Staff & mission
Black Hound Clay Studio is committed to advancing anti-racism within the ceramics field. We are aware of the dynamics of a white-run arts organization existing in a majority Black neighborhood, as well as the fact that the ceramics field is a white dominated field where minorities are vastly underrepresented. Part of the mission of BHCS is working to shift the structural barriers that prevent minorities from engaging in ceramics. We offer sliding scale programming, installment payment plans and BHCS members may utilize the Member Support Fund to defray the costs of membership.
Black Hound Clay Studio West, Black Hound Clay South’s sister studio, is located on 50th Street just off Baltimore Ave and was founded in 2016 as an inclusive community space for ceramic artists.
Black Hound Clay studio South Staff
Bethany Rusen
STUDIO DIRECTOR
Bethany@Blackhoundclay.com
Bethany (she/they) graduated with a BFA from Tyler School of Art in 2003 and earned her MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth in 2010. She has completed residencies at Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia and the University of Delaware. Now primarily a production potter, her functional ceramics line Stanley Chester & Albert can be found in shops in Philadelphia and around the country. She lives in West Philly with partner Douglas, dogs Penny and Moola and cats Smokey and Harold. Her hair is usually pink.
Lisa Belsky
Assistant studio director
Lisa@Blackhoundclay.com
Lisa (she/her) graduated from Tyler School of Art in 2004 with a BFA in Ceramics. She also earned an MFA in Ceramics in 2008 from Ohio State University. She taught studio art classes at universities and community art centers for 12 years, and now she’s one of the teachers here at Black Hound.
Lisa is a ceramic and mixed media artist who also loves to knit and crochet. She has exhibited artwork in juried and invitational exhibitions around the country and loves to participate in craft shows when she can. She currently lives in West Mt. Airy with her spouse and 2 dogs.
carlie hozza
administrative coordinator
carlie@Blackhoundclay.com
Carlie (she/her) is a writer and ceramic artist living in South Philly. She's dabbled in pottery throughout her life, and after a workshop at Black Hound in 2022, her passion for clay was reignited. Follow @carlieannceramics to see her latest botanical works.
Outside the studio, you can find her reading, catching up with the neighborhood squirrels, watching Bob's Burgers, snuggling with her five pets, or learning trivial facts on the internet.
Maggie Jones
One day workshop instructor
maggie@Blackhoundclay.com
Maggie (they / she) recently moved from Baltimore to Philly but has a long family history in the city. Maggie has been teaching ceramics since 2019 and graduated from the Maryland Institute College of art in 2021.
Maggie voices their creativity in a wide range of materials. They have always been an avid drawer and ceramicist, but continuously find delight in new methods of making. They enjoy exploring the lesser-seen parts of the city through deer trails and train tracks. Their habit of wandering has led them to find inspiration from discarded objects and deceased animals. In recent years Maggie has incorporated clay and bones into wearable jewelry and recently began learning DIY taxidermy. Their current studio practice aims to balance their experimental tendencies with traditional ceramic processes.
veronica mehl
studio technician
veronica@Blackhoundclay.com
Veronica (she/her) graduated from SUNY Fredonia in 2017 with a BFA in ceramics. Though ceramics is her main medium, she also dabbles in other fields including printmaking, paper making and other fiber arts. Her work is filled with bright colors and whimsical patterns, things that will make others smile! When she is not at Black Hound, you can find her vending at local markets, trying out coffee shops or at the dog park with her two pups, Willow and Rudy.
marley massey parsons
Membership coordinator
marley@Blackhoundclay.com
Marley Massey Parsons (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist and potter based in Philadelphia. She holds a BFA from Salisbury University and an MFA from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Marley's environmental art research and landscape photography inspires the forms, textures, and glazes of her ceramic work. At Black Hound, she is your go-to person for all membership related things!
In addition to being the Membership Coordinator, Marley runs a small batch ceramics shop, Wild Sun Ceramics (@wildsunceramics)and does freelance photography. In her free time, you can find her reading, cooking, running or camping.
Madeline Rothman
Studio Technician
madeline@Blackhoundclay.com
Originally from Pittsburgh, Madeline (also known as Maddie to friends and family), moved to Philadelphia to attend the Tyler School of Art at Temple University where she received her BFA in Ceramics in May of 2018. During her time at school, she spent as much time in the clay studio as she did practicing and studying digital photography.
Madeline has worked as a production artist at BDDW; a fabrication company in Philadelphia and as a studio assistant for Brian Giniewski. She has done a year-long residency at the District Clay Center in Washington, DC as well as at short term residencies at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina and Watershed For The Ceramic Arts in Edgecomb, ME. Currently Madeline creates all her work in her personal studio in Port Richmond. In her free time she loves to find any way to dance, climb or eat good food!