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<>-or-ceramic sculptures, jewelry, wood, basketry, basket weaving, craft, natural, earthy, organic, nature, abstract, green, installation -
- Biography
Through a convergence of materials, Ellen's work uses a familiar vocabulary drawn from a legacy of makers and to leads viewers into the unfamiliar; where materials embody ideas and form becomes a question.
Ellen's education began at the Craft Schools of Penland School of Crafts, Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft, and John C. Campbell Folk School. She received her BFA in Ceramics from The Appalachian Center for Craft and completed a Post Baccalaureate year of study at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She received her MFA in Ceramics at Ohio University.
With roots in Southern California, Iowa and New York; Ellen’s work continually investigates connections. Connections between place, material, idea and legacy. Ellen has been an artist in residence in many communities including The Flux Factory in New York City and the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemet, Hungary. Ellen is currently the Executive Director of the Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio, a non-profit community art center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.Previous Exhibitions - Education
Master of Fine Arts, Ceramics, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 2016
Post-Baccalaureate, Ceramics, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, 2013
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Ceramics, Appalachian Center for Craft, Smithville, TN, 2012
Professional Experience
2016 – Present - Executive Director – Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio, Cedar Rapids, IA
Select Exhibitions (*solo exhibition)
2018- *Re-Union, Bing-Davis Memorial Gallery, Upper Iowa University, Fayette, Iowa
- Progression: 25 Years of Functional Form: Brad Schwieger at Ohio University, Butters Gallery, Portland, OR
- * In Union, Columbus Museum of Art and Design, Columbus, ID
- UNL Ceramics Alumni Exhibition, The Eisentrager Howard Gallery, Lincoln, NE
- * Re-Directed, Gilded Pear Gallery, Cedar Rapids, IA
- * Union, Trisolini Gallery, Athens, OH
- Maker Moxie: The Impact of the Craft School Experience, Peters Valley Gallery, Layton, NJ
- NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition, Leedy-Voulkos Art Center,Kansas City, MO
- A Sense of Place, Trisolini Gallery, Athens, OH
- 16 Days, International Ceramics Studio, Kecskemet, Hungary, 2015
- NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition, Sol Koffler Gallery, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
- Homecoming, Flux Factory, Long Island City, NY
- Spoon Me! Medalta International Spoon Show Medalta Ceramic Center, Medicine Hat, AB, Canada
- Current, Siegfried Gallery, Athens, OH
- 5th Biennial Concordia Continental Ceramics Competition, Concordia University, St. Paul, MN
- PLAYDATE, The Ceramics Center, Cedar Rapids, IA
- Small Favors IX, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
- Midwestern Educators and Students, Lillstreet Art Center, Milwaukee, WI
- Idioglossia, Trisolini Gallery, Athens, OH
- Starbrick Clay National Cup Show, Starbrick Gallery, Nelsonville, OH
- MUG Shots, LUX center for the Arts, Lincoln, NE
- Nebraska National, The Eisentrager • Howard Gallery, Lincoln, NE
- * Connection Point, Appalachian Center for Craft, Smithville, TN
- Material Elements: Innovations in Textiles 11, Florissant Valley Contemporary Art Gallery, St. Louis, MO
- * Ellen Kleckner: A Showcase, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Residencies- PSZ Clay Center, Zanesville, OH, 2017
- International Ceramics Studio, Kecskemet, Hungary, 2015
- Arrowmont Pentaculum: Surface Symposium, Arrowmont School of Art and Craft, Gatlinburg, TN, 2015
- Flux Factory, Long Island City, NY, 2005-2007
Selected Awards/ Fellowships/ Grants- Student Enhancement Research Award, Ohio University, 2015
- Global Opportunity Travel Award, Ohio University, 2015
- Studio Potter Graduate Merit Award, NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, 2015
- MBK Graduate Award, NCECA National Student Juried Exhibition, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, 2015
- Student Purchase Award for the Permanent Collection of Medalta, Spoon Me! Medalta Ceramic Center, Medicine Hat, AB, Canada, 2014
- NCECA Graduate Student Research Fellowship, 2014
- Graduate Student Senate Original Works Grant, Ohio University, 2013
- Windgate Foundation Scholarship, Appalachian Center for Craft, 2011
Lectures/Presentations/Professional Experience- Visiting Artist, Upper Iowa University, Fayette, IA, 2018
- Juror, College Hill Arts Festival, Cedar Falls, IA, 2017
- Visiting Lecturer, Kutztown University, Department of Art Education and Craft, Kutztown, PA, 2017
- Visiting Artist, Columbus Museum of Art and Design, Columbus, ID, 2017
- Visiting Artist, Appalachian Center for Craft, Smithville, TN, 2016
- Presenter, NCECA Conference; Kansas City, MO, 2016, The Productive Fall Out of Artist Residencies, blinc20/20 program
- Presenter, NCECA Conference; Milwaukee, WI, 2014, Material Girls in a Transitional Word, a panel discussion regarding the transitional nature of career in ceramics.
Teaching Experience (Instructor-of-Record)- Instructor of Record, Ohio University, School of Art + Design, Introduction to Ceramics, 2015
- Instructor of Record Ohio University, School of Art + Design, Ceramics Wheel Throwing, 2014
- Instructor of Record Ohio University, School of Art + Design, Introduction to Ceramics, 2014
- Teaching Assistant to Tom Bartel, Ohio University, School of Art + Design, Ceramic Handbuilding, 2016
- Teaching Assistant to John Sabraw, Ohio University, School of Art + Design, Art and Hip Hop, 2016
- Teaching Assistant to Brad Schwieger, Ohio University, School of Art + Design, Description, Foundations Area, 2015
- Teaching Assistant to Tom Bartel, Ohio University, School of Art + Design, Function, Foundations Area, 2014
- Teaching Assistant to Alex Hibbitt, Ohio University, School of Art + Design, Approaches to Mold Making, 2014
- Teaching Assistant to Bonilyn Parker, Ohio University, School of Art + Design, Introduction to Wheel, 2014
- Teaching Assistant to Gwendolyn Yoppolo, Ohio University, School of Art + Design, Perspectives in Contemporary Clay, 2013