Rick Mahaffey is an Art Instructor and Head of the Ceramics Program at Tacoma Community College in the greater Seattle area. He has work in Museums in the United Kingdom, Kenya, China, Japan, Turkey, Korea, and Mexico. He has taught workshops in Europe, Africa, and Asia. He is guided by his humanitarian and artistic world view and his main inspiration is pottery done in the Momoyama period in Japan. Instead of mechanical perfection, he is keenly interested in natural beauty and awareness. Teaching and connecting people are core to his artistic practice and he is a co-founder of the International Society for Ceramics Art Education and Exchange. His work is exhibited internationally and he has taught classes and organized conferences across the globe.