Who we are
Founding director and co-owner
Cor Garcia-Held
Cor founded Gasworks with the goal of creating an inclusive, community-centered ceramics studio. She has a Masters in Art Therapy and, before opening Gasworks in 2016, worked as an art therapist with children with neurodevelopmental disorders and adults living with mental illness and addiction. These days, it's hard for Cor to find time for her own work, so when she gets the perfect vessel back from an upstate wood-firing field trip, it's extra special.
Co-owner and CFO
Emiliano Garcia-Held
Emiliano’s been following Cor around the country from studio to studio since 2004, but didn’t take his first ceramics class until a full year after Gasworks opened. More than making his work, Emiliano likes watching as students and members evolve as artists over the course of their months and years at Gasworks. He’s been known to wax philosophical, so don’t be surprised if he starts comparing the transformation of clay to the transformation of the human psyche.
Studio Technician
Sabine Rosenstein
Sabine grew up in East Germany, but some of her biggest life milestones happened after she moved to New York in the late 90s: working as an urban planner, having a family, and—of course—discovering clay. Her favorite tech duty is reaching elbow-deep into a bucket of squishy waterlogged clay as part of the recycling process. Sabine’s signature line of pottery is carved with Brooklyn brownstones, and she’s working on a new series that resembles tufted upholstery. Sabine has been with Gasworks since the studio opened, day 1, in 2016.
Assistant Manager, Teacher
Tiffany Saw
Tiffany has been working with clay for a over third of her life. She’s inspired everyday by Gasworks’s community of artists and loves opening a glaze kiln and seeing everyone’s finished pieces for the first time. Her own work is decorated in intricate carvings of flora and fauna—though she’s had to switch from making oversized vases to teapots and tumblers after running out of room in her Brooklyn apartment. Tiffany was Gasworks' first hire, all the way back in 2016!
Studio Technician, facilities+materials manager, Teacher
Paul Distelzweig
Before he was recruited as a tech, Paul was a member (and down-the-street neighbor) of Gasworks, making complex, honeycomb-like sculptures that reflect his formal education in biology and animal behavior. Now, as a part of the staff and the teacher for How to be a Studio Tech, his favorite task is examining test tiles from the studio’s latest batch of glaze experiments. Paul joined the Gasworks team in the Spring of 2017.
Studio Manager, Teacher
Ester Sang Hee Kwon
Ester found her way to clay in a sculpture class in high school. After many on and off years with the medium, she joined the Gasworks team and reintegrated the craft as a mainstay in her art practice. You can find her teaching Wheel meets Handbuilding, or in the studio loading kilns with a precision and ferocity she owes to her glory days as a competitive Tetris athlete, guiding students of various ages on how to center their first pot, or on the ground whispering sweet nothings to all the four legged friends that come to visit. As Studio Manager, she is also responsible for ensuring the studio is filled to the brim with delicious clay. Ester joined Gasworks in September, 2018.
Media Coordinator, Studio Technician, Teacher
Tig Tucker
Tiana (Tig) first got her hands on clay in high school during a figurative sculpture class, but didn’t return to clay until college. At the School of the Art Institute of Chicago she ended up focusing in ceramics, working mostly on sculpture and installation. After working as a production hand builder for nearly five years, she now spends most of her time teching, teaching, and designing/making content for the studio. Tig makes sculptural, functional, and illustrative ceramics in her own practice. You might find Tig teaching a handbuilding class, chatting endlessly to members about their projects, making Instagram reels, working into the wee hours at the handbuilding tables, or carrying 150 lbs of clay all at once! Tig has been with the studio since 2020.
Assistant Manager, Teacher
Jessica Ayala
Jessica came into Gasworks as a member with eagerness to learn more in the medium of clay. She began her journey working with her preschoolers – molding play doh into small bowls, bracelets and animals for the kiddos – and realized then she had a knack for three dimensional art. She can now be found carving and sculpting decorative vessels, stacking kilns, and building relationships with folks through the art of clay (with her pug Buster by her side). Jess teaches the Latine class, Wheel meets Handbuilding, and Kids After School classes at Gasworks NYC. Jessica joined the Gasworks team in June 2021.
Assistant Director, Teacher
Lilian Wu Finckel
Lilian took her first pottery class in high school, and immediately knew she was hooked. After working in the gallery world for a few years, she decided she couldn’t be without clay and left to teach and pursue her practice full-time. She is passionate about community art spaces, and joined Gasworks to support the studio administratively in August 2021, and became Assistant Director in 2024. You might find her at the desk answering emails, working on memberships and class scheduling, dreaming up projects, events, and fundraisers, serving and sharing tea, or teaching her wheel classes.
Studio Technician, Teacher
Samson Neary
Samson started their journey with clay at MassArt in Boston where they fell in love with the medium. Upon moving to Brooklyn in 2017, Sam started working at different studios and as a production artist for professional ceramicists to learn as much as they could. Nowadays, you can catch them here at Gasworks NYC, assisting members and marveling at student work. Sam’s favorite duties include recycling clay with the pug mill and experimenting with glazes. In their own practice, Sam creates all sorts of clay creatures and screen printed designs, which they sell at art markets across the Northeast. Samson has been at Gasworks since April 2022.
Studio Technician (PT), Kids Teacher's Assistant
Nelli Toh
Nelli’s first introduction to ceramics was in an elective class at Pratt Institute where she was enamored by the tactile nature of the medium. After graduating she eventually found herself at Gasworks as a teaching assistant in the kid’s summer camps, with a desire to learn more about the behind the scenes of running a studio. She loves getting into the minutiae of tasks like mixing up glazes or painting and sculpting tiny pieces she’s usually working on. Nelli started teching at Gasworks in April, 2023.
Studio Technician (PT)
Sara Shaw
Sara has been doing ceramics since 2020. While studying art at school and taking classes at Gasworks, she found a love for sculpture and pottery. In addition to clay, Sara loves to draw, embroider, and make jewelry. Most of her work at the studio consists of wonky curly handed vases and illustrated bunny mugs! Sara joined the team in June 2023.
Teacher
Kyle Lee
Kyle Lee was born in White Plains, NY and currently resides in Brooklyn NY. He creates voluptuous vessels and well-turned cups that provide the canvas for his unique hand painting and surface treatments. Kyle’s practice has included teaching over the years at Educational Alliance Art School and other institutions. Kyle has studied ceramics in multiple studios throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn and has exhibited in solo and group gallery exhibitions in NYC and abroad. His work can also be found in private collections in London, France, New York, Pittsburgh, and North Carolina. Over his 20 years as a ceramicist, Kyle has developed his unique style of ceramic art incorporating traditional shapes with a colorful and abstract sense of design, including wax and vinyl resist techniques for glaze applications. Kyle is an original Board Member of Public Ceramics, and continues to be a friend to the non-profit. He has been teaching at Gasworks NYC for the past 4 years.
Teacher
Kelley Donahue
Kelley Donahue is an artist and educator (wheel and hand building) with an MFA in Ceramics from Alfred. She lives in Queens NY with her family and enjoys dancing, meeting people and being part of supportive, creative communities. Kelley has been a teacher at Gasworks since 2016!
Teacher
Alex Olson
Alex Olson began making pottery at Carleton College in Northfield, MN, where he fell in love with clay and the process of woodfiring. In his studio practice, Alex creates functional ceramics inspired by the natural landscape, which are thrown on the wheel, faceted, and textured using found objects such as shells and stones. You might find Alex in the studio teaching a wheel throwing class assisting students with their creations, or at a woodfiring upstate. Outside of the clay studio, he loves running, photography, spotting cats in window sills, and exploring the parks around the city. Alex joined the Gasworks teaching crew in April 2023.
front of house
Buster
Head of security, Professional cuddler