TERASOL - Our Artisans

Meet our artisans

I have had the priviledge to be joined by a remarkable group of local artisans. Take a minute to meet them. (Interested in joining Terasol? Please fill out the form on our Contact Us page to inquire about our current openings!)

KAREN BEARMAN

Enticed by a potter on a kickwheel at a country fair, Karen began pottery lessons in the early 70s, apprenticing, then teaching at Jill Hinckley’s Washington, DC pottery studio. She has worked full time as a studio potter, participating in workshops, craft shows and fairs, and as a ceramics teacher, instructing children and adults in independent schools and private studios. She has exhibited her work at shows and galleries on the Eastern Shore and in the DC area. In addition to pottery, she has worked in stone and watercolor while studying at the Corcoran College of Art.

Enticed again, this time by marriage to a lifelong friend and a move to the Eastern Shore, Karen now lives in Cambridge, MD and works out of her basement studio. Karen teaches one day each week at the Hinckley Pottery Studio in Washington, DC, and at the Dorchester Art Center in Cambridge. During the academic year, Karen teaches Ceramics at Salisbury University and Exploration of the Visual Arts at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Karen is a member of Cambridge’s Wednesday Morning Artists and the Clay Guild of the Eastern Shore.

Karen creates wheel-thrown, functional pieces in stoneware and porcelain using two very different firing methods: cone 10 reduction and low-fire raku. Achieving a pleasing form and surface is the motivation for her work. Karen finds special pleasure in the act of sharing her love of this responsive medium with her students and in the notion that she is creating pieces which people will use in their daily lives.

SHARON BRAVEMAN

I began taking pottery classes at the University of Newfoundland, Canada where my husband was a professor. I continued to study pottery interrupted only by the arrival of my son & daughter. I became a student helper in the pottery lab and after 7 years started my own studio at home. After we moved south to Rochester, New York and then to Rockville, Maryland, I took a long break from pottery while raising family, having a career in computer science, and folk dancing. I resumed making stoneware pots at Hinckley Pottery once a week about 1996 while my daughter was taking a class. I have two grandchildren and am still working part time in computer science while continuing to make stoneware bowls, cups, teapots, vases, and casseroles at Hinckley’s.

LUCY ENNISS

Lucy came to Washington, DC in 2009 so she could work in animal welfare and her husband could join the Folger Shakepeare Library staff. An art history graduate of Converse College in SC, she was employed as a curator in Atlanta for over a decade. Lucy’s passion for the welfare of animals brought her to the Animal Welfare Institute on Capitol Hill. Capitol Hill is also Lucy’s home with her husband, stepdaughter, 2 cats and a dog. Her devotion to animal welfare advocacy is the driving force behind elliott’s ethos. She wanted bath and body care products to clearly state they are cruelty-free (on the front, not in minute letters on the back). Her products hope to inspire the philosophy “compassion is beautiful”.

LAURIE ERDMAN

Laurie Erdman came to pottery in search of a creative outlet from the daily grind of attorney life. She quickly fell in love with the messy and tactical nature of this ancient craft. Laurie was a student at the Art League in Alexandria after first getting dirty at the Arlington County Community Center. Always wanting to improve her skills and expand her artistic approach, Laurie has traveled as far as Italy to study ceramics from some of her favorite potters.

Laurie teaches ceramics at the Art League in Alexandria, where she is also

an associate artist. Her work has been published in national publications

and has been exhibited in national and regional juried exhibitions.

She thinks of her work as artfully utilitarian. Artful in the sense that

her work creates a landscape - whether on your dining room table or in

your kitchen cabinets - that mimics the lines and colors she finds in the

California of her youth, her Arlington garden or her Mediterranean

travels. Utilitarian because it is fired at high temperatures with either

gas or wood and made to withstand the rigors of every day use.

AMY GOLDSTEIN

Amy Goldstein is a longtime reporter at The Washington Post who has a semi-secret life as a potter. She admired and collected ceramics before finally deciding more than a decade ago to learn to make her own pots. On weekend mornings, she can been found at Hinckley Pottery in Adams Morgan, where she throws functional forms -- bowls, pitchers, mugs, plates, colanders, teapots, casseroles. It's a nice balance to writing news stories on deadline. She lives in Glover Park.

MARY KEARNS

Mary Kearns first started creating and selling handcrafted herbal bath and body products nine years ago. While living in New England, she sold all-natural lotions, masques, balms and oils at her local farmers market, as well as through a (primitive by today’s standards) online store. She delighted in the process of creating new products, and took great pleasure in learning about the aromatherapeutic properties of essential oils and the healing properties of herbs.

She ran this company while working full time, raising two daughters and working on her doctorate. While she didn’t have much spare time in those days, she relished the moments when she was able to work on her herbal business – it provided her with a creative outlet and much needed stress-relief. But when she took a position in NYC, which made for very long days, and even less time, she reluctantly let it go.

Since moving to the DC area in 2005, she has worked as a wellness consultant, offering workshops and writing on living a healthy, balanced lifestyle. As a path toward balance for herself, she began formal herbalism studies early in 2008. It occurred to her that this would be a great time to re-start her herbal bath and body product business. So, after several months of planning and formulating, Herban Lifestyle™ was born.

Mary Kearns, PhD, holds a BA in Fine Arts and a doctorate in Developmental Psychology, with a focus on Health Psychology. To view and purchase Mary's Herban Bath and Body Products, click here.

JONATHAN KIRKENDALL

I have been studying the craft and art of pottery for 22 years. My wheel thrown, functional pottery takes its aesthetic cues from the art and culture of countries I have lived and studied in: Lebanon, Iran, India, Bangladesh, France, Italy and the United States. My motivation to throw pots stems from my belief that the presence of a simple clay pot can call upon the elemental magic of earth, water, fire and air to enrich our everyday life.

SABRINA OUSMAAL

Born and raised in France, Sabrina came to Washington, DC in 1987. A graduate of the American University, she first worked on international issues for non-profit groups. Now an executive in the trade publishing business, she remains active in the local and international communities.

Sabrina is a Chevy Chase DC resident and has been a local potter at Hinckley Pottery for nearly a decade. Her husband is a realtor with Long and Foster's Chevy Chase office and her daughter attends the French International School where Sabrina has taught pottery workshops to 5th and 6th graders. She has created Magnets for Hope -- a fundraising outreach effort benefiting St Jude Hospital. Sabrina is the owner and creator of Terasol. To view and purchase Sabrina's pieces, click here.

BARBARA PAULSON

Barbara is the leader of the glaze-making team at Hinckley Pottery Studio. Sheis a volunteer in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress. She is currently serving in a temporary appointment as a program officer for the National Endowment for the Humanities. She has two children, Andrew and Melissa, and two grandchildren, Matthew and Sara. Recently, Melissa’s cashmere goat, Whoopi Goldberg, won the grand championship of the Eastern Cashmere Association at the Virginia State Fair.

WILLIAM PEIRCE

William Peirce has been a self-taught woodworker for over 30 years. Most of his pieces, especially his bandsaw bowls, are built from laminations of a variety of wood species. He has exhibited locally at Strathmore Hall, Circle Gallery in Annapolis and Creative Partners in Bethesda, Sugarloaf Craft Fairs, and in many shows sponsored by the Washington Woodworkers Guild. Recently retired from teaching literature and writing courses at Prince Georges Community College, he will now devote more time to woodwork and sculpture. To view and purchase Bill's work, click here.

JOAN ROMAINE

I began "art & crafting" at a very young age with my grandmother, who was a seamstress, and a mother who was very artistic and creative. From crochet and sewing, to drawing and painting, knitting and needlework, and many other mediums in-between, I have always loved making things with my hands. With the exception of a semester as a fashion design major, my formal training in art has been limited to classes here and there, and most recently in wire work and beading for jewelry making. Working from my home, using metals and beads, and other fun findings, I created "Honey Girl Designs, LLC" -- named after what my grandpa McMann use to call me, "his honey girl!". I've enjoyed making customized orders and holding a reception at a hair salon in Hyattsville, as well as exhibiting at the Arts on N Street Festival in Washington, DC. I have lived in Africa, and have been blessed to have the opportunity to travel and work in many different places and cultures, and I look forward to bringing that into my design elements and ideas as I grow in my craft.

DEB SOROMENHO

I am a jewelry artist and metalsmith, owner of A.W.E. Handcrafted Jewelry. I chose the name A.W.E. for 3 words that are meaningful to me: Artsy, Worldly, Earthy and because I'm awed and inspired by shapes, textures, and cultures of the world.

I love working with silver and copper and am always amazed at the variety of shape and form that can be created from a sheet of metal and a few tools. I am able incorporate my passion for travel and culture and my love of texture and detail into my design like no other medium allows.

I have a small studio in my home in Bethesda, MD where I work everyday making unique, high quality jewelry.

AMY VOSS

Born and raised in Texas, I worked in the entertainment industry after college which catered to my passion of music & sports. After moving to the DC area, a friend of mine worked in mosaics, and I came upon an acoustic guitar she had done to which I fell in love with the whole concept. As I begin learning the art, I loved that it is very therapeutic for me, but I also loved its ability to channel my passion of music and morph it into something beautiful, creative, and usable. I began mosaics with acoustic guitars, and then branched out into frames & furniture – finding new ways to incorporate various embellishments to make each piece of art unique and one-of-a-kind. Now a stay-at-home mom of a 1 year old, I’m enjoying the fact that I can create art from home and in between nap time!

KIPPIAN INGLIS YOST

At the side of a wonderful seamstress, friend of our family, who made clothing for her own family, I learned at the age of 6 how to make clothing for my baby doll. I never stopped sewing after that. In college, I majored in Costume Design and Construction for the Theatre, continuing to add to my knowledge and enjoyment of sewing. When cross-stitch, needlepoint, and quilting crossed my path, I gladly took up learning each new technique. At the very first Smithsonian Folk Life Festival on the mall, I was completely taken by the ladies from the Ozarks who sat around a quilting frame demonstrating their quilting skills.

Raising my first child on my own, I went to work full time in law offices in the Washington, DC area and went to night school to get a degree in Computer Programming. After I remarried, I was introduced to working with wool as an appliqué embellishment to doll clothing. Since I have a deep love of American history, I researched and learned about using wool in clothing and discovered penny rugs, wool work that came to this country from many different cultures.

I now design and sell kitchens, baths, and studios (anywhere one can use cabinetry) in Rockville and sell my wool, patterns and supplies at a few local quilt shows each year. My sewing, however continues, as it will as long as I can. It is my solace, my sanity, and my avocation for life.

I am a Washington, DC native and live with my husband, youngest child, cat and assorted wildlife in our Rock Creek neighborhood in Rockville, MD.