Siem’s undergraduate degree is in printmaking (SUNY Potsdam). He has worked as a professional sailor, goldsmith (apprenticed with Tom O’Donovan), and carpenter. He taught high school art at Camden Hills Regional High School for seventeen years. During that time he took a sabbatical at the Marchutz School in Aix-en-Provence, France and later earned an MFA at Maine College of Art concentrating in ceramics and drawing. He currently teaches ceramics at Unity College. Awards include residency at Anderson Ranch Arts Center (Snowmass, CO) and Watershed Center for Ceramic Arts (Newcastle, ME), and a MeCA Award for Leadership in Arts Education. His work is shown and collected throughout the country including the Canton Museum of Fine Art, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, and Harrisburg Community College. Local galleries include Åarhus Gallery in Belfast and CRAFT in Rockland.