Artist: Eric Ordway
Eric Ordway,
View Artist's Products
ARTIST BIO
Eric Ordway was raised in the Midwest surround by corn and soybean fields. He was first exposed to pottery while attending classes at a local community college. Eric graduated with his BFA at Colorado State University-Pueblo (2013). His other professional accomplishments include; a year-long residency at the Morean Center for Clay, an upper school art teacher at Berkeley Preparatory School, earning his MFA from the University of Missouri (2019), and an Instructor at Truman State University. Eric exhibits his work at the national and international
levels, including but not limited to, a 2023 Ceramics Monthly Emerging Artist, exhibiting work at the 2023 & 2024 NCECA Annual Exhibitions, and exhibiting at the 2024 International Ceramics Competition in Carouge, Switzerland.
Eric currently works as the Fine Arts Technician & Adjunct Professor at University of Missouri.
Eric lives in Columbia, MO with his wife, Chelseá, and their dog, Lily.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My pottery derives its forms from historical Scandinavian folk-arts and the story of a 150- year-old family farm. Born into a family of Norwegian farmers who immigrated to the United States in 1856, I echo the tradition of my great-grandparent’s handmade craft- objects, which were decorated with fantastical floral motifs, through researching Norwegian ale bowls. In probing Viking-era burial sites like the Oseberg Mound, I rediscovered my ancestry separately from family stories steeped in dogma. By sculpting finials of mythological creatures, I touch upon how ancestral homelands are both myth and reality for American descendants of immigrants. Just as I grew up with Viking lore, I counter the myths in my upbringing by embracing my descendants as farmers. As my hands feel, pinch, turn, lift, and heft the soft clay, I contemplate my ancestors toiling with their hands in the earth, in wood, and in stone. My forms echo the rich practice of working the land, manifesting as soft-formed clay walls reminiscent of rolling hills. Vertical carved ridges, akin to plow-scraped fields, meet with gentle wave-like rims. Working with a kick wheel becomes for me a meditative experience. As my feet propel the vessel, I capture the rhythmic movement juxtaposed by sharp vertical textures. With
this artistic labor, I take part in my family’s legacy of hard work and storytelling, uniting the farmer and the academic at a common table and evoking a timeless truth: the glorious can be found in the mundane, and the divine in the common.
Education
2019 Master of Fine Arts, University of Missouri (MU), Columbia, MO
2013-2015 Post-baccalaureate Studies, MU, Columbia, MO
2013 Bachelor’s of Fine Arts, Colorado State University–Pueblo (CSU-P), Pueblo, CO
2008 Associates of Arts, Moberly Area Community College (MACC), Moberly, MO
Academic Teaching Experience
2024 - 2026 Adjunct Professor, MU, Columbia, MO
Hand-built Ceramics: 2100, Spring 2025 & Spring 2026
Wheel Thrown Ceramics: 3100, Fall 2024
Ceramics Practice: 4100/Ceramics Portfolio: 4110, Spring/Fall 2024 & Fall 2025
2019 - 2022 Lecturer in Ceramics, Truman State University (TSU), Kirksville, MO
Ceramics I, Fall/Spring
Ceramics II-V, Fall/Spring
Independent Studio(s): Ceramics, Fall/Spring 2020-2022
BA Capstone Experience, Spring 2020
Independent Studio: Surface Design, Fall 2019/Spring 2020
2019 - 2020 Adjunct Assistant Professor of Art, MU, Columbia, MO
Beginning Ceramics, Spring/Fall 2020
3D Design, Fall 2019
2019 Adjunct Instructor – Art, MACC, Columbia, MO
Drawing and Composition I, Fall
Art Survey and Appreciation I, Fall
2018 - 2019 Instructor of Record, MU, Columbia, MO
Beginning Ceramics, Fall/Spring
3D Design, Spring 2018
2017 Co-instructor of Record, MU, Columbia, MO
3D Design, Fall
Selected Professional Experience & Leadership
2026 Juror, Art in the Park, Columbia, MO
2024-2025 Curriculum Development, Ceramics Program, MU, Columbia, MO
NASAD Accreditation Committee, MU, Columbia, MO
2023-Current Senior Craft, Service, Maintenance Professional, MU, Columbia, MO
2024 Presenter, 39 th Annual Ceramic Symposium, Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX
2023 Technical Assistant, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Deer Island, ME (1-week)
Presenter, Indiana Clay Conference, Indiana University-Bloomington, Bloomington, IN
2021-2023 Department Head of Ceramics& Residency Manager, Access Arts, Columbia, MO
2022 Team Member (Artist) – CelebrArty Fundraiser, Access Arts, Columbia, MO
2021 Advisor – Senior BFA Capstone Committee, TSU, Kirksville, MO
2020 Facilitator – Visiting Ceramic Artist Workshop, TSU, Kirksville, MO
2019 Curriculum Development, Ceramics Program, TSU, Kirksville, MO
Technical Assistant, Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC (3-week)
Advisor – Senior BFA Capstone, TSU, Kirksville, MO
Facilitator – Visiting Ceramic Artist Workshop, TSU, Kirksville, MO
2017 Studio Technician, MU, Columbia, MO
2015-2016 Faculty, Berkeley Preparatory School, Tampa, FL
Upper Division, Visual Arts-Ceramics
Resident Artist, Morean Center for Clay, St. Petersburg, FL (1-year)
Grants & Awards (2019-Present)
2025 Mudtools Purchase Award, KC Clay Guild Teabowl National 2025, KC Clay Guild,
Kansas City, MO
2023 Staff Development Award, MU, Columbia, MO
3 rd Place Award, KC Clay Guild Teabowl National 2023, The Arts KC Gallery, Kansas
City, MO
George VanOstrand Fellowship, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME
Ceramics Monthly 2023 Emerging Artist, Ceramics Monthly, Issue: May 2023
2022 Watermark Honorable Mention, It’s Only Clay 2022, Watermark Art Center, Bemidji,
MN
Diamond Core Award, KC Clay Guild Teabowl National 2022, The ArtsKC Gallery,
Kansas City, MO
2021 Missouri Featured Artist – August, Missouri Arts Council, Missouri
2019 2 nd Place Award, 27 th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, Lancaster Creative
Factory/Kevin Lehman’s Pottery, Lancaster, PA
Selected Exhibitions (2019-Present)
2026 Animalia, 2026 NCECA-Clay Around Town Exhibition, DeSalle Gallery, Birmingham
Bloomfield Art Center, Birmingham, MI [Invitational Group Show]
2025 Juried Functional Teapot Show III, 2025 NCECA Conference, Salt Palace Convention
Center, Salt Lake City, UT [National Juried]
15 th Annual Workhouse Clay International 2025, Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton,
VA [International Juried]
Better Together: Twenty Years of Teapots, Staenberg Gallery, Craft Alliance,
St. Louis, MO [National Juried, Biennial]
33 rd Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, Lancaster Museum of Art,
Lancaster, PA [National Juried]
Earth & Fire 2026 Exhibition, Stifel Fine Arts Center-Oglebay Institute, Wheeling, WV
[National Juried]
Wichita National All Craft Media Exhibition, Gladys & Karl T. Wiedemann Gallery,
Mark Arts, Wichita, KS [National Juried]
Yellow Springs Ceramics National Exhibition, Historic Yellow Springs, Chester
Springs, PA [National Juried]
Teapot XI: 11 th Biannual, Baltimore Clay Works, Baltimore, MD [National Juried]
The Will of the Kiln 2025, Buley Art Gallery, Southern Connecticut State University,
New Haven CT [National Juried]
2025 Feats of Clay, Art League of Lincoln, Lincoln, CA [National Juried]
2025 National Juried Exhibition, The Delaplaine Arts Center, Frederick, MD
[National Juried]
Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition, The Art Center, Dover, NH [National Juried]
Stoked Wood Fired Ceramic Exhibition, June Steingart Art Gallery, Laney College,
Oakland, CA [National Juried]
delecTable: The Fine Art of Dining, Art Students League of Denver, Denver, CO
[National Juried]
2025 KC Clay Guild Teabowl National, KC Clay Guild, Kansas City, MO
[National Juried]
Heatwork, Trish Martindell Gallery, Queen City Clay, Norwood, OH [National Juried]
Earth & Fire Exhibition, Sedona Arts Center, Sedona, AZ [National Juried]
It’s the Little Things, Clay Studio of Missoula, Missoula, MT [National Juried]
18 th Annual Cup Show: Form and Function, The Amelia Center Gallery, Gulf Coast
State College, Panama City, FL [National Juried]
9 th Annual Winter Warmers Cup Show, Good Earth Pottery, Bellingham, WA
[National Juried]
Put A Lid On It, Belger Crane Yard Gallery, Kansas City, MO [National Invitational]
2024 International Ceramics Competition 2024, Muśee de Carouge, Carouge,
Switzerland [International Juried]
Rendered Fusion: Clay, Connection, Attention – NCECA Annual 2024, Joel and Lila
Harnett Museum of Art, University of Richmond Museums, Richmond, VA
[National Juried]
8 th Central Time Ceramics Juried Exhibition, Heuser Art Gallery, Bradley University,
Peoria, IL [International Juried]
International Cup 2024, Clay Studio of Missoula, Missoula, MT [International Juried]
Southern Miss Ceramics National 2024, Museum of Art, University of Southern
Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS [National Juried]
Santa Barbara Clay National Juried Exhibition, Clay Studio Santa Barbara, Goleta,
CA [National Juried]
River 2 River National Juried Exhibition, Gilded Pear Gallery, Cedar Rapids, IA
[National Juried]
Earth Devised National Juried Exhibition, d’art Center, Norfolk, VA [National Juried]
Teapot X: 10 th Biannual, Baltimore Clay Works, Baltimore, MD [National Juried]
Guildford Art Center 2024 Ceramics Biennial, Guildford Art Center, Guilford, CT
[National Juried]
Earth & Fire 2024, Stifel Fine Arts Center-Oglebay Institute, Wheeling, WV
[National Juried]
32 nd Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, Lancaster Museum of Art,
Lancaster, PA [National Juried]
Craft Futures: Celebrating 60 Years of Crafts Exhibition, Craft Alliance, St. Louis,
MO [National Juried]
KC Clay Guild Teabowl National 2024, The ArtsKC Gallery, Kansas City, MO
[National Juried]
Wood, Soda, Salt Exhibition, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY [National Juried]
Functional Fall: Put A Lid On It!, Clay Art Center, Port Chester, NY [National Juried]
Art of Clay: PUSH, Artsy.net, 1202 Contemporary Gallery, Gilroy, CA [National Juried]
Atmospheric Vessels by Andrew McIntyre & Eric Ordway, The Mayor Museum,
San Angelo, TX [Two-Person Exhibit]
There and Back Again: A Potter’s Tale, South Gallery, Columbia Art League,
Columbia, MO [Solo Exhibit]
Brimming: Goblet Invitational, Belger Crane Yard, Kansas City, MO
[National Invitational]
2023 I Contain Multitudes – NCECA Annual 2023, Weston Art Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
[National Juried]
Transformative Craft, Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA [National Juried]
Baldwin National 2023, Holt Russell Gallery, Baker University, Baldwin City, KS
[National Juried]
KC Clay Guild Teabowl National 2023, The ArtsKC Gallery, Kansas City, MO
[National Juried]
delecTABLE: The Art of Fine Dining, Art Students League of Denver, Denver,
CO [National Juried]
Pots for Ritual and Contemplation, Online Exhibition, Hanover, PA [National Juried]
Shapes of Influence 2023, M.G. Nelson Family Gallery, Springfield Art Association,
Springfield, IL [National Juried]
47 th Mid-States Craft Exhibition, Evansville Museum of Art, History, and Science,
Evansville, IN [Regional Juried]
Fly Over Focus, Trish Martindell Gallery at Queen City Clay, Norwood, OH
[Regional Juried]
Synthesis, Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO [Regional Juried]
16 th Annual Cup Show: Form and Function, The Amelia Center Gallery, Gulf Coast
State College, Panama City, FL [National Juried]
Alteration Station: Annual Mug Exhibition, Morean Center for Clay, St. Petersburg,
FL [National Juried]
Cup: The Intimate Object XIX, Charlie Cummings Gallery, Gainesville, FL
[National Juried]
Sip: A Ceramics Cup Show, Clayer & Co. Gallery, Savannah Clay Community,
Savannah, GA [National Juried]
DOXA: Revisited, Mildred C. Cox Gallery, William Wood University, Fulton, MO
[Solo Exhibit]
2022 15 th Annual Cup Show: Form and Function, Amelia Center Gallery, Panama City,
FL [National Juried]
It’s Only Clay 2022, Watermark Art Center, Bemidji, MN [National Juried]
KC Clay Guild Teabowl National 2022, The ArtsKC Gallery, Kansas City, MO
[National Juried]
30th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, Lancaster Museum of Art,
Lancaster, PA [National Juried]
Raise a Toast 2, Edwardsville Art Center, Edwardsville, IL [National Juried]
8th Annual Dirty South Cup Call and Competition, River Oaks Square Arts
Center, Alexandria, LA [National Juried]
SAY SOMETHING: Tactile Voices in Clay, Schacht Gallery – Saratoga Clay Arts
Center, Schuylerville, NY [National Juried]
Eric Ordway Ceramics, Riverside Pottery, Cape Girardeau, MO [Solo Exhibit]
1 st Annual Holiday Show, Montminy Gallery, Columbia, MO [Regional Invitational]
2021 29th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, Lancaster Museum of Art,
Lancaster, PA [National Juried]
KC Clay Guild Teabowl National 2021, The ArtsKC Gallery, Kansas City, MO
[National Juried]
Workhouse Clay International 2021, Workhouse Arts Center, Lorton, VA
[National Juried]
Ritual!, Intersect Arts Gallery, St. Louis, MO [National Juried]
Selected Ceramic Works by Eric Ordway, Osage Arts Community Art Center, Belle,
MO [Solo Exhibit]
2020 Off Center International Ceramic Art Competition, Blue Line Arts Center, Roseville,
CA [International Juried]
Off the Table: Clay for the Wall, Potter Fine Arts Gallery, Missouri Western State
University, St. Joseph, MO [National Juried]
7 th Central Time Ceramics International, Bradley University Galleries, Bradley
University, Peoria, IL [International Juried]
Contemplative Vessels, Boger Gallery, College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, MO
[Solo Exhibit]
Small Works Exhibit, Sager Braudis Gallery, Columbia, MO [Regional Invitational]
Functional Ceramics Exhibition-2020, Wayne Center for the Arts, Wooster,
OH [National Invitational]
2019 27th Annual Strictly Functional Pottery National, Lancaster Creative Factory/Kevin
Lehman’s Pottery, Lancaster, PA [National Juried]
DOXA: Prayerful Pots, George Caleb Bingham Gallery, Columbia, MO [Solo Exhibit]
DOXA: Prayerful Pots, Annex Art Gallery, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL
[Solo Exhibit]
Small Works Exhibit, Sager Braudis Gallery, Columbia, MO [Regional Invitational]
New Work from Truman State University Art Faculty, Truman State University Art
Gallery, TSU, Kirksville, MO [Regional Invitational]
“Tenses”, Hanger Gallery, Kansas City, MO [Regional Invitational]
MU Graduate Showcase, George Caleb Bingham Gallery, MU, Columbia,
MO [Regional Invitational]
MACC Alumni: Beyond, Jorgenson Gallery, MACC, Moberly, MO [Regional Invitational]
Interviews & Publications
2025 Ale Bowls, Ceramics Monthly, Issue: December 2025, pp. 46-51 [Process Article]
More Wood & Soda, Ceramics Monthly, Issue: December 2025, pp. 62 [Feature]
Reflections on Ale Bowls, Kiln, MA Publishing 2024-2025, Vol. 1, University of the Arts
London, London, England, pp. 17-20 [Juried Feature]
2024 Eric Ordway, New Christian Makers, Issue 001, Spring 2024, pp. 88-91 [Juried Feature]
For A Feast, Ceramics Monthly, Issue: Sept. 2024, pp. 33 [Readership Contest]
2023 Keeping Tests Going | Eric Ordway. Paul Blais, The Potters Cast, July 11 th , 2023.
Episode 952, https://thepotterscast.com/ [Interview]
2023 Emerging Artist: Eric Ordway, Columbia, MO, Ceramics Monthly, Issue: May
2023, pp. 33 [Feature]
Recipes: Atmospheric Layers, Ceramics Monthly, Issue: May 2023, pp. 66 [Feature]
2022 Exploring the Rhythms of Life and Art: An Interview with Ceramic Artist Eric Ordway,
Sarah Elizabeth Burns, Vigil Magazine, Issue 10 – Winter 2022, pp.83-86 [Interview]
Elemental, Ceramics Monthly, Issue: Sept. 2022, pp. 53 [Readership Contest]
Exposure, Ceramics Monthly, Issue: May 2022 [Photo]
2021 Columbia Ceramics Artist Eric Ordway Molds Lasting Connections, Aarik Danielsen,
Columbia Daily Tribune, October 3 rd [Article]
Illuminators, Conor Sweetman, October, Christianity Today [Feature]
Four artists: Ceramic, fantasy surrealism, watercolor and poly-disciplinary. This month's
Missouri Arts Council featured artists, Diana Moxin, Speaking of the Arts, August,
Episode 172, KOPN 89.5 [Interview]
2019 Grounded, Ceramics Monthly, Issue: Sept. 2019, pp. 54 [Readership Contest]
We Are But Dust, Eric Ordway, October, Ekstasis Magazine [Article]
Pottery embodies Missouri
Artists Lectures & Workshops Presented (2019-Present)
2025 Art Underground Downtown, Columbia, MO [Workshop, One-day]
2024 Concho Clay Studio, San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo, TX
[Workshop, One-day]
Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX [Lecture]
Baylor University, Waco, TX [Lecture & Workshop, Two-day]
2023 Indiana Clay Conference, Indiana University-Bloomington, Bloomington, IN
[Workshop, One-day]
Franklin College, Franklin, IN [Workshop, One-day]
Haystack Mountain School of Craft, Deer Island, ME [Lecture]
Mildred C. Cox Gallery, William Woods University, Fulton, MO [Lecture]
2022 Riverside Pottery Studio, Cape Girardeau, MO [Workshop, One-day]
Montminy Gallery, Boone County Historical Society, Columbia, MO [Lecture]
2021 Baylor University, Waco, TX [Lecture & Workshop, Two-day]
KC Clay Guild, Kansas City, MO [Workshop, One-day]
2020 College of the Ozarks, Point Lookout, MO [Lecture & Workshop, Two-day]
2019 Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL [Workshop, Two-day]
Penland School of Craft, Penland, NC [Lecture]
Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL [Lecture]
Gallery Representation
2024-Present Highland Studio and Gallery, South Bend, IN
2024-Present Schaller Gallery, Baroda, MI
2018-Present Sager Reeves Gallery, Columbia, MO
2017-Present Plough Gallery, Tifton, GA
Professional Affiliations & Organizational Membership
The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA)
ArtAxis.org
Columbia Art League (Columbia, MO)
Technical Abilities
Wheel-work\Hand-building
Large-scale thrown work
Basic mold making & slip-casting
Clay & glaze formulation
Kiln construction
Ceramic history
3-Dimensional design
Firing gas reduction kilns
Firing atmospheric kilns (wood/soda)
Crisis prevention & intervention training
Forklift operation
Basic Welding
General carpentry
First Aid/CPR training