About Us

OUR STORY

“Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it” ― Buddha

Pottery Sessions is an artistic community space, the creative brainchild of Manila-based ceramic artist Catherine Choachuy.
With a degree in Architecture, Catherine’s passion for creation had led her into constant studying and practicing the craft of clay and has been continuously honing her craft since 2013 whose work is a mixture of functional and sculptural ceramics. It has been her aim to create practical ceramic art for both home and office – a principle that is to create with purpose.
Through various courses and workshops, she has developed skills and knowledge with artists from various parts of the world. Hence Pottery Sessions is born creating a collaborative and creative space with a group of individuals of different backgrounds but share a penchant for the craft and art of pottery.
Join us in our classes and workshops with our skilled and inspiring instructors as we learn together and realize through your hands the ingenious artistry within you.
Visit our gallery or social media page here to see the inspiring and imaginative works of both our teachers and students and all that we do in Pottery Sessions studio.

OUR INSTRUCTORS

We have a professional, caring and enthusiastic team of instructors
to help you learn the art of pottery.

Annie Reyes

Annie Reyes got her degree in Interior Design as a Fine Arts Major from the College of the Holy Spirit in 1984. She started with modest arts and crafts and after a while, she wanted to express her creations using materials that can be molded to her liking — that is how she found pottery.

Since then, she has honed her skills under the tutelage of respected potters such as Pete Cortez and Joey de Castro. In search of more training, she has participated in a residence program under Shozo Michikawa, a pottery master, at Sasama, Shizuoka in Japan.She currently practices her craft from her own home studio working on personal projects and commissioned works.

Paulo Lozano

Paulo spends thousands of hours looking at, thinking about, and making pots every year.

He learned his foundations in 2017 at the studio of Joey de Castro, followed by the UPCFA Ceramic Studio. Over the past five years he has deepened his knowledge and honed his technique by continuously seeking instruction and attending workshops conducted by the established masters and leading practitioners of pottery in the Philippines.

When he is not quietly making on his wheel, Paulo likes to cook and dream of all the food he will serve on all the pots he will one day make.

Carmel Lim Torress

Carmel has been an art educator for more than 15 years. She graduated from CFA, UPD with BFA in Sculpture and was a best thesis awardee and she obtained a MS in International Education from SUNY.

She realized her love for clay in her BTEC year at Central Saint Martins, London. She continues to explore, learn and exhibit different art mediums and concepts.

Carmel is passionate in sharing the joy and power of the art making process, especially in clay.

Niño Hernandez

Niño Hernandez was a professional musician for 22 years playing the Flute and other world instruments for multi-awarded music groups, Pinikpikan and Grace Nono.

An abstract expressionist Painter as well, Niño started focusing on Pottery in 2017. His works, both on canvas and in clay, are an exploration of texture and colors, and evoke characters of everyday objects such as leaks on walls, cracks on concrete or corrosion on metal. His pieces symbolically represent breaking down boundaries, tearing down walls and sometimes, bridging gaps.

Since 2014, Niño has been participating yearly as an Art Director in Crane Lake Summer Camp in Massachusetts, USA teaching children aged 6 to 16 painting and pottery.

Jezzel Wee

Jezzel Wee is a ceramic artist based in Quezon City. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of the Philippines with a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts major in Painting. She finished a 3-year apprenticeship from the Tsugaru Kanayama Pottery, Aomori, Japan in 2017. She taught at the UP. College of Fine Arts from 2018 to 2021. Through the years, she has worked with various ceramic artists from Thailand, Singapore and Australia.

She is currently practicing her profession full-time. Growing up in Palawan, she spent her weekends snorkeling and being out in nature. Currently, she finds inspiration in the complexities and organic forms of marine life and nature.

She enjoys a good cup of coffee. She makes her ceramic works in her studio with her dog, Tikoy.

Ella Mendoza

Ella Mendoza completed her second degree in Art History from the University of the Philippines. A painting major by training, she started doing ceramics in 2015 and has since been an active presence in the field.

Having been heavily engrossed in the process of making functional wares in her early years of working with clay, she later realized how this familiarity materialized in the themes and forms of her latter works — of which were conceptual and sculptural in nature and, which, gravitated towards a play on contemporary counterparts of traditional vessels as an avenue in examining social and cultural changes brought about by the demands of modern progress.

As a full-time visual artist, she continues to produce and exhibit these works and at present, pursues functional pottery on the side as means to support her art-making.

potterysessions@gmail.com