Our Team

Michelle, originally from Minneapolis, is known as a “Swiss Army knife” or “Jill of all trades.” She has a passion for creating social enterprises, shared spaces, and thriving communities. From being a public defender in Miami, to a prep/line cook for a James Beard Award winning chef, and then founding and leading Appetite For Change, a food justice organization in North Minneapolis, Michelle has done a bit of everything. After many decades since her award winning miniature pool table was made in high school, Michelle returned to ceramics as a way to reconnect with herself, work on her mental health, and be more present in the moment. Her creative outlet has grown into what is now a third space for so many. When she’s not creating systems to help the studio run better or elbow deep in the pug mill, Michelle enjoys making functional pieces on the wheel and is working on getting back into hand building.

Ralph Nuara (he/him) is a professional potter, educator, and co-founder of Forma. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, he’s been working in clay for more than twenty years and teaching since 2008. He earned his BFA in Textiles from RISD and began his career as a designer and buyer for ABC Carpet & Home before turning full time to ceramics in 2005. Over the past two decades, he has taught thousands of students while maintaining a prolific studio practice and online shop. Ralph brings a designer’s eye and a maker’s patience to every class. His teaching centers on the meeting of function, form, and surface, where utility and beauty quietly intersect. Deeply influenced by Japanese ceramics, the Mingei movement, and his own love of daily ritual (especially a morning mug of coffee), Ralph invites students to build skills through informed exploration, repetition, and joy in use.

Andie Thomas is a local potter whose work is shaped by a lifelong connection to handmade living. Influenced by her mother’s earthy, Japanese inspired pottery and a life rooted in the kitchen and garden, she is drawn to texture, quiet forms, and the natural character of clay. She is delighted to be creating at Forma Clay, in a space she and her husband originally helped bring to life many years before it became the studio community it is today, a full circle return that feels both meaningful and inspiring. Alongside her own studio practice, Andie teaches Claytime, a two hour introduction to the pottery wheel designed to help people experience the thrill of clay, loosen up, get curious, and simply enjoy making with their hands.

Asia is a passionate ceramic artist, teacher, and small business owner dedicated to sharing the joy of working with clay. She is committed to a supportive, inclusive, and inspiring classroom that encourages creativity and experimentation. Asia values practice and the uniqueness each item may bring.

I’ve been a ceramic artist for over twenty years and I’m still happily getting my hands dirty chasing new ideas. I’m on an ongoing adventure, following my curiosity to see just how much color and playful design can transform my pots. There’s always something new to learn, and I love stretching my skills in every corner of the ceramics world. I’m constantly dreaming up fresh, creative ways to sprinkle a little joy into each piece. If my work says anything, I hope it’s this: I’m still exploring, still curious, and always having a good time along the way.

Brett is a member and part of the Forma potters hours team.  Brett enjoys the interaction with our members and students and brings an encouraging, friendly approach to the studio. His work reflects functional pieces, while blending a fun approach to surface decoration utilizing our in-house slips, stains and glazes.

Emily Mohrbacher is a multi-disciplinary artist and reproductive healthcare organizer based in Minneapolis, MN. She received a fellowship to start teaching at Northern Clay Center upon graduating high school and went on to complete her BFA in ceramics at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities in 2014. When asked about their artistic practice: “My work has always incorporated a storytelling component, working with sgraffito and other surface design techniques to create layered narratives that speak to how the home and kitchen exist as cultural spaces. In generating and repeating specific visual motifs, I use functional objects as a means to explore broader concepts of domesticity, reproduction and labor.

Josie (she/her) first discovered her love of ceramics in high school class but did not pick it back up until 3 years ago in a community education class. She loves how therapeutic working with clay is and how it pushes her to let go of control. She loves to create functional wares, predominately on the wheel but has recently been enjoying exploring hand built forms. Her love of bright, bold colors and geometric shapes and stripes characterize her work.

Kelly Newcomer is a Minnesota ceramicist and visual artist who has exhibited in galleries and museums across the nation. She is from Minneapolis, and been working in ceramics since 2002 when she learned Roswell, New Mexico with Aria Finch of the Pecos Valley Potters Guild, where she lived for three years. She creates hand-built figure sculpture and functional work such as pinched bowls and slab plates. Her work is very painterly and also features sgrafitto carving of cute characters and joyful messages. Kelly has taught ceramics to kids at Minneapolis Community Education. Locally her work has been shown at SooVAC, Rock Paper Scissors, and The Color Wheel Gallery. Kelly is also a mom to two teenagers.

Kristen has been teaching ceramics at Forma for a few years and has seen pottery bring people together in new ways every day. After many years working on the wheel they appreciate how cathartic clay can be and love sharing that with others. They want to help you build the skills to make your clay dreams come to life!

Mary comes to Forma from teaching at various Minneapolis Parks for the last few years. She is excited to join the Forma team and learn new techniques and meet new people. Her favorite thing to throw is mugs; as an avid coffee drinker she thinks you can never have enough.

Melissa is thrilled to have recently moved to MSP from the Pacific Northwest. She is eager to share her passions for the creative process, and further delve into the intricacies and nuances of surface design within the world of ceramics. Fortunate to have studied under renowned ceramics professor, Sana Krusoe at the University of Oregon, Melissa received her BS in Art with a focus in Studio Ceramics. There, she developed a love for sharing knowledge and guiding other artists’ experiences using her technical abilities and techniques with glaze, sculpture, and the potters wheel.

Nick (He/Him) has been working with clay for six years. He got his start in high school ceramics, went on to practice and teach in San Francisco for three years, and later did production and teaching at Dock 6 in Minneapolis. His primary focus is wheel throwing, but he also enjoys exploring handbuilding and sculpture. His favorite pieces to make are planters and vases. When he’s not at the studio, Nick enjoys mountain biking, caring for his plants, and walking his dog.

Nikki Norberg (she/her) is a Minneapolis-based ceramicist who has been working with clay for nearly a decade. Her journey began humbly, like that of many potters, with a community pottery class that ignited her passion for the medium. Now, all these years later, she has cultivated a strong pottery practice in her home studio where she creates work ranging from hand-built sculpture to wheel-thrown lighting. Nikki strives to create a classroom environment that is both fun and educational, and encourages her students to come as they are, at any level, and know they are welcomed!

Ralph Nuara (he/him) is a professional potter, educator, and co-founder of Forma. Originally from Brooklyn, NY, he’s been working in clay for more than twenty years and teaching since 2008. He earned his BFA in Textiles from RISD and began his career as a designer and buyer for ABC Carpet & Home before turning full time to ceramics in 2005. Over the past two decades, he has taught thousands of students while maintaining a prolific studio practice and online shop. Ralph brings a designer’s eye and a maker’s patience to every class. His teaching centers on the meeting of function, form, and surface, where utility and beauty quietly intersect. Deeply influenced by Japanese ceramics, the Mingei movement, and his own love of daily ritual (especially a morning mug of coffee), Ralph invites students to build skills through informed exploration, repetition, and joy in use.

Reed Causey joined Forma as a comrade member in 2024 and is exited to transition into teaching Saturday potters hours! His background is in production pottery, and he has particular interest in glaze chemistry and local clay foraging. His own work is a mixture of hand built and thrown functional ceramics. Outside of Forma, he enjoys attending local concerts, reading, painting, is an aspiring (amateur) tattooist, and high school special education teacher.

Rita (she/her) is a ceramicist based in Minneapolis specializing in hand-built forms, though equally enjoys working with clay on and off the wheel. Her love of curiosity and connecting through creativity drives a passion for teaching art classes across the Twin Cities. Rita is our Children’s Party Coordinator  and instructs a variety of classes from Kiddo Clay to Wheel 101 for adults.

I love the tactility of clay both in the making of objects and in the joy of using handmade wares in my kitchen. The solid nature of a unique piece of ceramics affirms my values of authenticity and truth. My work uses fingerprints as a central
motif. I use porcelain to shape pieces, then carve images of botanicals, birds, animals, poetry and symbols into the surface. I have been lucky to show my work in venues such as the XXIst International Biennial of Vallauris, Kohler Art Center,
and Design Miami. I have featured in publications such as the New York Times, American Craft and Ceramics Monthly. I received my MFA in Ceramics from University of Colorado Boulder. I love to teach and have taught ceramics for many years at University of Minnesota and other venues.

Suzanna Schlesinger Altman is a lifelong maker. She began seriously studying pottery in high school in Minnesota, continuing through college in southern California. Her professional ceramics path took her to art fairs and shows around the country while also teaching ceramics in the Twin Cities. After a hiatus and a career change to focus on web development, a class at Forma has brought Suzanna enthusiastically back to clay.

Victoria is a local multidisciplinary teaching artist, with 10 years of experience teaching in art museums and non-profits. She’s passionate about creating inclusive and engaging spaces for youth and artists from marginalized communities.

Will (they/them) is a ceramicist based in Minneapolis who has been making pots for six years. They started learning ceramics while living on a farm in Vermont, and they have continued their practice ever since. Will teaches both hand building and throwing, both at Forma and for the city parks