Artist: Molly Anne Bishop

Molly Anne Bishop, 
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I recount my personal history, desires, and fears through drawings. Images become stylized and personal through my lens. I am interested in giving my drawings and words a place to live that provides more life than a piece of paper. For the past five years, that place has primarily been handbuilt, earthenware pots. Working with functional forms allows the drawing to exist in someone’s home in a casual way, inserting my world into her everyday life subtly, under her eggs in the morning, or adorning her cup of tea. My work is full of characters that are stand-ins for me and the people around me. They are the result of current pop culture obsessions, time spent in the natural world, research of historical vessels, and respect for my favorite artists, named or unknown, in the history of art. I am always thinking of ideas of wild and tame, the search for security in nature, and the nuances of femininity. I’m interested in straddling the line between funny and sad. Handbuilding means I don’t use the pottery wheel and the pieces show their imperfections, adding to the intimate, humble, and secret-sharing experience of my work.

EDUCATION
2008-2012 Bachelor of Fine Arts - Virginia Commonwealth University – School of the Arts

SELECT EXHIBITIONS
2018
The Incongruous Body, AMOCA, Pomona, CA upcoming
The Nevica Project at NCECA, Pittsburgh, PA

2017
Salmon House Invitational, Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT
Pop-Up Shop, Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA

2016
Secret Garden, c.r.e.t.a., Rome, Italy
Stories on Clay, Morean Center for Clay, St. Petersburg, FL
Featured Artist, Lillstreet Art Center, Chicago, IL
Children of the Playhouse, Present, Chicago, IL
Art of the Pot, Austin, TX

2015
Let There Be Light, Lillstreet Arts Center, Chicago, IL
Crafted, Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA
Seeing Red, Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT
Object Permanence, Lillstreet Arts Center, Chicago, IL
Graphic Clay, The Clay Studio of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

2014
Souvenirs from the Future, Lawrence Art Center, Lawrence, KS
Resident Exit Show, Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT
Hide-N-Seekah, NCECA Conference, Milwaukee, WI
Red Lodge Clay Center,
Northwest College Gallery, Powell, WY
Red Lodge Residency Show,
Ryniker-Morrison Gallery, Billings, MT

2013
Molly Anne Bishop (solo), Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2017
Exhibitor, Organizer, Lillstreet at NCECA, Portland, OR
Invited Artist, Jingdezhen International Studio, Jingdezhen, China

2016
Invited Artist, Jingdezhen International Studio, Jingdezhen, China
Resident Artist, c.r.e.t.a., Rome, Italy
Exhibitor, Organizer, Lillstreet at NCECA, Kansas City, MO

2015
Founder, Ladies Drawing Club of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Resident Artist, Skopelos Foundation for the Arts, Skopelos, Greece
Adult Ceramics Teacher, Lillstreet Arts Center, Chicago, IL
Artist Lecturer, Lillstreet Loft, Chicago, IL
Invited Artist, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, Newcastle, ME

2014
Resident Artist, Lillstreet Arts Center, Chicago, IL
Workshop/Artist Lecturer - Montana State University, Billings, MT
Artist Lecturer - Montana State University, Bozeman, MT

2013 Long-term Resident, Red Lodge Clay Center, Red Lodge, MT

HONORS AND AWARDS
2017 Invited Artist, Jingdezhen International Studio, Jingdezhen, China

2016 DCASE grant recipient, Chicago, IL

2012 Peter’s Valley School of Craft, Layton, NJ, Scholarship

2011 Penland School, Penland, NC, Work-study scholarship