she needed to develop as a ceramicist. Since those first classes, Clay Art Center has always been special to Wendy, a place where she found camaraderie and growth as both a person and an artist. “Clay Art Center is my happy place, my refuge and my community,” Wendy shared, “When I first started taking classes, the three hours at Clay Art Center were a highlight of my week. Many years later, I am lucky to have a shelf in Independent Study, and I plan my week around spending as much time as possible creating in clay alongside my clay family.”

After more than 15 years with her clay family, Wendy continues to learn from everyone around her, and she noted that the most important lesson that she’s learned here at Clay Art Center is that it takes a village to grow as a potter. For Wendy, arriving at 40 Beech Street ready to sink her hands into a new project is a special occasion. “I look forward to walking into Clay Art Center every time I arrive,” Wendy said, “I love the mosaic on the outside wall, the glazed pieces at the top of the stairs, seeing the outdoor works of art, and then entering the building. The sounds of the wheel spinning, people wedging, children laughing in the summer, adults chatting, and greeting my fellow lovers of clay which includes staff, students and artists. I am home!” We are so happy to serve as Wendy’s creative home, and we look forward to seeing what she makes of the next 15 years.

“My fellow claymates have helped support me through the loss of my mother, a journey through cancer, and becoming an empty nester, along with other life altering events. They have also been there to celebrate all the wins and special moments: the birth of my grandson, the weddings of two of my sons, the end of chemo, and many others.” - Wendy Kaufman

Susan Leifer has lived in New York all her life, starting out in Queens before moving to Manhattan, and then landing in Pleasantville. Susan did not have a lot of access to art or art materials growing up; she remembered having some colored pencils as a child, but that was all. Her first opportunity to explore art came when Susan was in graduate school for her New York State early childhood teaching license, where they used poster paint in one of the classes. After discovering her enjoyment of art at that point in her 20s, Susan was quickly drawn to clay as her go-to medium and began taking classes whenever she could find the time, eventually finding her way to Clay Art Center.

When Susan started at Clay Art Center, her first class was wheel-throwing with Georgia Tenore. Susan soon joined Keiko Ashida’s class, and she remembered watching in awe with her classmates as Keiko easily threw her pots, actively making aesthetic decisions, and talked with her students, all at the same time. Today, Susan continues to take classes with Keiko alongside some of the other students in that first class, like Kyoko Takasaki. When asked what keeps her coming back to Clay Art Center, Susan shared that, “I like the direction of Clay Art Center. I appreciate that it embraces many styles of learning, that it is inclusive, and that it gives to the larger community.”

“I think clay is a great expression for honesty and to be true to yourself.” - Susan Leifer

Stephanie Mark grew up in Stamford, CT, and first began working with clay when she was just 7 years old, which became a lifelong creative endeavor. Finding Clay Art Center gave Stephanie a new creative home, one that she has treasured due to the topnotch teachers and staff and the ample space to work. Stephanie has been at Clay Art Center long enough to remember Elsbeth Woody, who helmed Clay Art Center after co-founder Henry Okamoto passed, until Reena Kashyap took over as director. When asked about her favorite memory of Clay Art Center, Stephanie recalled watching Elsbeth build her monumental sculptures and work to get them into the kiln.

Working with clay has taught Stephanie many lessons, the greatest of which she said is, “Acknowledging that failure leads to new opportunities.” Stephanie also noted that the encouragement she receives from staff and the community has had a huge impact on her development as an artist, and pushes her to always keep challenging herself to try new things. Her next big challenge in her clay journey will be to try out new Cone 10 clay bodies.

Renie Raiti grew up in the Philippines and moved to New York in the late 70s, where she began taking clay classes at the Rye Art Center. Renie remembered that for the one teacher and the eight students in the class, there were only two wheels that they had to share. These experiences at the Rye Art Center were Renie’s first time working with clay; her sister had noted that Renie was good with her hands and suggested that she try clay, so Renie did. Soon after beginning classes in Rye, the teacher moved to Clay Art Center, where Renie followed and has been ever since, evolving her ceramic practice. “When I first came to Clay Art Center, my first teacher was Kazuko Lee,” Renie shared, “I learned handbuilding, and I didn’t learn to throw for a long time. I only learned how to throw in order to combine the different techniques. Now I have been taking classes for many years with Keiko.” Renie also learned a lot from former Clay Art Center artist Elizabeth Biddle, whom Renie recalled was a treasure trove of information: “She taught downstairs, and not just throwing, she would teach all the techniques. She wanted to teach us as much as she could, and impart all her knowledge.” Today, in Keiko’s classes, Renie continues to expand her toolbelt of techniques, often working at the wheel.

“Centering is like a form of meditation - I have good days and bad days. So, I usually close my eyes.” - Renie Raiti