Introducing Mug of the Month Artist, November 2025: Shelly Dobi
- PennOhio Clay Guild
- Nov 13
- 3 min read
November Mug of the Month: Shelly Dobi
Finding Her Way Back to Clay
Every potter has a moment when clay first captures them that quiet click when everything just feels right. For November’s Mug of the Month, we’re thrilled to share the story of Shelly Dobi, a longtime educator, artist, and Guild member whose journey with clay has been one of perseverance, passion, and coming full circle.
“I was in college at Slippery Rock, working toward my elementary education degree,” Shelly recalls. “Every elective I took was in art. I didn’t have the courage to major in it or even minor but when I got to the ceramic studio, I was hooked.”
Back then, the studio had one simple rule: you had to be over 40 to use the electric wheel. Shelly wasn’t even close, so she learned on a kick wheel, using handmade clay full of grog. “I remember getting brush burns on my hands from trying to center the clay and I wore them with pride,” she laughs. “I took every ceramic class I could. I’m proud to say I survived Dick Wukich, the ceramics professor. He was one tough cookie!”
Life, as it often does, led Shelly toward career and family, leaving little time (or budget) for pottery. But the pull of the wheel never faded. “When I couldn’t sleep, I would replay the centering and throwing steps in my head. I was determined to get back to clay someday.”
That day came years later at Arts & Education at the Hoyt, where she began taking pottery classes again, this time with mentor Nancy Sontich Lenhart, who helped Shelly rediscover her skills and confidence. “I finally got to use an electric wheel for the first time,” she says with a grin.
Images of Shelly's previous work
After several years, opportunity met readiness: Shelly was able to purchase a school’s pottery equipment and set up her own home studio, complete with her trusty kick wheel (and eventually, an electric wheel purchased at NCECA Pittsburgh!).
While teaching fifth-grade science, Shelly combined her love of art and education, leading after-school clay projects for her students. She learned to fire a kiln entirely on her own “before YouTube, mind you!” and transported student work back and forth between school and home. The payoff? Seeing the students’ creations proudly displayed at the annual art fair.
In the final years of her teaching career, Shelly transitioned to teaching art full-time, inspiring hundreds of students to explore their creativity. Now retired, she’s back in the studio with time to create simply for the joy of it and this month, she brings that full-circle energy to her feature as POCG’s November Mug of the Month artist.
Shelly's Design Inspiration
Her mug design draws inspiration from a place close to her heart: Presque Isle State Park on Lake Erie. “We vacationed there every summer for the first fifteen years of my life,” she shares. “The sunsets are breathtaking, and I knew I wanted to capture that feeling, that sense of peace and warmth; in a mug."
As Shelly works on her Presque Isle-inspired vessel, she carries with her a lifetime of learning, teaching, and returning, always guided by that same spark she found years ago at the kick wheel.
“I’m honored and honestly a bit intimidated, to follow in the footsteps of so many talented POCG artists,” she admits. “The bar is incredibly high. But I’m excited. This project means a lot to me.”