Check out Scott Parady, when he was a student at NVC. He is now teaching at the college, and achieving national recognition through his work and his wood firing.
Or, Matt Long, who was at NVC at the same time that Scott was. At NCECA 2000 in Denver, he was honored as one of the emerging artists. He is currently teaching at the University of Florida in Gainsville.
Mary Kay Botkins went to the Kansas City Art Institute in about 1986, and then to The University of Illinois at Carbondale. For several years she worked for Highwater Clay in Ashville, North Carolina. She is now living in the Chicago area. She's promised to send images of her work, but they haven't arrived yet.