Artist: Erin Drake
Erin Drake, MISSOURI
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ARTIST BIO
Erin Drake was born and raised in northwest Ohio. She received her BFA in Fine Arts from Bowling Green State University in 2021, focusing on ceramics and printmaking. Soon after she attended The University of Missouri to pursue her MFA in ceramics, graduating in 2024. Following her MFA she moved to Kansas City where she began teaching classes at community studios. Drake is currently a Foundations Resident at Belger Crane Yard Studios. Her work predominately focuses on observations of the natural world, she layers carved surfaces with
sculpted foliage to create environments, then hides small animals to mimic the plants. Drake focuses on the small details to create intimacy and a sense of discovery, urging the viewer to pause and look closer at the unfamiliar and search for the ways in which the natural world unfolds to surprise us.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My work seeks to blur the line between the organic and the imagined, creating flora and fauna that are both familiar in their natural origins and strange in their new configurations. I combine stones, fruit, flower buds and small foliage to invent environments, then hide insects or other invented animals to mimic the plants. I am using insects and other small, often hard to see animals, to portray self or humanity as a whole. A fundamental part of human nature is the desire to belong and the fear of standing out. My invented insects are camouflaged into their surrounding and have an inert desire to blend into the background. I am working at a small scale with a focus on details to create intimacy and a sense of discovery. In my practice, I hope to evoke a sense of wonder, urging the viewer to pause and look closer at the unfamiliar and the
infinite ways in which the natural world unfolds to surprise us.
EDUCATION
2024 MFA School of Visual Studies, Ceramics, University of Missouri (MU) Columbia MO
2021 Bachelor in Fine Arts, Studio Art, Bowling Green State University (BGSU) Bowling Green OH
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2026 Wheel Throwing Workshop, KC Design Week, Kansas City, MO The GOATS NCECA 2026 Detroit Pop up
2025 Gallery Workshop, University of Central Missouri, Warrensberg, MO Art in the Park, Columbia Art League, Columbia, MO Consignment, West Bottoms Plant Company, Kansas City, MO
2025-2027 Resident Artist, Belger Arts Center, Kansas City, MO
2024 BFA Performance and Portfolio Outside Evaluator, William Woods University, Fulton, MO
2023 Assistant Gallery Director, Montminy Gallery, Columbia, MO
2022 Curatorial and Research Art Internship. Montminy Gallery, Boone County History and Culture Center, Columbia, MO
2021 Studio Technician, MU
Studio Assistant, John Balistreri
2021-2024 Clay Club Treasurer, MU
2020-2021 Ceramic Technician, BGSU
Clay Club President, BGSU
2019-2020 Clay Club Trip Coordinator, BGSU
Clay Club Publicist, BGSU
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2025-Present Instructor Month Long Wheel I-III, Belger Arts Center, Kansas City, MO
2024-Present Instructor Month Long Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced Wheel, Driftwood Ceramics. North Kansas City, MO.
2024 Adjunct Professor Summer Session Ceramics, (stacked class Introduction to Ceramics for Non-majors, Introduction to Ceramics Majors, Wheel Thrown Ceramics, Advanced Ceramics) MU
2021-2024 Instructor of Record, (Introduction to Ceramics for Non-majors, Introduction to Ceramics Majors, Wheel Thrown Ceramics, Advanced Ceramics) MU
SELECT AWARDS AND GRANTS
2023 Windgate University Fellowship, Arrowmont, School of Art and Craft.
2022-2023 Ann Stevens Hoffman Memorial Scholarship, Art Program, College of Arts and Science, MU
2021 Prints Selected for the BGSU Printmaking Archive James W. Strong Studio Achievement Award, BGSU Thesis Exhibition
2020 BGSU CURS Grant recipient for undergraduate research in colored decal printing
BGSU Presidential Suit Award, BGSU Undergraduate Exhibition
Ringhole Art Supplies Award, BGSU Undergraduate Exhibition
Honorable Mentions in Ceramics, BGSU Undergraduate Exhibition
PUBLICATIONS
2025 February Exposure. Ceramics Monthly
SOLO & TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2024 Fruit and Seeds from Far Away Lands, Third Friday Art Walk. Kansas City, KS.
Botanical Imaginaries, MFA thesis exhibition, George Caleb Bingham Gallery,
Columbia MO.
2022 Unearthed: Works by Chane Taylor and Erin Drake, The Montminy Gallery,
Boone County History and Culture Center. Columbia, MO
Artist Spotlight, Josephine Gallery, MU, Columbia, MO
INVITED SHOWS
2025 First Draft/ Last Draft, Brockway Center of Arts and Technology. Brockway, PA
2024 Young Artists at Work Alumni Exhibition. The Toledo Arts Commission,
Porter Gallery, Toledo School for the Arts. Toledo, OH
SELECT JURIED EXHIBITIONS
2026 The International Cup. (Juror Julia Galloway) The Clay Studio of Missoula, Missoula, MT
The Kitchen Sink. Lillstreet Arts Center. Chicago, IL
Toy Dispenser Gallery: Deluxe. NCECA 2026, Detroit, MI
2025 Beyond Canvas, 80SantaFe Gallery, Overland Park, KS
The Rock Show, 100,000,000 (One Hundred Million) Gallery, Kansas City, MO
5th Annual High Fire Show. Wildfire Ceramics Studio. Missoula, MT
2024 River 2 River. Iowa Clay Conference. Gilded Pear Gallery. Cedar Rapids, IA
Vessel. United Colors Gallery. Kansas City, KS
Handmade Horizons. Brockway Center of Arts and Technology. Brockway, PA
Heartland, Dream Clinic Project Space, Columbus, OH
Clay National, (Juror Matt Mitros) Clay Studio Santa Barbra, Goleta, CA
2023 The Clay Cup VI: Vessel, Icon, Canvas, (Juror Wes Brown) George Caleb Bingham Gallery, Columbia, MO
Strictly Functional Pottery National Show, (Juror Adero Willard) Lancaster
Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
Mix til Wet, Graduate Showcase, George Caleb Bingham Gallery, Columbia, MO
MFA Invitational, Shook Theatre Fine Art Gallery, St. Charles Community
College Art Gallery, St. Charles, MO
Varsity Arts XXVII, Art St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
2022 The Grads, Graduate Showcase George Caleb Bingham Gallery, Columbia, MO
2021 Access Arts Wood Kiln Show, Cottle Gallery, Access Arts. Columbia, MO
BGSU Wonder BFA Thesis Exhibition, Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery, Bowling
Green, OH
2020 69th Annual BGSU Undergraduate Show, Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery, Bowling Green, OH
2018 This is What 40 Looks Like, BGSU Women and Gender and Sexuality Studies Research and Art Symposium “Projecting Landscape 2018-2019,”
Bowling Green, OH
Forested, Ohio State University Department of Horticulture and Forestry,
Columbus, OH