Indiana Clay Conference 2023
October 7-8
Indiana University - Bloomington
& Monroe Convention Center
JOIN US for our 3rd biennial clay conference highlighting the clay community in Indiana featuring Peter Pinnell, Andréa Keys Connell, Stephanie Galli, and Von Venhuizen as demonstrating artists and the juried/invitational State of Clay in Indiana III exhibition. This conference is open to everyone, not just Indiana residents.
Sculpture by Andréa Keys Connell, 2022
The schedule is tentative and is subject to change
2023 Demonstrating Presenters
Peter Pinnell
Peter Pinnell earned a BA degree studying music at Columbia College in Columbia, Missouri, a BFA in art at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University (Alfred, NY) and an MFA in Art from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
For the first 12 years of his career Pinnell made his living as a studio potter. During this time, he taught part-time at the Kansas City Art Institute and at Johnson County Community College in Kansas. In 1995 he joined the faculty at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln. In the ensuing years, he and his colleagues built a nationally recognized ceramics program: US News & World Report ranks the UNL graduate ceramics program as the 9th best in the country.
Pinnell’s record as a teacher extends beyond the university. During the course of his career, he has taught professional workshops at Anderson Ranch, Arrowmont, Penland, the Archie Bray Foundation, over 20 colleges and universities, and at numerous community art centers.
In addition to his teaching, Pinnell exhibits widely, and his artwork is found in a number of notable collections, including the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, in Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Sheldon Art Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. From 2008 to 2014, he held the honorary college title of Hixson-Lied Professor of Ceramics, in recognition of his exhibition record.
At the University of Nebraska, Pinnell served as chair of the Department of Art & Art History from 2011 to 2016. During that time, he led the department through the reaccreditation process, spearheaded the creation of an expanded design program, created a new department digital lab and oversaw the creation of two new undergraduate programs. He has also been active in art accreditation, serving on several occasions as a site visitor for the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
Pinnell enjoys researching the history and aesthetics of ceramics, which informs both his creative work as well as his teaching. He has spoken on these topics at a number of major ceramics conferences, including NCECA and Utilitarian Clay. Over the last 25 years, his writing and his work have appeared in Ceramics Monthly, Studio Potter, Clay Times and Ceramics Art & Perception.
Andréa Keys Connell
Andréa Keys Connell is an Associate Professor of Ceramics in the Department of Art at Appalachian State University. She is a former Fountainhead Fellow and served as the Head of the Clay Area in the Department of Craft/Material Studies at VCU from 2010-17.
Andréa’s work has been featured in a number of national and international publications and she has widely exhibited her work. She has had 17 solo exhibitions in various galleries and museums since 2009, including The Florida Holocaust Museum and The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft. Andréa also works on large-scale public art commissions such as the See Also endowment commission with the Cleveland Public Library.
Along with exhibiting her work and teaching at App State, Andréa has taught workshops on figure sculpting at various craft schools across the country including Penland, Haystack, Arrowmont, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.
Stephanie Galli
Stephanie Galli is an Assistant Professor of Art and area-head of Ceramics at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where she also maintains an active studio practice. Galli received her MFA ‘16 from Indiana University and her BFA ‘12 from Central Michigan University. Passionate about travel, she has spent time making art in China, Italy and Malaysia. She has been a resident artist at the Pottery Workshop Jingdezhen, AMACObrent, Red Lodge Clay Center, and MudFire Clayworks. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, most notably at Miami Art Week, The Leedy-Voulkos Art Center, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and Hangzhou Peace International in Hangzhou, China. Stephanie’s sculptures and utilitarian vessels have been featured in publications such as Ceramics Monthly, American iPottery, and BADAO ART. She was named an Emerging Artist in 2017 by Ceramics Monthly. Besides art-making and education, her interests include gardening, cooking & baking and her three rescued dachshunds.
Von Venhuizen
Von received his M.F.A. from Indiana University, Bloomington in 1996. Von is currently Associate Professor of Ceramics, and he is an Associate Director for the Texas Tech University, School of Art. He aided in the designing and building of the new Ceramics Facility in the TTU 3D-Art Annex.
He is a Nationally and Internationally known and exhibited artist, contributing to the ongoing and evolving world of ceramics. Von has also established an exceptional reputation in Kiln Design and Construction, Architectural Ceramics, Ceramic Production Design, Ceramic RAM Press methods, Slip Casting, Mold Making and Wheel Throwing. His work has been included in hundreds of juried, invitational, and solo exhibitions both Nationally and Internationally.
His pieces are in numerous private collections, university collections, Museums, as well as being published in numerous books and periodicals. His students also know him for his colorful stories of ceramics, his love of cars and motorcycles, his search for the elusive Chupacabra, as well as being an armadillo whisperer.
2023 Panelists
Linda Tien - Moderator
LINDA TIEN is a Vietnamese-American visual artist from Fort Worth, TX. She received her BFA in 2011 at Texas Tech University and her MFA in 2016 from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. In addition to her artistic practice, Linda also has many years’ experience in curation and gallery work. She has curated for many galleries including the galleries at the Appalachian Center for Craft (Smithville, TN), The Fuller Projects (Bloomington, IN), the Columbus Museum of Art + Design (Columbus, IN) and now currently works as the Program Coordinator for the Grunwald Gallery of Art at Indiana University (Bloomington, IN). Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including venues such as The Wylie House Museum, the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology Park, Westobou Gallery, Galerie Lewis, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Vanderbilt University, The Museum of Fine Art Houston and more.
The Perfect Fit by Linda Tien
Ellen Kleckner
ELLEN KLECKNER is an artist and educator living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Her artistic practice weaves together community engagement, material investigation, and collaboration. She studied Ceramics at the Appalachian Center for Craft (BFA) and Ohio University (MFA). Ellen is the Executive Director of the Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio, a non-profit community art center. Ellen has exhibited nationally and internationally including shows at KVALITRA Gallery, Arrowmont School of Craft, Baltimore Jewelry Center, Gilded Pear Gallery, Mezinarodni Muzeum Keramiky, and Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. She has received numerous awards and grants to support her craft research, including support from the Iowa Arts Council and National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts.
Ellen Kleckner
Pannel Discussion Topic
METHODOLOGIES OF COLLABORATION
Linda and Ellen will discuss their approaches to collaboration, in particular their project The Im-ple-ment Archive. Linda and Ellen are artists that work collaboratively across media and disciplines. They will look at other contemporary collaborations and diverse ways to create a successful creative network.
On Left: Implement Archive
(Collaboration by Linda and Ellen)