Artist: Alea Mae
Alea Mae, IOWA
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ARTIST BIO
Having started working with hand dug clays in eastern Iowa, teaching art courses, and graduating from the Univ. of Iowa, Alea is a potter and crafter living in Iowa City, IA. Her making has evolved over the years to focus on wheel thrown and altered functional ceramics. Creating with iron rich groggy stone wares allows for a line of tableware that is beautiful, pleasing to use, and durable. Her work includes a line of Functional Entomology, ceramics for everyday use that include pockets of resin on the exterior to host dried bugs. The artist's intention is create playful fascination but the inclusions create conversation from all ends of the spectrum; from fascination to revulsion.
ARTIST STATEMENT
When making work I visualize the reactions my ceramics will have. I consider how my pieces fit in, what will fill them, and how each object will live inside a home. The ideas of use and storage guide my process with the focus on physical and visual appeal. I consider the objects I interact with daily and make work I would like to use.Will the pieces be on display and in use or do they sit at the back of the cupboard? I strive to produce an object that is a balance of artfully-engaging and well-crafted.
Along with the questions of placement and use I consider how I can influence perception. When deciding what decoration or surface to create, I question how I can guide the viewer’s perception. I consider how best to influence the interactions that will happen with my objects through color, image, and shape. This is especially important when making my entomology themed pieces. Each is created with the viewer's reaction in mind. I want to convey my own fascination with insects and to generate a positive reception where there might normally be disgust. By placing them behind a barrier I try to remove some of the cringe responses, and by placing them in cameo-like spaces I try to spot their best features.
I desire to make a pot that will become the go-to vessel in a home. First and foremost I make items I enjoy using. They are meant to be interacted with, used daily. With my entomology themed pieces my hope is that they are objects that can independently spark a conversation due to their uniqueness, but that they are ultimately functional ceramic-ware. My end goal is to build vessels that can take on a memory or emotion, ideally from fascination but in the case of some of my bug encasing objects, revulsion equally delights me.
EXPERIENCE
2023 - Present
Wheel Throwing Instruction, Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio, Cedar Rapids, IA
2022 - 2024
Visiting Instructor, Robert E. Lee Recreation Center Ceramics Studio, Iowa City, IA
September 2019 - Present
Gallery Manager & Shipping Manager, Clay Akar, Iowa City, IA
September 2019 - Present
Artist in Residence & Studio Member, The Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio, Cedar Rapids, IA
2018 -2019
Studio Manager & Resident Artist, The Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio, Cedar Rapids, IA
2017 - 2018
Ceramics Resident Artist & Ceramics Teacher, The Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio, Cedar Rapids, IA
2016 - 2019
Ceramics Shipping, Intake & Retail Worker, Clay Akar, Iowa City, IA
EDUCATION
2017 B.F.A. in Ceramics, minor in Art History, University of Iowa
EXHIBITIONS, SHOWS, and INVITATIONALS
2024
"Making Connections" Ceramics Invitational, October 2024, Mount Mercy University, Cedar Rapids, IA
Holiday Show "Crafted for the Holidays", Contemporary Craft Gallery, Winter 2024, Philadelphia, PA
2016 - 2024
"Yunomi" Invitational, Clay Akar, Iowa City, IA
2017 - 2024
"Americano" Invitational, Clay Akar, Iowa City, IA
2021
Featured Artist, New Work, Clay Akar, Iowa City, IA
Best in Show for Ceramics, 54th Annual Snake Alley Art Fair, presented by the Art Center of Burlington, IA
2020
I had an amazing garden in 2020 when Covid shut things down
2019
"Functional Entomology 2.0," Solo Show, The Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio, Cedar Rapids, IA
2018
Emerging Artist Tent, Marion Arts Fest, Marion, IA
2016 - 2019
Emerging Artist Tent, Iowa City Arts Fest, Iowa City, IA
2017
New Resident Artists Show, Group Show
2016
"Functional Entomology," Solo Show, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
2015
Ceramics at the University of Iowa, Iowa Ceramics Conference, Cedar Rapids, IA
Interdisciplinary Visual Arts Show, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
College Invitational, The Figge Museum of Art, Davenport, IA
2014
Interdisciplinary Visual Arts Show, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
CURRENT GALLERY REPRESENTATION
AKAR, Iowa City, IA
The Iowa Ceramics Center, Cedar Rapids, IA