Our Team
Diagnosed with severe ADHD as a young child, Emma Storm Sabo struggled to find her way through life and navigate the traditional school system. Despite the many challenges that came with her diagnosed “disability,” she learned to embrace her ADHD, using it to her advantage by honing various skills and interests. This exploration led her to dive into many art forms, including music, acting, photography, hand molding clay, and whatever else caught her attention.
Emma grew up with her maternal grandmother’s art in her home and has always been inspired by her pieces. Sadly, her grandmother passed away before Emma was born, but she always felt connected to her through her art. Her grandmother was both a painter and a potter, and her legacy sparked a lifelong passion for creativity within Emma.
Emma earned her college degrees in Early Childhood Education and spent a handful of years teaching preschool and working with infants and toddlers in an educational setting. Teaching is her greatest passion because she understands the importance of recognizing that every person learns differently. Unlike the one-size-fits-all approach of the traditional education system, she believes in embracing diverse learning styles for all ages.
Her ceramics journey began in 2017 when she moved to San Diego and joined San Diego Ceramic Connection. She fell in love with the practice and studied everything she could under the guidance of Kouta Shimazaki, a Master Potter in San Diego. Emma has always been drawn to working and creating with her hands, finding true presence and happiness when she's on the wheel throwing, a practice that quiets her ADHD mind like nothing else. In 2021, while attending night school for cosmetology and barbering and working six days a week at a job that made her deeply unhappy, she quit without a plan, savings, or direction. Within a few days, a friend sent her an Instagram post about a ceramics studio in Leucadia looking to hire an instructor. Though she had never taught pottery, she thought, "If I can teach preschool, I can teach pottery." Armed with nothing but a collection of photos, she got hired and began her journey as an instructor teaching at Clay + Craft.
After about nine months working at Clay + Craft, Emma was presented with the opportunity to take over the lease and open her own studio, and The Mudd House was born. As the creator behind The Mudd House, she is dedicated to providing a safe space where the community comes together, celebrating the art of ceramics as a means of connection with ancestral roots, the earth, and the joys of childlike play and sensory therapy.
Emma's artistic journey is deeply rooted in her heritage, drawing inspiration from the traditions and techniques passed down through generations. Through her work, she seeks to evoke a sense of nostalgia for simpler times when the earth provided both sustenance and inspiration. Each piece she creates is a testament to the timeless beauty and resilience of these practices, honoring the wisdom of those who came before us.
She is honored to have received the 2023 San Diego Best award, which recognizes excellence in the arts, and to have been nominated for Who's Who in America 2024, a testament to the impact of her work in the field of ceramics. These accolades serve as motivation to continue pushing the boundaries of her craft, always striving for innovation while staying true to the timeless traditions that inspire her.
At The Mudd House, Emma invites others to join her in this exploration of our shared history and the healing power of clay. Through workshops and classes, she aims to foster a community that values creativity, mindfulness, and the therapeutic nature of working with our hands.
Join Emma at The Mudd House, where the beauty of the past, the gift of presence and community, the richness of the earth, and the joy of creating with an open heart and a playful spirit are celebrated.
Emma Storm Sabo
Reilly Cornwall
Reilly took her first ceramic class as a college student, after using her mom’s handmade bowls her whole life. She immediately fell in love with wheel thrown pottery and spent every free moment she had in her school’s studio.
She’s always been attracted to the unique permanence of clay after it has been fired. From mud vessel to stone, the moment of its making is forever captured. With her background in photography, this is what truly made her love the medium of ceramics. Every fingerprint, every trimming, every line, every shape is imprinted permanently in stone just like a photograph.
Reilly earned her Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts and Art History from George Washington University in 2022. After graduating, she started as an instructor for the Clay & Craft team, helped the studio transition ownership to The Mudd House and has since become The Mudd House’s Studio Manager. Reilly loves having the opportunity to share her passion for clay
Casey Richardson
Born and raised in the sunny town of Leucadia, Casey's vibrant personality is perfectly reflected in each piece she creates. When it comes to making art, Casey embraces her inner child, infusing each piece with a playful spirit and a splash of vibrant colors.
A lover of the outdoors, Casey can often be found hiking, on her surfboard, hanging out with her dog Mars, or dancing to the rhythm of life.
Casey has an adventurous approach to traditional forms, always striving to push the boundaries and add a unique touch to functional pieces. Through her artwork, Casey aims to bring joy and inspiration to everyday life.
Chandler Puritty
Chandler Puritty has never written a non academic bio before. After finishing her doctorate in biology and a few years of being an environmental professor, she found her way to Ceramics and never looked back.
Largely community taught (if you’re bad enough of the wheel, people will offer lots of advice), Chandler loves to throw big and tall inspired by plants, nature, bright colors, and patterns. Chandler continues her passion for teaching as a ceramics instructor at The Mudd House.
Annie Kaiser
In starting ceramics, Annie took a non-traditional approach of sitting at a wheel completely uninstructed for hours until she picked up on the basics, cutting each piece in half to assess the progress made. After booking lessons and gaining an apprenticeship at The Mudd House, she eventually graduated to full time staff and instructor and now balances studio work, instructing, and marketing as our team’s Media & Marketing Manager.
In her approach, Annie thinks it’s important to just have fun - her work is ever evolving between functional and aesthetic pieces, but she leaves a touch of her personal style on everything.
When Annie isn’t in the studio (rare) she can likely be found near the ocean, designing, or practicing another craft.
Caz Drennen
Caz was raised right here in Encinitas next to friends and family and has only ever fallen more in love with the community and the culture of the local creators and their pieces. Caz started working with ceramics with their mom when they were very young at a local woman’s home who held summer camps and workshops out of her garage. She had a kiln in her backyard with a trampoline, plum trees, and a pool, which is the setting of many early memories and creations for Caz, surrounded by the smell of plums, clay dust, and chlorine. Over a decade passed with barely any ceramic interaction after losing touch with this magical place, until finding The Mudd House (formerly Clay + Craft). All the old movements came right back to Caz and creation ensued again with so many shapes, colors, textures, and more to play with.
Nowadays, Caz balances high school with a job at The Mud House and a local musical career, while often rock climbing in their spare time. In ceramics, they specifically enjoy the blending of shapes and forms that can be made with a combination of wheel work and handbuilding on one piece, showing multiple mediums and truly getting a unique creation each time. The flow and centering feeling of working on the wheel is truly amazing to them and inspires many natural shapes.
Working at the Mud House has reminded Caz that creating art is very much meant to be fun and rewarding. And while it is work, it is a work they are happy to do and to contribute to with an amazing team, community, and space.
Kelsey Schneider
Kelsey grew up in the Bay area and Orange County before moving to San Diego about three years ago. She currently studies psychology at university and makes art on the side. She has always enjoyed drawing most but now has a multitude of artistic interests that include ceramics, tattoo design, jewelry making, and more. Her favorite art classes that she has taken include film photography and figure drawing. Right now, Kelsey is interested in intricate glazing techniques and adding hand built elements to wheel-thrown pieces. Kelseys art style is feminine and whimsical. Say “Hi” to Kelsey next time you see her at the Mudd House!