Join Us for Bennett’s Annual Ceramics Show with work by Amy Elswick/Clay House Pots, Ryan J. Greenheck, Marga McBride, Terrafirma Ceramics, Liz Kinder, Ann Mallory, Michael Poness, and Lori Katz

Join us for a Ceramics Show in The Gallery from April 4 – April 30, 2025 featuring new work by Amy Elswick/Clay House Pots (Kentucky), Ryan J. Greenheck (Pennsylvania), Marga McBride (Tennessee), Terrafirma Ceramics New York), Liz Kinder (Pennsylvania), Ann Mallory (California), Michael Poness (Maryland), and Lori Katz (Virginia).

About the Artists

Amy Elswick/Clay House Pots, KY

“I consider my work to be creative designs in functional and decorative pottery. The majority of my work is functional, and it gains unique identity through the various manipulations applied by wheel and handbuilding techniques. I’m never content to leave a thrown pot alone, so I scratch, cut, carve, rip and use many texturing tools to give my work its distinctive qualities. My work is made from a stoneware clay body and fired to 2200F in an oxidation atmosphere. I make all my own glazes and the work is safe for its intended use, whether an outdoor house number plaque or a baking dish. I would say that I’m extremely influenced and inspired by the actual surface and feel of the clay when I’m working. I’m not one to have notebooks full of ideas waiting to be made, new ideas are more spontaneous than planned. Usually I’ll have a few ideas floating around or some pictures of things that intrigue me and when I start to put those ideas into the clay – inevitably it turns into something completely different and leads to what (I think) was meant to be made – at least that’s how it feels!”

Ryan J. Greenheck, PA

Ryan J. Greenheck received his Master of Fine Arts degree from SUNY College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2004.  He also received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree as well as a Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Wisconsin-Stout in 2002.  He has participated in numerous national juried exhibitions and invitational shows since 2000.  His work is represented in many galleries, collections and homes throughout the world. Over the past 12 years, he has been a professor at several academic institutions including The University of Pennsylvania and Temple’s Tyler School of Art. Ryan is currently involved with a number of projects, which currently fall under his business title, Greenheck Ceramics. He is an advocate for the field of Studio Art Pottery worldwide and is a full time practicing studio potter based in Spring City, PA.

Marga McBride, TN

Marga McBride is a Knoxville-based artist who has exhibited with Bennett many times before. Her mediums include painting, drawing, ceramic sculpture, and bronze sculpture. Marga studied painting, printmaking and graphic design at the University of Tennessee and drawing and painting at the Mesa Community College in Arizona. She was taught how to work with clay through a friend and colleague and combined the two mediums to create her work. Marga’s work is “a reflection of both my art background and my spiritual studies”.

Terrafirma Ceramics, NY

Terrafirma Ceramics, located in New York City, has designed and produced handmade functional American Art Pottery since its inception in 1980 by artist Ellen Evans. As owner and artistic director of the Terrafirma studio, Ellen’s creative focus is to design and produce high quality, functional works of art for the table and home using a unique, original process. Patterns are created by painting through textiles and lace using liquid porcelain to produce a distinctive “one of a kind” result. The base of warm, natural stoneware juxtaposed with vibrantly colored and patterned porcelain surfaces achieves the casual yet sophisticated look that has become her signature in both dinnerware and accessories.

Liz Kinder, PA

“I make functional pottery with 7 different clay bodies, 100 different glazes and 3 firing techniques. I’m all about surface. I’ve got 3 kids and live in Philadelphia. I did my undergrad at Amherst College, and I got my graduate degree at the Royal College of Art in London. Neither of these credentials stops me from doing really stupid things with my pottery that sometimes come out really well.”

Ann Mallory, CA

“I favor clean volumes, minimal surface decoration and rightness of scale, which promotes a sense of wellbeing, serenity, and interior balance auspicious for thought. Natural form and texture, and the human emotions it evokes, are a never-ending source of inspiration. The Contemplation Vessel forms and Memory Stones are often reminiscent of ancient sentinel boulders, offering themselves as talismans and markers, as well as repositories for personal ruminations. The Casings are sculptural vessels metaphorically protecting a spiritual, emotional condition of vulnerability inspired by the naturally excreted or constructed protection of tiny vulnerable insects when they need to go thru profound life changes. My Standing Stones sculptures bear witness to the sacredness, necessity and physical beauty of moving water in our lives, many times involving the flow of water around and thru rock forms. The memory of a wet, plastic beginning on the potters’ wheel is evident in much of my work as well as the textural stretch marks in clay handled on the brink of collapse. Work skillfully shaped with very soft clay allows for extremes of manipulation but also requires considerable risk taking and planning ahead. Pieces often receive multiple firings to achieve the unique glazes and sensuous textures. Both Eastern and European clay forming techniques are used in achieving a forthright dignity and substantiality.”

Michael Poness, MD

Award winning architect, Michael Poness draws on many sources of inspiration in his pottery. Ranging from the obscure, like ancient war machines, to the familiar, like the paintings of Jasper Johns and Paul Klee, these sources look outside the discipline of pottery. Vessels typically begin as wheel thrown forms that are then altered to produce nontraditional pottery.  Mr. Poness works out of the Glen Echo Pottery, Glen Echo, Maryland.

Lori Katz, VA

Lori Katz is a studio artist working in clay and mixed-media painting. She is known for the striking strength and simplicity of her work. Her current body of work is an exploration of surface and texture. Lori’s work has been included in definitive shows and art fairs in the US, Europe and Asia. Her pieces are included in the permanent collection of the US Embassy in Bandar Seri Begawan, the Racine Art Museum, the IBM Corporation, Amazon Web Services, New York Presbyterian Hospital and in numerous private homes and collections. Lori’s work can be seen on television and in movies; most recently in Succession, Inventing Anna and Maggie’s Plan. Lori maintains a studio at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA.