Meet Our Instructors
The Current aims to provide all class, camp, and workshop participants with low staff-to-student ratios and tailored instruction from a phenomenal team of professional artists and art educators.
Instructor Bios:
Maddy Bertrand-Gerndt (Ceramic Studio Manager) has been a part of clay studios since she was 8 years old, beginning in Duxbury, MA. with Linda Capone studios, fascinated by the wheel. She continued her clay journey with Steve Branfman at Thayer Academy, at Skidmore College with Regis Brodie and Toshiko Takaezu, where she earned a BS in Studio Art. She has lived in Spain, Seattle, WA, St. John, travelled to many tropical islands, sailed close to home and once off-shore, taught art K-8 at The Antilles School in St Thomas, ran her own business as a clay artist on Vashon, WA., developing a wholesale line as well as thrown fine art pieces. She was a member of The Vashon Potter's Tour, taught for the Vashon Allied Arts, and currently have a seasonal space in Morrisville, VT as was a past a member of the Vermont Studio Tour, long term art sub at Thatcher Brook, as well as teaching and gallery space at the Old Moscow Road Pottery. Business continued for Maddy as General Manager of Harvest Market in Stowe for over 24 years, after returning to the East coast to be closer to family. Painting on clay is her passion, altering wheel thrown pieces. She loves creating with young minds to spark a new generation of clay artists.
Lizzy Barrish is a ceramic artist based in Brooklyn, NY. Her work centers on creating functional wares designed to bring everyday joy to those who use them. Through underglaze mark making and sgraffito, she explores the bounds of surface design, merging her background in painting and drawing with her evolving pursuit of clay. Whether she's making art, doing yoga, skateboarding, or cooking, Lizzy approaches daily life as an extension of her creative practice, and is always open to where it might lead her next.
Britton Blanchard grew up in Southern Vermont and now lives in Chittenden County, where he creates all his pottery. With a BA in studio art from UVM, Britton has been working with clay for over 10 years. His main focus is wheel-throwing functional wares, but he also has experience in hand-building sculptural work. Britton is the manager of UVM’s School of the Arts Ceramics Co-op in Burlington, Vermont.
Wiley Delisa is an actor and playwright living in Burlington. He has a B.A. in Theatre from UVM and won second place for his short film “Playing Favorites” at UVMTv’s 2024 Green and Golden Globe awards.
Nate Hemmer is a parent, emergency doctor, and tinkerer. He likes the thrill of bringing an idea to life. And he loves to spark the imaginations of others.
Sarah Hewitt Sarah Adelaide is a multi-media artist, educator, and herbalist. Sarah is a Vermonter who is passionate about connecting with the natural world through the Arts. After earning her BFA from RISD, she traveled the world making art and teaching in many countries. She was brought into Very Merry Staff 10 years ago at the inception of the Waterways Stage Collaboration as a teaching Artist. Since then she has co-directed and choreographed many productions with Very Merry Theatre. Most notably Sarah has taken a leadership role in keeping the collaboration of Waterways Stage alive by writing grants, coordinating schools, teaching theater and organizing the festival of performances. Sarah has recently earned a Master's Degree in Art Education and holds a Vermont State Teaching License.
Adam Hinkelman is a visual artist and educator based in South Burlington, Vermont. His practice explores the relationship between landscape, ecology, and human connections to place. With an MFA from Colorado State University and BS in Marketing at Regis University, Hinkelman’s work finds a synthesis between artistic inquiry and visual communication. As an educator, he’s taught various courses including 2D design concepts structured to emphasize visual storytelling through color theory in parallel to combining compositional strategies spanning the mediums of graphic design, painting, and drawing. Hinkelman enjoys developing students technical skills while also fostering confidence when engaging in both conceptual and practical applications. As an artist, he’s exhibited work both domestically and internationally in addition to receiving numerous awards including a fellowship at the Vermont Studio Residency in 2025. When away from the studio or classroom, he spends time outdoors with his two children as well as enjoys running and ski touring in the mountains feeding a synergistic relationship with his art.
Patty Hudak is a painter and installation artist whose work merges the Japanese woodblock technique of mokuhanga with contemporary explorations of nature, the supernatural, and human imagination. Trained in Japan, she teaches mokuhanga workshops throughout Vermont and collaborates with the international collective Mokuhanga Sisters to expand public awareness of contemporary mokuhanga practice.
Hudak studied Studio Art at Wellesley College (B.A., 1984), Biological Illustration at the University of New Haven, and continued her education at the New York Studio School and the Alternative Arts School. Recent solo exhibitions include Turning and Turning(SVAC, 2025), Gyring, Spiring (Minėmå Gallery, 2023), and Botanical Ornaments (T.W. Wood Museum, 2021). Her curatorial project The World Between the Block and the Paperwas named one of Seven Days’ Top Ten Vermont Exhibitions of 2022.
Her awards include the Vermont Creation Grant (2026), Second Prize from Hunterdon Art Museum (2025), and the Awagami Paper Award (2021). Her work is held in public and private collections internationally.
https://www.instagram.com/hudakpatty/
Sara Opel is a parent, daycare teacher, and crafter. Her children started taking classes and two years ago she decided to take a clay class. She became a facilitator in our clay studio, and in the summer of 2024, she taught several of our summer camps, focusing mostly on our pre-k programs. She loves working with children, having driven a school bus for 15 years. She has 3 children, 3 cats, over 20 chickens, and a wonderful husband who supports all her different art projects. Her mother taught her to sew when she was 5 and is continuing to teach her even now. Her children enjoy giving her interesting Halloween costumes to make, like a yellow garden spider, Doc Oct from the spiderman comics, and a Dalek from Doctor Who. Her favorite art things to do are handbuilding with clay, macrame, tie dye, and sewing. She is excited to tackle any form of art and share her passion with children and adults.
Talia Roberts is a visual artist based in Northern Vermont. She received her B.A. in Studio Art and Psychology from Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where she was awarded the Eleanor Layfield Davis Scholarship for her talents in Painting and Sculpture. Talia works primarily in oil painting and has exhibited her work publicly at museums and galleries across the U.S. including the Missoula Art Museum (MT), Echo Arts Gallery (MT), the Bryan Gallery (VT), and AVA Gallery (NH). She is also the recipient of a 2026 Artist Development Grant from the Vermont Arts Council. As a teaching artist, Talia loves creating art experiences that encourage imagination and wonder. She is passionate about teaching the foundational tools to young learners, helping them to express their ideas, interests, and perspectives through art. Her classes invite students to experiment with a variety of materials and techniques for creating visual art, while fostering curiosity and appreciation for the natural world. Outside of the studio, Talia enjoys hiking, skiing, biking, gardening and baking bread.
Joe Smith is a native Vermonter currently residing in the small town of Hyde Park. Smith recently received his B.A. in Art Education from Northern Vermont University. Most of Smith’s work derives from his personal journey growing up in a beautiful and rural area. Along with filmmaking, he is also interested in various forms of multimedia and design. His artwork has been exhibited in the Vermont Congressional Art Show and Johnson Studio Center. Smith takes pride in assisting young filmmakers in constructing their own visions and sense of life into their work. He is currently involved in social justice work and travels around the world to assist communities and explore their social, political, and cultural dynamics. Such travels have landed him in Detroit, Michigan, Managua, Nicaragua, and Zurich, Switzerland. Smith is honored to serve his local communities and has worked in a wide-variety of school settings, all which allow him to advocate for student voice and equity.
Sue Taylor is a Jeffersonville, VT based fiber artist specializing in felt making. As felting often goes, she has never attended one school, but learned from many master felt makers and crafts- people in schools, at conferences, and retreats. Her sculptures, luminaries, vessels and clothing reflect her personal taste for utility and simplicity. After years of participating in fine art exhibitions and craft shows, Sue is teaching around the state and dedicating as much time as possible to felting in her beloved studio.