Collection: Ellen Kleckner - Featured Artist

Artist Statement:

Through a convergence of materials, I seek to understand connections between place, materiality, idea, legacy and community. My work utilizes the visual and mechanical vocabulary of makers and craftspeople, joining parts to create completed forms that provoke agencies of their utility, questioning which is recognizable. Systems of joinery serve as a means of exploring the binary of material/artist/concept. Unlikely combinations of joined media such as ceramics/wood/steel/reed actively illustrate the tension between these dualistic materials. 

As complex as we have made our current world, the desire for connection is still at the forefront of our simplest of human needs.  The physical joinery that excites my creative process is reflected in the person-to-person relationships within a community.  As I continue to cultivate a community which allows for growth; my work articulates my desire to highlight the importance of joining with others, manifested through the physical forms and collaborative work. 

Bio: 

Ellen Kleckner (she/her) 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.

She 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.

Find Ellen's Artaxis page at https://artaxis.org/artist/ellen-kleckner/

Find Ellen on Instagram at: @ellensborough

Proceeds from this sale support the artist, and Artaxis, a 501(c)3 non-profit art organization. Please contact us at contactartaxis@gmail.com if you would like to ship any of the work out of the US, or if you have any questions.

** Ellen Kleckner's Artaxis Shop has ended. You can find more work available for sale by visiting the other Featured Artist collections HERE