The Faces Behind Throwing Shapes
Siofra (she/her), Founder/Owner & Teacher
Siofra Murdock is an artist and founder of Throwing Shapes, Ireland’s first community ceramic studio. After studying Fine Art in Manchester and earning a master’s degree from Smurfit Business School, she worked as an award-winning Art Director for seven years before pursuing her dream of creating an open-access studio.
Siofra has exhibited work in Malaysia, Germany, Spain, Ireland and the UK. She formally trained in ceramics under master potter Corrie Bain in Barcelona and now teaches hand-building classes and corporate events while running the studio. Passionate about the endless possibilities of clay, she inspires students to go beyond foundational skills and create whatever they can dream up. Though skilled in hand-building, throwing, and glazing, Siofra’s heart lies in hand-building. Her favorite part of Throwing Shapes is the vibrant community it fosters, with members finding connections, belonging and even reasons to stay in Ireland.
Fun fact: Siofra grew up with three pet ostriches. Follow her on Instagram @sioframurdock or reach out at siofra@throwingshapes.ie.
Emma (she/her), Studio Manager
Emma McKeagney is an Artist and Art Facilitator who has been with Throwing Shapes since its opening in May 2024. With a background in art, event management, and facilitation, Emma ensures the studio runs smoothly, from maintaining systems and answering emails to fostering a welcoming environment for staff and visitors. A graduate of IADT in 2017, Emma was Artist-in-Residence at Mercer's Institute for Successful Ageing in St. James's Hospital (2023–2024) and is passionate about exploring the intersection of art, science, and health in her work. She has exhibited in Helsinki, Dublin, and Sligo with organisations like RuaRed, Pallas Projects, and The Complex, and her solo exhibition Unstable Categories debuted at Pallas Projects in 2018. Emma’s accolades include the Arts Council Agility Award, Firestation Sculpture Award, and Talbot Studios Most Promising Graduate Award. Her favorite part of working at Throwing Shapes is connecting with the members and teachers who make the studio such a vibrant community.
Fun fact: she’s never been to mainland Spain—yet! Find her on Instagram @emmamkeagney or at www.emmamckeagney.com.
Aine (she/her), Facilities Manager & Teacher
Áine has been with Throwing Shapes from the very beginning, first as the studio technician and now as facilities manager, ensuring the studio's operations run smoothly—often found covered in clay or half inside a kiln. Her journey from farm to fine art began on her family’s dairy farm outside Virginia, Cavan, where her passion for practical, tactile work took root. After exploring creative and cultural industries, she studied Fine Art at Technological University Dublin, where her interest in ceramics was ignited through sculpting, hand-building, and slip casting. Áine further honed her craft as a working artist in Berlin’s Ceramic Kingdom, gaining valuable experience in wheel-throwing and community studio practices. Now back in Cavan since mid-2023, she creates ceramic work and facilitates classes from her studio. At Throwing Shapes, Áine teaches hand-building tasters, six-week courses, and tableware courses. She loves watching her students' addiction to clay and its possibilities grow over the weeks and takes pride in seeing them become members she gets to see regularly. Her work has been exhibited at Argillà Italia, the International Ceramics Festival, the National Craft & Design Gallery in Kilkenny, and the 190th RHA Annual Exhibition.
Samuel (he/him), Studio Assistant
Vinh (he/him), Teacher
Vinh Truong is a Dublin-based designer and ceramicist specialising in minimalist, functional ceramics that merge traditional wheel-throwing with industrial design principles. Working from his studio on Dublin’s outskirts, he crafts stoneware and porcelain collections enhanced by signature glazes, showcased through Studio Tako in local stockists and markets.
A self-taught ceramicist since 2023, Vinh brings a design-driven approach to his work and teaching. He offers classes at leading Irish ceramic studios, including Throwing Shapes and Arran Street East, covering wheel-throwing, glazing, and production techniques. His teaching combines technical precision, creative exploration, and an emphasis on form, function, and aesthetic balance, inspiring students of all levels. Vinh specializes in wheel throwing, functional ware design, repetitive production, glaze research, and digital fabrication of pottery tools.
Fun fact: his origami skills are top-notch. Connect with him on Instagram @vinh__truong and @tako.studio, or visit StudioTako.com.
Simon (he/him), Teacher
Simon Kidd is a visual artist and potter who creates both sculptural works inspired by place and simple, functional thrown pots. After studying ceramics at Central Saint Martins in London and exhibiting in galleries there, he returned to Ireland in 2021 and now lives on a small island off West Cork. His practice explores local materials and experimental firing techniques. Simon’s teaching focuses on encouraging students to learn through mistakes and hands-on exploration, valuing the raw expression in beginners’ work. He specializes in throwing, handbuilding, mould making, glazing, and atmospheric firings and leads intensive weekend courses and island retreats. Notable achievements include exhibitions such as Land/Marks at the National Design and Craft Gallery (2023) and a solo show at Erskine Hall & Coe in London (2022). Simon has received awards like the DCCI Future Makers Award (2023) and the Rosalind Stracey Ceramic Residency (2019).
Fun Fact: Simon lives on an island with 99 others and has developed a love for the barrel saunas along Ireland’s west coast. Follow him on Instagram @simon.kidd or visit his websites simonkiddceramics.com and simonkiddpottery.com.
Lucy (she/her), Teacher
Lucy Hughes is a multidisciplinary artist who primarily works with clay and has exhibited her work across Ireland, the UK, and Europe. Her journey with ceramics began at the age of 12 through raku firing. After studying fine art and relocating to Ireland, Lucy trained as a production potter. She teaches both wheel throwing and hand building, emphasizing the importance of play and creativity, often using a quick "5-minute pot game" to help students loosen up. Specializing in throwing, her philosophy is that bigger isn’t always better, with a focus on shape and movement.
Fun Fact: In her free time, Lucy enjoys skip diving and walking. You can find her on Instagram Follow her on Instagram @lucyhughes32.
Mahima (she/her), Teacher
Mahima Singh has been throwing pots since 2013 and is endlessly passionate about clay and ceramics. Her journey includes working as a production potter at Arran Street East in Dublin, serving as a resident artist and instructor at Clay Station in Bangalore, and interning at Pottery Northwest in Seattle. Now based in Dublin, Mahima runs her own studio, creating porcelain works that range from large to small and are adorned with intricate, vibrant inlay designs. She thrives on guiding makers through the design and crafting process, believing clay to be both a joyous and challenging material that demands respect, planning, and perseverance to achieve pieces with charm and integrity. Specializing in wheel-throwing techniques, she helps students refine their skills, pushing boundaries to throw wider, taller, and bolder while exploring surface decoration and altered forms. Mahima teaches Improver Throwing classes at Throwing Shapes.
Fun fact: when she’s feeling down, she loves googling images of dogs eating ice cream—because why not? Follow her on Instagram @mahima.s.ceramics.
Avery (he/him), Teacher & Member
Noel (he/him), Teacher & Member
Noel is a mostly self-taught potter whose love for ceramics began with a week-long course at Arran Street East in Smithfield. From there, he spent many evenings at Trinity Arts workshops and later refined his skills as a ceramicist during two years as a member at Brookwood Pottery. Now a part of Throwing Shapes, Noel creates both wheel-thrown and hand-built ceramics while teaching hand-building and wheel-throwing taster classes at the studio. Passionate about sharing his craft, he hopes to inspire others to fall in love with clay as he did. Nature plays a significant role in Noel’s work, often inspired by walks with his Bernese Mountain Dog along the Royal Canal, where he collects reeds for hakeme brushes or draws textures from tree bark and flora. His creations have been featured in design shops across the country, commercially in hotels and restaurants, and at craft markets throughout the year. Follow his journey on Instagram @noelbyasceramics.
Lily (she/her), Teacher
Lily Walkington is a self-taught ceramic artist from Montreal, Canada, whose work bridges the gap between functional pottery and sculptural design. Drawing inspiration from architecture, dreams, and her subconscious, she crafts unique, otherworldly pieces that challenge the conventions of traditional ceramics. By day, Lily works with children, finding inspiration in their boundless curiosity and creativity, which deeply informs her teaching philosophy. She encourages play, nurtures curiosity, and shares the joy of exploration and creation with her students. Lily teaches 6-week hand-building courses, hand-building tasters, and parent-and-baby classes at Throwing Shapes. Follow her on Instagram @hardlyceramic.
Tatina (she/her), Teacher
Tatiana Smith-St Kitts is an interior designer by day and a ceramicist by night, drawing inspiration from her design background to create hand-built and wheel-thrown works that explore movement, curiosity, and shapely forms. Her journey with ceramics began during a pottery work placement in Crete, where her love for clay was ignited, leading her to immerse herself deeply in the craft. Through her hand-building classes at Throwing Shapes, Tatiana encourages students to master traditional techniques, using textures and shapes to tell a unique story with each piece. Discover more of her work at follydesignstudio.com or follow her on Instagram @follydesignstudio.