Artist: Kelli Sinner
Kelli Sinner, MONTANA
Biography
Kelli Sinner Kelli is currently an artist and the co-owner of Workroom Montana, a community art studio in Missoula, MT. She received an MFA in Ceramics from Penn State University and a BFA in Ceramics from Utah State University. Before moving to Montana, Kelli was a Professor of Art at Minnesota State University Moorhead, teaching ceramics, papermaking, exhibitions, and
design.
Kelli has completed artist residencies at the Zentrum fur Keramik, Berlin, Germany; Penland School of Craft, Penland, North Carolina; Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, Montana; and The Clay Studio of Missoula, Missoula, MT.
Artist Statement
Touching clay is about exploiting a moment that is soft, malleable, and full of potential. Touch reflects the thrill of living and the connectedness of the body with the mind. Completed utilitarian forms become artifacts of contemporary society and a physical embodiment of time.
Being a functional artist in the modern world is a pragmatic balance between the knowledge that a handmade object won’t change the world, but can stimulate dialog, thoughtfulness, and mindfulness.Because handmade objects are hopelessly inefficient to produce, making and using handmade objects
encourages the radical ideal of valuing the individual above the corporate. This creates a quirky rawness that delights in being handmade and questions the solutions of utilitarian commercial wares. One-of-a- kind objects have the power to bring interest, character, and idealism into our actions.
The various motifs I draw on my ceramic work bring personal narratives to the pieces. As I repeat forms and imagery, I look for new solutions to how lines can give meaning to an object. The outlined shapes begin to take on a life of their own as I layer experiences from my own life with questions about society, relationships, and lifestyle.
EDUCATION
Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 1999-2001, MFA, Ceramics
Penland School of Craft, Penland NC 1998, Work/study program Fall and Spring concentrations
Utah State University, Logan, UT 1992-1997, BFA, Ceramics; Minor in Philosophy
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, MN 2005-2021
Professor of Art (2015-2021), Taught Introduction to Ceramics, Intermediate Hand-Building, Advanced Ceramics, Ceramics for Non-Art Majors, Introduction to Papermaking, Foundation Design, First Year Experience, Advanced Sculpture, and Exhibitions.
Associate Professor of Art (2010-2015), Designed and taught Introduction to Ceramics, Intermediate Hand-Building, Intermediate Wheel-Throwing, Advanced Ceramics, BFA Ceramics, Ceramics for Non-Art Majors, and Introduction to Papermaking.
Assistant Professor of Art (2005-2010) Taught all levels of ceramics including Two-Dimensional Design and Three-Dimensional Design.
Marymount College Manhattan, New York, NY 2004-2005 Instructor Taught Ceramics I and II.
The92nd Street Y, New York, NY 2004-2005 Instructor Taught Adult Wheel-Throwing and Hand-Building – all levels.
Educational Alliance, New York, NY 2001-2005 Instructor Taught Adult Wheel-Throwing and Hand-Building (all levels) as well as Gifted Youth Teen Courses.
Penn State University, State College, PA 1999-2001 Instructor of RecordTaught Ceramics I, Drawing, and Three-Dimensional Design (Teaching Assistant)
STUDIO MANAGEMENT EXPERIENCE
Workroom Montana, Missoula, MT 2023 Co-Owner
Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, MN 2020-2021 Studio Manager, Oversaw daily operations of the studio including budget, inventory, equipment, materials, firing, and supervision of up to six student workers each semester.
The Educational Alliance, New York, NY 2001-2005, Studio Manager, Managed a 100-student community facility.
The 92 nd Street Y, New York, NY 2001-2004, Studio Technician, Managed all stages of production in a 350-person studio.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
Above Board Invitational, Online, NCECA, 2023
Radius Gallery Holiday Show, Radius Gallery, Missoula, MT, 2022
Playground, Juried by Chris Alveshere, Wildfire Ceramic Studio, Missoula, MT, 2021
Panoply, Rolland Dille Gallery, Moorhead, MN, 2021
Community Supported Arts Featured Artist (50th Anniversary of The Arts Partnership), Fargo, ND, 2020
Perpetual Clay Invitational, Great River Gallery, Coon Rapids, MN, 2019
Critical Mass (solo show), Make Room, Fargo, ND, 2018
SuperMud/FutureMud, Penn State Alumni Invitational, Union Projects, Pittsburgh, PA, 2018
4th Annual Dirty South Cup Competition, River Oaks Art Center, Alexandria, LA, 2018
Spring Gala, Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND; Juror: Sam Chung, 2018
La Mesa Invitational, Santa Fe Clay NCECA, Portland, OR, 2017
Chronologies, Rolland Dille Gallery, Moorhead, MN, 2017
Objective Clay Holiday Sale, Invited Artist, Online, 2016
Weltschmerz, Rolland Dille Gallery, Moorhead, MN, 2016
Yearning for the Thaw, Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND, 2016
Art From the Heartland, Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, IN; Juror: Mindy Taylor Ross, 2016
Clay Invitational, The Rourke Museum, Moorhead, MN, 2016
Rainbows/Doom, Rolland Dille Gallery, Moorhead, MN, 2015
Electric Slide Library, Center for Creativity, Fargo, ND, 2015
Art Boom, Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND, 2014
Unsinkable Stories, Nemeth Art Center, Park Rapids, MN, 2014
Red River Reciprocity, Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND, 2014
Midwest Invitational, The Rourke Museum, Moorhead, MN, 2013
New Works by Ecce Artists, Ecce Art Gallery, Fargo, ND, 2012
MNWCA Juried Exhibition, Owatonna Arts Center, Owatonna, MN, Jurors: Mikey Walsh/Sivlie Granatelli, 2012
Weightless (solo exhibition), Zentrum Fur Keramik, Berlin, Germany, 2012
Exquisite Corpse, Midwest Mud, Fargo, ND, 2010
Foot In The Door 4, Minneapolis Art Institute, Minneapolis, MN, 2010
Minnesota Women Ceramic Artists, Northrup King Building, Minneapolis, MN, 2009
Perpetual Clay Invitational, Great River Gallery, Coon Rapids, MN, 2009
Paper and Clay Invitational, Nora Eccles Museum, Logan, UT, 2009
Line Design, SoCa Gallery, (NCECA exhibition), Scottsdale AZ, 2009
1+1, Terra Incognito Studio and Gallery, Chicago IL, 2009
College Bowl, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis MN, 2009
Art on the Plains X, Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND, 2008
It’s only Clay, Bemidji Community Center, Bemidji, MN, 2008
10+2, Educational Alliance, New York, NY, 2008
Sip, Slurp, Gulp, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM, 2008
Strictly Functional Pottery National, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA, 2008
More Than It Seems, Upfront Gallery, Fargo, ND, 2008
La Mesa, NCECA, Westin Convention Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 2008
8 Fluid Ounces, Shaw Center for the Arts, Baton Rouge, LA, 2008
National Juried/Invitational Cup Show, The Amelia Center Gallery, Gulf Coast Community College, Panama City, FL, 2007
Drawing With/In/On: Clay, Deluce Gallery, Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, MO, 2007
For the Table, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM, 2007
Garden (solo exhibition), 280-Degree Gallery, Moorhead, MN, 2007
Small & Exquisite: Clay for a Miniature World, Carbondale Clay Center, Carbondale, CO, 2007
Coming of Age, The Hall Gallery (NCECA Exhibition), Portland, OR, 2006
White, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM, 2005
The Box, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM, 2005
Faculty Exhibition, The 92nd Street Y, New York, NY, 2005
Pitcher This, Artworks Gallery, Bozeman, MT, 2004
Service: An Unconventional Approach, Chester Springs Studio, Chester Springs, PA, 2004
Lower East Side Art Show, Theater for the New City, New York, NY, 2004
Crafts National, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA, 2003
Made In Clay, Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY, 2003
ARTIST RESIDENCIES
Short Term Resident Artist, Clay Studio of Missoula, Missoula, MT, Summer 2022
Short Term Resident Artist, Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT, Fall 2021
Resident Artist, Winter Residency, Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC, January 2020
Resident Artist, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Newcastle, ME, July 2019
Guest Artist, Hannaher Print Studio, Fargo, ND, Fall 2017
Artist in Residence, Zentrum Fur Keramic, Berlin, Germany, May-June 2012
Winter Letterpress Residency, Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC, January 2012