Photos by Andy Nguyen / TIMES STAFF

She creates sculptures in high-fire ceramic and bronze. She made an architectural sculpture to beautify the front of the Olympic Club on Sutter Street in San Francisco. Private homes, offices and gardens are decorated with her figurative sculptures.

This Bay Area sculptor is Michelle Gregor, who has taught ceramics at San Jose City College since 2002. She also teaches 3-D design every spring semester.

“Across every continent, from every corner of the world, human beings have made things out of clay,” Gregor said.

Gregor received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1984.

After graduating, she explored many things about ceramics from many countries that she has visited, such as Greece.

Seven years later, Gregor decided to go back to college at San Francisco State University, where she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree.

“Gregor is an incredible artist, and I feel very fortunate to be in her class and study under her leadership. I take ceramics, and now it is part of my life,” said Rosa Harrison, an advanced student of ceramics.

Gregor became a familiar face in our region, for which she has made great accomplishments of her work around the Bay Area.

Her first exhibition was the “Senior Show” when she received her BA degree at UCSC.

She said it was a great honor to exhibit in a ceramics show in Davis, Calif., in 2010 with Don Reitz, who has taught ceramics at University of Wisconsin, Madison for 26 years, and David Kuraoka, professor of art and head of the Ceramics Department at San Jose State University.

“Gregor is a great professor. She explains everything clearly, and she is always willing to help us,” said Bibiana Vega, beginning student of ceramics.  “I’m having such a great time in this class that I will take the ceramics class the following semester.”

“We have students in the Ceramics Department ranging from young people just out of high school, professional people with degrees in nursing and engineering, and mothers and fathers,” Gregor said.

She said she has students from Vietnam, Africa, the Middle East, Mexico and all over the world, and students from all ages with different abilities and disabilities.

“That’s what makes our college the most fantastic place to work. The diversity of students brings interesting perspectives to the classroom,” Gregor said.

She said she wants to introduce the best techniques to her students to learn from the great beauty and the great wealth of ceramics and treasure it.

“My words of advice to the new student is to practice, whether you are inspired or not,” Gregor said, “so at the end of the class, I hope that they have a real respect for the artworks of many different cultures and artworks throughout the history of time.”