Our Artists In Residence

Genevieve Kirk (she/her)
Ceramic Artist

Genevieve is a 2 and 3-D artist currently focused on functional ceramic work with an emphasis on texture and carving. She utilizes swirling, detailed patterns as well as chunky faceting when carving.
Her functional forms are often globular and work with the carving and earthy glazes to create a lively, organic design. Genevieve is thrilled to be working with Access Arts to share her love of learning and creativity.

@wisteriapottery

Karley Deets (she/her)
Ceramic Artist

Karley Deets was raised in the forested hills of the Berkshire Mountains where she spent her childhood navigating a swampy world filled with frogs, mud, and wonder. she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics and Art History from the University of Hartford (2023), where she discovered ceramics as a means of deepening her relationship with the natural world and those around her. As a recent Artist in Residence at the Cub Creek Foundation, they worked with local clays and wood fired their ceramics as to work closely with the source of her medium, the forces which enable it, and the lineage of ceramic artists before her. Their work examines and subverts relationships, dependencies, and systems of power and oppression - often through the visual language of frogs.

Instagram @swampwitchceramics

Malik Ibdah
Ceramic Artist

Malik Ibdah (b. Winston-Salem, NC) is a ceramic artist based in Columbia, Missouri. His practice is centered around Hermetic alchemy and the concept of a “union of opposites”, the belief that all things are dual in nature. Ibdah applies this idea to the ceramic process, viewing it as a union of opposites between the natural and artificial. His sculptural vessels use shape and texture to display the natural properties of clay within the structural form, uniting the dual aspects as different expressions of the same material. He is interested in the organic and inorganic, fixed and volatile, animate and inanimate, and the transmutation of one thing into another. Ibdah has recently graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia, earning his BFA in ceramics. Ibdah has exhibited his work at the George Caleb Bingham Gallery for the Undergraduate Juried Exhibition in 2020, 2022, and 2023, and for the Clay Cup VI national exhibition in 2023. In 2024 he exhibited work at the Columbia Art League for the University's Visual Art and Design Showcase. In spring 2022 he received the Mathew Fahey Cox Ceramics Scholarship Award for showing exceptional potential in the art of ceramics.

instagram is @malikibdah.art

Margaret Larson (she/her)
Ceramic Artist

Margaret Larson was born and raised in central North Carolina, and from an early age has been deeply inspired by the pottery traditions there. She got her BA in Ceramics from Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, and then received the Studio Potter Apprenticeship grant and worked for a year as Kate Waltman's apprentice, in Seagrove North Carolina. Margaret then completed a two-year residency at the Worcester Center for Crafts, where she focused on creating a library of patterns to decorate her functional pottery with. She is inspired by nature, whimsy, and geometry when decorating her pots, and focuses on creating work that makes a statement in the home.

https://www.margaretlarsonpottery.com

https://www.instagram.com/margaretlarsonpottery/

Sophie Lever (she/her)
Ceramic Artist

Sophie Lever is an artist working mainly in ceramics and printmaking. She received her BA in Studio Arts from the University of Rochester in 2023, with minors in History and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies. In the last few years, she has been a ceramics apprentice, resident, and instructor. In her work, Sophie creates a combination of sculptural and functional pieces, both of which stem from a fascination in contradictions. Through her practice, she explores these paradoxes of humanity, both in herself and the world around her.

Sophie-lever.com

Steph Kubish (she/her)
Ceramic Artist

Steph Kubish is a Connecticut native ceramic artist with a background in painting. She graduated from Endicott College in 2022 with a BFA in Studio Art and an unofficial minor in Education. After graduation, Steph transitioned into ceramics, a medium that quickly captivated her and became her primary artistic focus. She has competed a residency University of Hartford, and has been the studio technician at Wesleyan Potters for the past three years. Community buliding, teaching and learning are her core practices wherever she goes.

Although her medium has shifted from painting to ceramics, the core elements that attracted Steph to painting—such as detail and human figures—remain central to her work. Her art often features human figures, faces, and animals, subjects that consistently inspire her creative process. Her upbringing as an only child has deeply influenced her artistic expression. Her work is inspired by the memories and vivid imagination of her youth. She blends nostalgia and realism to evoke emotions and connections in her viewers, aiming to create a sense of familiarity and introspection. She hopes to create a dialogue between the past and the present, inviting viewers to reflect on their personal experiences and memories.

Stephanie Francis (she/her)
Ceramic Artist

Stephanie Francis is a clay artist originally from Poplar Bluff, MO, now living in Columbia, MO. She started her clay journey during her BFA in Studio Art at Truman State University (2019). Since her BFA she has expanded upon her ceramic body of work as well as worked as a Pottery Instructor in Illinois, furthered her understanding of the science behind Clay, and currently works as an Art Teacher for students aged K-5. Stephanie's work focuses on texture and function. Ultimately her goal is to create forms that fit into daily life while pulling the user into a sense of wonder and comfort in the small moments of life. She is very excited for this opportunity to work with and get to know the wonderful community at Access Arts!

Instagram: @stephaniefrancis_foxpottery

Christian McKinzie (he/him)
Ceramic Artist

Christian McKinzie found a passion for ceramics while pursuing a degree in Nursing at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He completed his BSN in December 2022 with a Minor in Fine Arts. He is a retired Army Medic and RN at the University ED. His ceramic work focuses on wheel-thrown vessels, consisting of mostly functional items. His past work has been focused on the unique colors and textures created by high-temperature atmospheric salt/soda firings. He is excited about this new opportunity to work with this organization and see where the journey takes him.

@therealmckinzie