About The Clay Lady
Danielle McDaniel is The Clay Lady®
The Clay Lady is best known since 1982 for her clay teaching program in the schools of Middle Tennessee. She has dedicated her life to the transformative power of art by teaching clay to hundreds of thousands of children and ensuring clay would be taught in the classroom by educating art teachers The Clay Lady Way, a teaching modality for art teachers nationally.
She created The Clay Lady’s Campus, an art community in Nashville, Tennessee, which sees over 500 students and artists each week, filling studios and classrooms with enhancing, creative endeavors. For all ages, all levels and in all circumstances, Danielle~The Clay Lady has created a way for clay to be accessible to everyone via videos, books, seminars and The Campus.
How it all began
Remembering a 1st place prize she’d won for a clay baby shoe she’d made with art teacher Sandra Kandros during a middle school 4-H arts and crafts contest, Danielle McDaniel took her first pottery class in 1981 through Nashville Metro Parks and Recreation. Soon after embracing clay’s lesson of “process, not project”, Danielle offered to help her Metro Parks Instructor Lena Lucas with kids’ classes and soon afterward was teaching those same classes. Ann Horan, Director of the Centennial Arts Center, saw Danielle’s enthusiasm and offered her a full-time teaching position at the Bellevue Community Center, where Danielle would go on to teach for 15 years. During that time, Danielle also worked at Mid-South Ceramic Supply Company (then owned by Tom Turnbull) which provided a full scope of ceramics information and education.
In 1982, at the request of one of her student’s parents, Danielle taught clay at a birthday party. The clay plates were decorated with slips and single-fired for efficiency and quick turn-around. Two elementary school teachers attended that party and asked Danielle if she would come to their classrooms to teach a clay workshop for an in-house field trip. This began Danielle’s career as “The Clay Lady”.
By 1995, Danielle was teaching 500 to 800 kids per week in schools throughout Middle Tennessee–full grade levels at a time in school cafeterias–and was booked two years in advance. The art teachers of these schools came to The Clay Lady’s workshops and asked Danielle to provide information about how she was teaching the quantity and quality of clay projects in a such short amount of time. Danielle started teaching The Clay Lady’s Inservices; sharing her projects, her Clay Paints , and the single-firing process. To further help these teachers, Danielle wrote How to Teach Clay…The Clay Lady Way in 1996. She also produced instructional videos and started teaching inservices on a national level.
In 2010, Danielle and business associate, Tami Archer, purchased Mid-South Ceramic Supply Company. This enabled Danielle to market The Clay Lady Way on a larger scale and to develop an educational program at the Mid-South Ceramic Supply Company’s facilities in Nashville. After acquiring three more buildings on the property, the business expanded exponentially. Danielle established The Clay Lady’s Campus whose mission is to be a creative community nurturing creativity through life-giving community, one artist at a time.
Currently, Danielle oversees 75 on-premise artists with private studios, 350 pottery and sculpture students, and numerous workshops and community events each year on The Clay Lady’s Campus. Danielle is sought after to teach not only her inservices, but to also share her successful business model of the The Clay Lady’s Campus. Danielle provides keynotes about her experience, sharing what she loves to do every day with people of all ages, in all circumstances, and at all skill levels7
“Take what you think. Take what you feel.
Mix it all up, and make something real.”
Since 1982, this motto has been repeated by The Clay Lady and her students in every class and workshop. It encompasses her philosophy surrounding the greatness and goodness of being an artist; it goes beyond creating a clay project. It asks the artist to consider the call that artists not only make beautiful things, but they are called to make the world a more beautiful place.
The Clay Lady's Campus Staff
Danielle McDaniel
CO-OWNER, "THE CLAY LADY" AND STUDIO INSTRUCTOR
Better known as “The Clay Lady” since 1982, Danielle became co-owner of Mid-South Ceramics in 2007, merging her teaching and product line. Danielle administrates the educational component of the business. When not teaching, she likes to sculpt, write, and mentor new artists. She teaches Wednesday morning and evening pottery classes.
Tami Archer
CO-OWNER AND MID-SOUTH CERAMICS MANAGER
After starting as an employee 30 years ago, Tami became co-owner of Mid-South Ceramics in 2007. She administrates the supply portion of the business. Tami enjoys woodworking and the outdoors.
Joseph McDaniel
RESEARCH,AND DEVELOPMENT, BUSINESS OPERATIONS MANAGER & POTTERY INSTRUCTOR
Joseph completed his BFA in Ceramics at Appalachian Center for Crafts. Joseph has developed our last several lines of Opulence Glaze and The Clay Lady’s Products. Joseph is an instructor at The Clay Lady’s Education Center!
Denise Brown
CUSTOMER SUCCESS MANAGER
Starting in 2004, Denise worked for The Clay Lady and is now Mid-South Ceramic’s Retail Manager. Denise is the first person you see when you walk into our showroom and she loves taking care of our customers. She enjoys karaoke, feeding people and concerts!
Celeste Vangeli
ORDER FULFILLMENT, INSTRUCTOR
Celeste joined our team with an impressive resume in Clay and Chemistry! A biology graduate with a minor in studio arts focusing on ceramics from the University of Mississippi. Celeste is an instructor at The Clay Lady’s Education Center!
Alyssa Gorman
KILN FAIRY, THE CLAY LADY'S TEACHING ASSISTANT, & INSTRUCTOR
Alyssa assists Danielle in teaching clay The Clay Lady Way! She has her B.S. in Education and is passionate about sharing knowledge with others which is why she is one of our instructors! She loves to create, uplift, and dance when no one’s watching; and will often be seen with her pottery pups, Captain Jack and Poppins.
Alexie Smith
WAREHOUSE MANAGER, KILN REPAIR, INSTRUCTOR
Alexie keeps our warehouse ‘ready…set…GO!’ for orders and production. He studied ceramics at Wichita State in Kansas and enjoys his own studio space in Studio B where he can develop his craft. He also loves high-fives and cartwheels. Alexie is an instructor at The Clay Lady’s Education Center and is our Kiln Repair Specialist.
Jennifer Ancevski
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
If you know about the events and news around the campus, Jennifer is the reason why! Jennifer is learning more and more about clay everyday and finds joy in taking photos of the students and the team and sharing them with our community. She is a dog mom and loves to travel!
Jarl Schlunk
WAREHOUSE FULFILLMENT, "THE BAG MAN"
Jarl is a potter, creator, and hard-working member of our team! We love having him in the warehouse making our glazes shelf ready, shipping on time, and production accurate!
Melissa McKee
GROUNDS GODDESS
Melissa makes us look good – literally! She keeps our Campus always guest ready and looking great! She loves stained and fused glass, the outdoors, and making relationships on The Campus!
Connor Finegan
FACILITIES MANAGER
Connor is a student turned employee but also still a student who can be found delivering your clays, fixing a leaky faucet, packing your orders, or taking a class. He also owns his own mobile detailing business and can make your car look like new – @revive.nashville.detailing
Cassis Pitman
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT, SCULPTURE INSTRUCTOR
Cassis, pronounced (Cuh-s-ees), has her BFA in Ceramics with a background in ceramic production. She is exploring new art expressions with light sculptures. She is rarely seen on Campus without her dog and teaches at The Clay Lady’s Education Center!
Morgan Hooper
KILN FAIRY
Morgan thinks of herself as a Kiln Fairy, flying through Kiln Alley loading and unloading student work. She fell in love with pottery in 2023 after attending a “Try It” class, and has been hooked ever since. Originally from Georgia, Morgan is loving Nashville and its creative energy!
Henry Sekeres
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Henry is a Clay Cadet turned member of Team Blue. He took classes with The Clay Lady in both middle and high school before earning his BFA in ceramics at the Appalachian Center for Craft. He is one of the people making our Opulence Glazes shelf-ready for you!
Jessica Uhles
MSC CUSTOMER SERVICE
Jessica assists Denise at Mid-South Ceramics. As a former art teacher, she continues to use her knowledge of art practices to guide customers through their journey with clay! She loves throwing on the wheel, hiking, and loving on her dog, Gus!
Jané Marks
WAREHOUSE ASSOCIATE
Jané’s love of ceramics sparked when she was 6 and attended her first Clay Camp with The Clay Lady. She can be found delivering clay and supporting everyone in the warehouse!
Jack and Poppins Gorman
POTTERY PUP ASSISTANTS
You may find Jack and Poppins lying on the floor or sniffing your pots on The Campus! They love pets and making you happy!
Edgar P. Kaolin
& Col. Silica Sanders
QUALITY CONTROL, NIGHT SECURITY
By day, Edgar, pictured on the left, and Silica, pictured on the right, can be found in the warehouse inspecting all incoming and outbound shipments. By night, they take their jobs very seriously as our campus security guards.
Petri (Pee-Tree) Pitman
WAREHOUSE CUSTOMER LIASON
Petri is an enthusiastic five-year old pup who provides boundless joy to our campus. Whether he is greeting customers or overseeing warehouse operations with his mom, Cassis, he will make your visit a truly pawsome experience!
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