My ultimate goal as an artist is to reconnect with my younger self and let her take the reins. I think this is why a sense of playfulness, joy, and snarky dark humor lurks at the heart of my work. It’s also likely why I choose to work with clay. Often, my ceramic sculptures begin by people watching and sketching. Badly.
When I was a kid, I liked to play archeologist. I’d spend hours digging up the backyard hoping to find lost treasures, or the mysterious bones of some long extinct creature. As an artist, I appreciate the staying power of ceramics. The millennia long tradition of making things out of clay with our hands for purposes both practical and spiritual. I find ancient ceramic figurines especially fascinating. The stories they tell. How they offer an intimate view into the world of their maker. They make me want to keep looking.
CV
EMILY GRACE GLEASON
EDUCATION
2025 MFA 3D, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
2012 BA Environmental Studies, Certificate in Writing, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2025 Villa Karo, Finnish Institute for West-Africa, Gran Popo, Benin
2025 Faenza Ceramic Art Center, Faenza, Italy
2025 Graduate Award for Social Engagement, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
EXHIBITIONS
2025 Sulla Spiaggia, Faenza Ceramic Arts Center, Faenza, Italy
2025 The State of Clay, Lex Arts, Lexington, MA
2025 MFA Thesis Exhibition, Mass Art x SOWA Gallery, Boston, MA
2024 12/12, Established Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
2024 Storytellers, Mudflat Studios, Somerville, MA
2024 Mary Schein Fall Salon, Cambridge Arts Association, Cambridge, MA
2024 Marblehead Festival of the Arts, Marblehead, MA
2023 Level Up, Cambridge Arts Association, Cambridge, MA
2023 Haystack Exhibition, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
2023 ARTOBERFEST, Salem Arts Association, Salem, MA
2023 Annual Art Auction, Donkey Mill Art Center, Holualoa, HI
2022 Hawaii Craftsman, Downtown Art Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
2022 Women in Art, Las Laguna Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2021 Hawaii Craftsman, Downtown Art Center, Honolulu, Hawaii
COLLECTIONS
Villa Karo, Finnish Institute for West-Africa, Gran Popo, Benin
Morton R. Godine Library, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
Private Collections in the United States, France, Italy and Finland
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2025 Workshop Teacher, Villa Karo, Gran Popo, Benin
2025 Teacher & Program Founder, Clay for Recovery, Jamaica Plain Recovery Center, Boston, MA
2025 Workshop Teacher, Clay Lounge, Boston, MA
2022 – 23 Teacher & Program Founder, Clay for Recovery, Donkey Mill Art Center, Holualoa, HI
2021 – 22 Workshop Teacher, Donkey Mill Art Center, Holualoa, HI
2020 – 22 Creative Writing Teacher & Founder, Word Power Writer’s Workshop
OTHER EXPERIENCE
2025 – Present Co-founder and Host, MassArt Alumni Virtual Networking Group, Remote
2024 – 25 Ceramics Studio Assistant, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA
2021 – 23 Ceramics Studio Apprentice, Donkey Mill Art Center, Holualoa, HI
2018 – 20 Freelance Writer, ‘Imua in Business’ Column, West Hawaii Today, Kailua-Kona, HI
2016 – 23 Freelance Content Writer and Editor, M the Writer, Kailua-Kona, HI
Emily Southpaw 