Forrest LESCH-Middelton : Founder
Forrest Lesch-Middelton is a potter, tile maker, and educator living and working in Petaluma, CA. Forrest discovered his love of pottery at the age of 14 and since that time has seen clay as a vehicle to travel the country as a student, resident, educator, advocate, and artist developing a body of work that brings functional pottery and tile to life with rich political and cultural content. Forrest makes ceramics that “look like the products of an ancient civilization whose people proudly insisted on being buried with their dishware.” (NY Times, 1/31/2013). He has mastered the use of image transfer, and invented a technique he dubbed "volumetric image transfer" where he transfers screen printed pattern and imagery onto the surfaces of his pots while they are still wet and being thrown on the wheel, requiring him to shape the vessels from the inside only, so as to not disturb the pattern. His body of work has brought great acclaim, not the least of which was when he was awarded the distinguished honor of Ceramic Artist of the Year (2014) by Ceramics Monthly Magazine.
Forrest started making architectural tile in 2013 and has made tile for private homes, restaurants, hotels, and businesses throughout the world.
Forrest received a Master of Fine Arts from Utah State University in 2006, and A Bachelor of Fine Arts from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 1998.
OUR TEAM
Beth Schaible : Co-Owner | Logistics and Design
Beth joined the FLM Ceramics team in 2017 a year after she and Forrest met while teaching at the Penland School or Craft in North Carolina. She has a BFA with a concentration in graphic design from Shepherd University, she spearheads the logistics, design, and photography behind FLM Ceramics. Beth is a bookbinder and letterpress printer and also runs her own business Quill and Arrow which she started in Asheville, NC in 2010. Beth did a two year fellowship at the Penland School of Craft and has taught workshops across the country.
Wyatt Amend : Lead Pottery Production
Raised in the thriving artist community of Ojai, CA, Wyatt Amend’s own ceramic work finds inspiration from world of glass. By striving for fine and delicate Venetian forms, Wyatt has developed a multitude of techniques which allow him to emulate glass goblets and drinking vessels. After graduating from Sonoma State University in 2012, Wyatt attended residencies at the Beatrice Woods Center for the Arts in 2013, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in 2014, took multiple classes and internships at Pilchuck Glass School and assisted Greg Daly in his workshop, “Color and Form” at the Penland School of Crafts, which led to a three month residency with Daly at the Australian National University in Canberra, AUS in 2016. Wyatt and Forrest met in 2015, and in 2016 he was Forrest’s assistant at the Penland School of Craft. Wyatt spends his time at FLM Ceramics fulfilling our dinnerware line as well as throwing some of our more unique pieces on the wheel. He has an eye for detail and keeps our production running smoothly from start to finish.
Pedro Mejia : Lead Tile Production
Pedro is one of the most dedicated, consistent, and hard working people you can imagine. He has been making tile at FLM Ceramics for 4 years, and came to us after 24 years at Blue Slide Art Tile in Pt. Reyes, CA. Pedro is an extremely reliable worker with a great attention to detail, he sees our tile through all stages of production from Making and managing clay, to pugging, printing and packing tile for freight.
Kelly Brothers : Production Team and Firing
Kelly is a Petaluma local with a long time love for craft and fine arts. Self-taught in photography, she has spent over a decade behind the lenses of her digital and 35mm film cameras capturing portraits and moments both professionally and as a hobby. After starting on the wheel at Petaluma Pottery, she became the apprentice at FLM Ceramics in March of 2020 and continued on at the end of her apprenticeship. Kelly has developed a body of wheel-thrown functional wares, incorporating her passion for political and environmental justice into the surface designs of her pots. Kelly is the studio manager of our adjoining community studio, Petaluma Pottery and teaches wheel throwing classes all year long. In addition to making materials and firing kilns, she helps out with 1,000 miscellaneous tasks for FLM Ceramics.
Stephanie LeBaudour : Production Team
Stephanie is a ceramicist living in Petaluma, CA. She received her BFA with an emphasis in Sculpture and Ceramics from San Francisco State University. After graduating she participated in the post bachelors’ program with the ceramics department at SF State and taught art and ceramics classes for children in Marin County. Originally from Ohio, Stephanie fell in love with working with clay and painting as a child and is continuing to develop a body of work exploring the relationship between form and surface. Stephanie heads up all things handbuilding at our adjoining community studio, Petaluma Pottery where she teaches classes and lessons year round. She is also integral in keeping both studios running smoothly managing our clay recycling program, loading kilns, and 1,000 other miscellaneous tasks.