Nat T. Duffield

Nat graduated cum laude from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts with a minor in art history.

He spent many years as a production potter in Seattle, Wash. He was a resident artist at the Pottery Northwest studio in Seattle and taught wheel throwing. More recently, he was a resident artist at the Art League School in Alexandria.

At Episcopal, Nat teaches ceramics and botany and is the agricultural technician for the Baker Science Center. He helps the Community Service group students grow hundreds of plants in the EHS greenhouse. These plants get donated to community gardens that grow vegetables, which are donated to the Arlington Food Assistance Center to feed families in need. Every semester, Nat and his wife, art teacher Liz Vorlicek, host a tea party for their ceramics students at home, allowing them to use the kinds of handmade pottery they aspire to create. 

“I think it’s important for students to be able to produce a tangible object,” says Nat, “whether that means growing a plant in the greenhouse or throwing a pot in the studio.”