Megan Mitchell’s intricate clay creations have a fascinating way of blending a sense of both space and confinement. A renowned ceramic artist, Mitchell is sharing her talent and expertise with NDSU visual arts students as the 2014 James Rosenquist artist-in-residence.
Last fall, Mitchell was the Mellon Teaching Fellow in Ceramics at Marlboro College in Vermont. She also spent a year as a resident artist at the Red Lodge Clay Center in Montana.
Her art and research focus on applying a variety of printmaking techniques to ceramic surfaces. The resulting work is impressive, and has been exhibited at juried and invited shows nationwide.
Mitchell continually pushes her own creative limits as she urges students to discover their own path. “I approach teaching by trying to get students to be as interested in the material as possible, so they can seek out their own research, their own interests. I really enjoy seeing what the students bring to the assignments and the research,” said Mitchell, who will be on the NDSU campus for spring semester.
A native of New Hampshire, Mitchell earned her bachelor’s degree in painting and printmaking at Carleton College, Northfield, Minn., and a Master of Fine Arts in ceramics from Utah State University. She was an apprentice at Whitefish Pottery in Whitefish, Mont., and Hoyman-Browe Studio in Ukiah, Calif.
Mitchell brings many outstanding skills to classroom, including throwing, hand building, mold making, glaze chemistry and maintaining a variety of kilns.
As part of her artist-in-residence duties, Mitchell is teaching a pre-sculpture course about three-dimensional design and she’ll work with NDSU printmaking classes. In addition, she is scheduled to present “Take Printmaking to a New Dimension,” Friday, Jan. 31, and Saturday, Feb. 1, at Renaissance Hall 314. She also will give a public talk on Thursday, Feb. 6.
“It’s an amazing opportunity to have access to the facilities here at NDSU, and to be embedded in the department both as a teacher and a maker,” Mitchell said of being selected as the artist-in-residence. “I’m enjoying it greatly, getting to know the NDSU faculty and the students.”
The James Rosenquist Artist Residency is named in honor of the visual artist who was born and spent his formative years in North Dakota. NDSU presented Rosenquist an honorary degree in 2005.
To register for Mitchell’s workshop, visit https://epayment.ndus.nodak.edu/C22800_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=5321&SINGLESTORE=true or contact kelly.todd@ndsu.edu or 701-231-8818 for more information. There is a $75 registration fee and a $20 fee for supplies.
To learn more about Mitchell and see images of her work, visit www.meganmitchellceramics.com.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation’s top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.