Merissa Tobler

ceramics

Merissa Tobler has been working in clay for over 40 years. After graduating from San Francisco State College in 1971 she moved to St. Andrew’s School in Tennessee. At that time she was fortunate to be able to take a clay class from Kathy Tate who taught at St. Andrew’s. She pursued her growing interest in pottery in the summers in California at San Francisco State College, Big Creek Pottery and Santa Rosa Junior College.

In addition to being a full time potter, she taught clay at St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School for many years. Currently she is not spending quite so much time in the studio, but when there she spends more time on experimentation and play than production.

She is a member of the planning group for Shakerag Workshops. Shakerag offers two one-week arts workshops for adults each summer. They take place at St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School.

Her goal in her clay work is to create simple, aesthetically pleasing, functional pieces. While her work has been primarily wheel thrown, hand building has now become a major focus.

Melissa lives in Sewanee with her husband and their very large dog, Luna.