Melissa Weiss is originally from NY. She received her BFA in photography in 2000 from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. Melissa currently resides in Asheville, NC where she runs a studio housing over 20 artists in an 8000 square foot warehouse called SouthSideStudios near the Swannanoa River. She is a full time studio potter. Melissa makes functional high fired pots from clay she digs on her land in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. Melissa is a self taught potter yet has learned from many potters in the Asheville area. Melissa has attended John C. Campbell, Penland and Arrowmont as a studio assistant ,a work study and a teacher for wood fire workshops. Melissa has spent the last 15 years learning how to fire wood and gas fueled kilns. Melissa is the author of the book “Hand Built, A Potter’s Guide” Melissa makes all her own clay, glazes and slips and fires them in gas and wood fired reduction kilns to cone 10.