Steve Kelly

Steve Kelly is a potter and sculptor based in Stevens Point, WI. He is the head of ceramics at UWSP, where he is committed to building a competitive and nationally recognized ceramics program. When he is not teaching studio courses at UWSP, you can find him leading workshops stateside and abroad. He has taught students throughout the US and in Australia and Italy.

His work can be seen in numerous national and international galleries, collections, magazines and most recently in Surface Decoration for Ceramics, a book on contemporary ceramic surface techniques. His forms range from utilitarian vessels to abstract sculptural work. His artistic practice centers around the question of what objects, surfaces and marks can tell us about who we are. Much of his current research focuses on ancient vessels and pattern making, including Etruscan ceremonial objects and early Australian Aboriginal painting and stamping.

Steve earned his BFA from the University of Montana and his MFA from Maine College of Art and apprenticed with master potter Trew Bennet in Nelson County, Virginia. Steve continues to learn through workshops with other teachers and through dialogue with the many thoughtful and inspiring students he counts himself lucky to guide.