Bloomington, IN ARTIST STATEMENTEllen employs play and collusion paired with traditional practice to create new forms in collaborations with a community of makers. These forms investigate that which is commonplace through explorations of form and texture. Her work continually investigates connections. Connections between place, material, idea, legacy and community. Drawn from a familiar vocabulary of makers, she joins materials to create forms that provoke the agencies of their utility, calling into question which is commonplace or recognizable through explorations of form, composition and materials. BIOGRAPHYEllen Kleckner is an artist and educator who maintains a research-driven studio practice integrating community engagement, material investigation, and collaborative making. Her work explores the convergence of ceramics with wood, steel, and fiber through joinery systems that emphasize tension, mutual reliance, balance, and the desire for connection. Deeply engaged with the field of craft, Kleckner’s work bridges traditions of making with contemporary approaches to collaboration and material inquiry. She contributes to sustaining and advancing craft through teaching, community-building, and arts leadership.Kleckner studied ceramics at the Appalachian Center for Craft (BFA) and Ohio University (MFA). She is currently a Visiting Professor of Art at Indiana University, Bloomington. From 2016–2025, she served as Executive Director of the Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio, leading significant program growth and major facility initiatives. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at KVALITRA Gallery, Arrowmont School of Craft, the Baltimore Jewelry Center, Northern Clay Center, Mezinarodni Muzeum Keramiky, and the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. Her recent support includes awards and fellowships from the McKnight Foundation, the Iowa Arts Council, and the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, as well as a visiting artist residency at the Archie Bray Foundation.