10 Inspiring Ceramic Artists to Share With Your Students (2024)

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Amber Kane | October 19, 2018

When students hear the words, “clay,” or, “ceramics,” they often think of pinch pots, mugs, and bowls. While all of these items are examples of ceramics pieces, there is so much more for students to learn and explore.

Here are 10 ceramics artists who are using clay in new and interesting ways. Your students are going to love them.

1. Noriko Kuresumi

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Kuresumi works in porcelain, and her work is almost all white. Drawing inspiration from the sea, she creates what appear to be thin clay layers that cast playful shadows, creating miniature worlds.Her artist statement is only a few lines in length and reads, “The sea is the origin of life. All lives are connected and have been supporting each other. I create my work by imagining the source of harmony and balance of the ocean.”

Explore her work by having students try to create fluid folds in clay by making and draping thin slabs. You can also have them take inspiration from her poetic statement to write their own.

Website:http://www.norikokuresumi.com/

2. Eliane Monnin

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Eliane Monnin is a French artist. Her work is filled with texture and patternand has a strong connection to nature.

Take advantage of her website and videos being in French to collaborate with your school’s French teacher and explore her work and process.

Also be sure sure to check her out on Instagram.

Website: http://elianemonnin.ultra-book.com/

If you’re looking to help your students create wonderful ceramics pieces in your classroom, be sure to check out these amazing resources from AOE!

  • Hand-Built Ceramics PRO Learning Pack
  • Building a Ceramics Program PRO Learning Pack
  • Critical Kiln Safety PRO Learning Pack

3. Linda Lopez

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Linda Lopez creates organic objects and forms from clay. Her objects are often created by layering a repeated shape or form over and over again. They’re playful yet serious. Her Instagram account has some in-progress photos that help to show the process as well as the scale of her work.

Have your students create a collaborative piece. Students can determine what shape or form they wish to create, then work together to connect them, making a new whole.

Website: http://www.lindalopez.net/

4. Lorien Stern

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Lorien Stern creates playful, colorful ceramics sculptures. She works on taking things she considers scary or sad and transformsthem with color and patternuntil they become things ofjoy and happiness. Be sure to check out the “About” section on her website for a great video that shares her process and studio space.

Use her work as a prompt for your students. Have students think about things they find scary or intimidating andsee if they can transform themthrough the use of color and pattern.

Be sure to also find her on Instagram.

Website: http://www.lorienstern.com/

5. Ikuko Iwamoto

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Ikuko Iwamoto creates work that is mainly white, with pops of gold. She plays with ceramics in several ways. Some of her pieces are 3-D and enclosed in frames making them look like relief sculptures. Others are free-standing, and finally, some are functional. Her work comes to life through form and surface texture.

Have students learn about drawing with slip and explore how texture can transform their work.

Website: https://www.ikuko.space

6. ReChang Tsang

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ReChang Tsang creates pieces through the repetition of a single shape. The way the shapes are organized and painted impacts the story and feeling behind the work. Make sure to spend time exploring her Instagram, as you’ll be able to see more of her process.

Tsang’s work would be great to use as a jumping off point for a class or school-wide collaborative piece.

Website: http://www.rechengtsang.com/

7. Martha Rieger

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Martha Rieger creates extremely large forms through a variety of methods. Some are wheel-thrown, while others are madewith slip molds and casts. She glazes her piecesusing a variety of techniques. Some are stamped with a sponge, and others are created by masking off sections. Be sure to go to the “About” section on her website and explore the videos.

Rieger has a team helping her to create the pieces. Discuss with students who should receive credit and take ownership for the work when a team createsan artist’s vision.

Website: http://www.martharieger.com/

8. Honor Freeman

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Honor Freeman is an Australian artist inspired by ordinary objects. She works to mimic everyday objects and recreate them in porcelain. Much of her work is created through slip casting. This video shows some of her processes and allows students to hear her talk about her work and inspiration.

Freeman’swork is all about recording everyday objects and capturing the stories they hold. Have students bring in an everyday object and write a story about it. Students could also explore dipping everyday objects into air dry slip, observing how it changes the piece.

Website:https://www.honorfreeman.com/

9. Rachel Boxnboim

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Boxnboim’s fascinating process begins with textiles. She first creates a fabric form, then fills it with slip. As the slip dries around the edges, she pulls out the extra from the center leaving a hollow form. Once the slip is totally dry, she fires the pieces in the kiln.The fabric burns away, leaving behind a clay replica of the fabric piece. The clay retains the folds and texture of the fabric.

Connect with your family and consumer science teacher to have students sew objects. Next, follow Boxnboim’s process to fill the objects with slip, and then fire them.

Learn More: https://www.dezeen.com/2011/07/21/alice-by-rachel-boxnboim/

10. Emre Can

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Emre Can combines the technology of 3-D printing and the craft of ceramics. The 3-D printeruses a material that has the same qualities as clay and prints pieces that look and feel like ceramics. The pieces are then fired and glazed just like regular ceramics.

This video does a great job of explaining the process.

Have your students brainstorm how they might use other tools and technology to inspire ceramics pieces.

Website: https://www.emrecanceramic.com/

Clay can be messy and a bit of a challenge when it comes to managing things like drying time and firing. However, it’s also a magical material students love and often allows students to find success. Use these artists to inspire thestudents in your classroom!

Who is your favorite ceramic artists?

What is one new idea you have after exploring the work of the above artists?

Magazine articles and podcasts are opinions of professional education contributors and do not necessarily represent the position of the Art of Education University (AOEU) or its academic offerings. Contributors use terms in the way they are most often talked about in the scope of their educational experiences.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amber Kane

Amber Kane is AOEU’s Director of K–12 Curriculum and a former AOEU Writer and high school art educator. She believes questioning and a focus on the creative thought process helps students uncover their personal voice and impact others.

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FAQs

10 Inspiring Ceramic Artists to Share With Your Students? ›

Notable Nature-Inspired Ceramic Artists

Artists like Hitomi Hosono, with her intricate botanical sculptures, and Magdalene Odundo, known for her human-form inspired pieces that echo shapes found in nature, have garnered international acclaim.

What famous ceramic artist was inspired by nature? ›

Notable Nature-Inspired Ceramic Artists

Artists like Hitomi Hosono, with her intricate botanical sculptures, and Magdalene Odundo, known for her human-form inspired pieces that echo shapes found in nature, have garnered international acclaim.

Who is an artist that works with clay? ›

Teaster Gates. Teaster Gates is a ceramic artist and art professor who teaches at the University of Chicago. Best known for his clay work and social practice, he works with a wide range of materials and mediums.

Who is the world leader in ceramics? ›

Mohawk Industries

It is also the world's largest manufacturer and supplier of ceramic tiles. It has a sales presence in almost every corner of the world covering 120-plus countries.

Who is the father of ceramic? ›

William David Kingery; Considered the Father of Modern Ceramics.

What is the oldest ceramic art in the world? ›

The oldest known ceramic artifact is dated as early as 28,000 BCE (BCE = Before Common Era), during the late Paleolithic period. It is a statuette of a woman, named the Venus of Dolní Věstonice, from a small prehistoric settlement near Brno, in the Czech Republic.

Who started ceramic art? ›

The earliest pottery vessels date from East Asia, with discoveries in China and Japan, which were still linked by a land bridge at the time, as well as some in what is now the Russian Far East, providing many between 20,000–10,000 BCE despite the vessels being simple utilitarian tools.

What clay artist was inspired by humans? ›

Jess Miller is an artist inspired by the human figure, body language and identity. Her favoured medium is clay, which she models in front of the subject.

Did Picasso do ceramics? ›

Between the years of 1946 and 1973, Pablo Picasso created a breathtaking collection of original ceramic works.

What famous ceramic artist was inspired by the sea? ›

1. Noriko Kuresumi. Kuresumi works in porcelain, and her work is almost all white. Drawing inspiration from the sea, she creates what appear to be thin clay layers that cast playful shadows, creating miniature worlds.

Who is the largest ceramic producer? ›

China was by far the leading ceramic tile manufacturer worldwide in 2022, producing roughly 7.31 billion square meters of ceramic tile that year. India was the second largest producer, at 2.3 billion square meters.

What is a ceramic artist called? ›

Studio potters can be referred to as ceramic artists, ceramists, ceramicists or as an artist who uses clay as a medium. Much studio pottery is tableware or cookware but an increasing number of studio potters produce non-functional or sculptural items.

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