Our Team
Chin Lin
(He/Him)
Co- Founder & Instructor Chin started pottery as a freshman in college to release the pressure of college life. He started teaching the year after in 1983. Over the years, he met many students who were able to use pottery to center their lives. He believes that a pottery studio should be a place of support through ceramics and the act of making art. He has been teaching for over forty years in different studios including MIT Student Art Association, MIT Glass and Ceramic Lab, UC Berkely Student Center, and LexArt.
Chin grew up in Taiwan and came to the US when he was 15. His work is influenced by both his oriental background as well as the modern US education. He throws classic forms and builds abstract sculptures. From potter Jeff Margolin, Chin learned how to stretch an almost leather hard cylinder, resulting in light weight large forms. He also studied under South Korea master potter Kaw-Kyung Tae, focusing on making Onggi, a traditional large storage container for fermentation.
To Chin, clay is a fluid material. It is up to the artist to transform it, just like life, it is up to you.
Sabina is a co-founder of Tail in the Mud. She started doing pottery in 1991, at the MIT SAA, where she and Chin met. Although her research job often keeps her away from the studio for long stretches, her love for pottery is always there. She enjoys making everyday things that are both useful and interesting to look at. She treasures the humbling feeling of holding a piece of earth in her hands, with so many possibilities hidden in it.
Just as much, she cherishes how pottery can help build a small community – how easy and playful it feels to sit, working on a piece, chatting with whoever walks through the door, sharing ideas and listening to music together. She hopes that everyone who spends time at Tail in the Mud, whether only once or over many years, will feel truly welcome into a safe, supportive, open and joyful shared space.
Sabina Berretta
(She/Her)
Co-Founder
Elise Avolio
(She/Her)
ManagerElise is a multidisciplinary artist from Haverhill, Massachusetts. She received her BFA in Ceramics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is drawn to creating large abstract ceramic sculptures that explore motion, tension, and connection through vivid color.
As Studio Manager at Tail in the Mud, Elise enjoys supporting a creative and welcoming environment where people can experiment, learn, and grow through clay. She’s passionate about helping others discover the expressive possibilities of ceramics and the joy that comes from working with their hands
Jasmine Lipman
(She/Her)
Director of Operations Jasmine's love for ceramics began in Philadelphia at The University of the Arts in 1998 where she spent several years making and showing work. Her interest in using clay as a means of expression has continued in the Boston area focusing on the making of thoughtful forms inspired by nature and circumstance.
Jasmine has embraced and, when given the choice, prefers the challenges and rewards of outdoor firing and is always delighted to introduce the exciting possibilities of Raku and other primitive forms of firing to new audiences.
Meet Your Instructors
Sayaka Rawizza (She/Her)
Sayaka grew up in Kamakura, a historical town on the coast of Japan. She received a Master's in Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and has over 30 years of experience in ceramics. In her studio located in Arlington, Massachusetts, Sayaka creates both functional pottery and decorative porcelain art.
Her work is deeply inspired by nature, and she constantly experiments with glazes, forms, and surface decorations, eager to discover new ways to express her artistic vision. She is excited to share her love of ceramics with students and help them unlock their creativity.
Jacob Bassett (He/Him)
Jacob Bassett is a graduate of UMass Dartmouth with a BFA in ceramics. His work focuses on wheel thrown forms that incorporate sgraffito and carved designs, and he has been working in ceramics for six years. Outside of ceramics, he also teaches art to children from toddlers through middle schoolers through a local art studio where he took his first private art class 17 years ago, at 6 years old.
Jacob’s journey in ceramics began during his freshman year of college at UMass Dartmouth in 2019–2020. He became involved when he took an introductory wheel throwing class with Jim Lawton before his retirement. This led to him spending the remainder of his college career developing his own body of work and his message with it. The overarching goal of his work is to give everyone a unique, one of a kind piece that operates as both a functional work of art and a textured piece for those who have a need for the sensory aspects of the piece. The focus of his work is to have a constant state of experimentation, texture, and functionality, with the work being accessible to everyone.
Marta Kaemmer (She/Her)
Born in Zimbabwe, Marta spent her teenage and college years in the Midwest before moving to Austria. She returned to the US to earn her Master of Fine Arts from Boston University in 2011. Trained as a painter, her interest in materials has kept her moving between media and including printmaking, textiles, sculpture and ceramics in her work.
Her work is process based with a strong interest in color, patterns, texture, and form. She has taught painting and ceramics at various art centers in the Boston area including Decordova in Lincoln, New Art Center, Newton, Lexington Arts and Crafts, Lexington, Score and Slip, Beverly, and Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown.