Artist Statement My clay work is intended to be useful - this is art that is meant to be touched. In the past everything we used in the home was made by hand. Today our homes are filled with stuff stamped out by machines. When we seek out handmade art we make our surroundings a little more human. I make a line of handmade ceramics inspired by my travels, forests, gardens and little cottages. I throw on the potter's wheel or use slabs of clay to hand-build my clay forms. Each piece is glazed by hand and fired in an electric kiln. All of my work is made in my studio in Richmond, Virginia. Why I’m an Artist I’ve always been a maker. From a very young age I knew I wanted to be an artist. Drawing, painting, crafts & creative play were second nature for me - unlike most early school work due to my dyslexia. I was blessed with family and teachers who actively encouraged me to focus on my strengths, even while I struggled in other areas. My difficulty in school was great training for being a professional artist. Being an artist is labor of love that can be filled with challenges, yet the good definitely makes up for the bad. You just can’t give up. Business Story I started my pottery business during my senior year of college in 2000. My professional work went through several incarnations: from utilitarian kitchenware to sculptural ceramic boxes geared towards gallery settings. I opened an Etsy shop in early 2006. Soon after, selling online instead of primarily at Art & Craft Shows reshaped the type of ceramic work I was creating. I started working on smaller, easier-to-ship pottery. It wasn't long before I was making porcelain jewelry and my signature line of small-scale bird pottery. My current work is easier to market to wholesale customers, as well as online shoppers. My work is now sold across the United States. My business is committed to continuing the promotion of handmade & sustainable business practices. Eco-Conscious Business I believe in making sustainable choices for my business and my life. I’m always striving to decrease my business’s environmental impact - from moving my studio to my house and buying from local suppliers to cut down on fuel usage to hand recycling my clay. My gift packaging and shipping materials are made from recycled or re-purposed materials. Whenever possible I purchase re-purposed, recycled and/or recyclable supplies for my studio and office.

Artist Statement

My clay work is intended to be useful - this is art that is meant to be touched. In the past everything we used in the home was made by hand. Today our homes are filled with stuff stamped out by machines. When we seek out handmade art we make our surroundings a little more human.

I make a line of handmade ceramics inspired by my travels, forests, gardens and little cottages. I throw on the potter's wheel or use slabs of clay to hand-build my clay forms. Each piece is glazed by hand and fired in an electric kiln.

All of my work is made in my studio in Richmond, Virginia.

Why I’m an Artist

I’ve always been a maker. From a very young age I knew I wanted to be an artist. Drawing, painting, crafts & creative play were second nature for me - unlike most early school work due to my dyslexia. I was blessed with family and teachers who actively encouraged me to focus on my strengths, even while I struggled in other areas. My difficulty in school was great training for being a professional artist. Being an artist is labor of love that can be filled with challenges, yet the good definitely makes up for the bad. You just can’t give up.

Business Story

I started my pottery business during my senior year of college in 2000. My professional work went through several incarnations: from utilitarian kitchenware to sculptural ceramic boxes geared towards gallery settings. I opened an Etsy shop in early 2006. Soon after, selling online instead of primarily at Art & Craft Shows reshaped the type of ceramic work I was creating. I started working on smaller, easier-to-ship pottery. It wasn't long before I was making porcelain jewelry and my signature line of small-scale bird pottery. My current work is easier to market to wholesale customers, as well as online shoppers. My work is now sold across the United States. My business is committed to continuing the promotion of handmade & sustainable business practices.

Eco-Conscious Business

I believe in making sustainable choices for my business and my life. I’m always striving to decrease my business’s environmental impact - from moving my studio to my house and buying from local suppliers to cut down on fuel usage to hand recycling my clay. My gift packaging and shipping materials are made from recycled or re-purposed materials. Whenever possible I purchase re-purposed, recycled and/or recyclable supplies for my studio and office.

Resume - Tasha McKelvey

Education

2006 – 2008 - University of Richmond, Teacher Licensure Program,

Richmond, Virginia

1997 - 2000 - Bachelors of Art in Studio Art, Mary Washington College,

Fredericksburg, Virginia

1996 -1997 - Longwood College, Farmville, Virginia

Work History

2000 – Present - Studio Potter, Mathews County & Richmond, Virginia

2009 - 2010 - Kid’s Pottery Instructor at The Visual Art Center of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia

2008 - 2009 - Part-Time Middle School Art Teacher, Henrico County, Virginia

January - May 2008 - Student Teaching in Visual Art at Twin Hickory Elementary School & Varina High School, Henrico County, Virginia

February 2006 - Visiting Artist at Waller Mill Elementary School, Williamsburg, Virginia

June 2003 - Work Study Scholarship, Penland School of Crafts, Penland, North Carolina

Fall 2001 - Pottery Instructor (throwing & hand-building), Fredericksburg, Virginia

1999 - Pottery Internship, The Poddery, Mathews County, Virginia

1998 – 1999 - Ceramics Studio Aid, Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Virginia

1994 – 1998 - Potter’s Assistant, The Poddery, Mathews County, Virginia

Selected Press

May 2019 - Featured in The Washington Post

September 2014 - Featured in The Washington Post

August 2014 - Artist Profile featured in Mollie Makes US Edition

January - February 2014 - Featured in R-Home Magazine’s “2014 Hot List”

February 2014 - Featured on Virginia This Morning

December 2012 - Featured in Country Living Magazine

July 2012 - Featured in Handmade To Sell by Kelly Rand

Summer 2011 - Studio featured in Studios Magazine

January 2011 - Featured on Virginia This Morning

January - February 2011 - Featured in R-Home Magazine

December 2010 - Featured in Richmond Magazine

July - August 2004 - Featured in Clay Times

Exhibitions & Awards

June - September 2013 - Shine On - The Weave Shed Gallery, Hambidge Creative Residency Center, Rabun Gap, Georgia

November 2012 - Winner of Country Living Magazine’s Pitch Your Product Contest

December 2011 - Winner of the Uncommon Goods Ceramics Design Challenge

November - December 2011 - Gifted - The Clay Studio - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Summer 2010 - Handmade Throwdown - Members of the Richmond Craft Mafia - Crossroads Art Center Richmond, Virginia

October - November 2009 - Adornment Adored - Clay Jewelry Exhibition - Baltimore Clay Works, Baltimore, Maryland

June - August 2009 - Work - Visual Arts Center of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia

November - December 2008 - Winterfest 2008 Invitational - Baltimore Clay Works, Baltimore, Maryland

October - November 2008 - Jewelry Designers of The Richmond Craft Mafia - This Century Gallery, Williamsburg, Virginia

May 2007 - Purchase Award - The Gosport Art Festival, Portsmouth, Virginia

February - March 2007 - Richard Wilson and Tasha McKelvey - Pastels and Pottery - This Century Gallery, Williamsburg, Virginia

November 2006 – Paintings and Pottery - Tasha McKelvey and Tom McLauchlin - Vincent Hester Gallery, Portsmouth, Virginia

May 2006 - Honorable Mention - Fredericksburg Art Festival, Fredericksburg, Virginia

May 2006 - Award of Distinction - The Gosport Art Festival, Portsmouth, Virginia

January - February 2006 - Works by Hand: Explorations in Clay - Recent works by Tasha McKelvey and Sonja Stoeckli - Portlock Gallery at SoNo, Chesapeake, Virginia

September 2005 - New Works by Tasha McKelvey and Tom McLauchlin - Vincent Hester Gallery, Portsmouth, Virginia

October 2004 - Gallery CBA, Chesapeake Academy, Virginia Beach, Virginia

July - September 2004 - 22nd Annual Bay Days Juried Exhibition, Hampton, Virginia

May 2004 - Yorktown Arts Foundation & This Century Gallery Joint Members Show - Gallery on the York, Yorktown, Virginia

August - September 2003 – Crafts National - Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

August 2003 - Third Place Award, Seawall Art Show, Portsmouth, Virginia

June 2003 - Media Award - Fredericksburg Art Festival, Fredericksburg, Virginia

June 2001 - Best in Show - Fredericksburg Art Festival, Fredericksburg, Virginia

October 2000 - Exhibit of Pottery by Tasha McKelvey - On-the-Hill Gallery, Yorktown, Virginia

November 1999 - Senior Exhibit - DuPont Gallery, Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Virginia

April 1999 - Department Award in Ceramics - Annual Student Exhibit, DuPont Gallery, Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, Virginia

Tasha has also exhibited at many Art and Craft Shows in the Mid-Atlantic region since 2000 including:

The Buyer’s Market of American Craft, The American Craft Council’s Baltimore Show, Renegade Craft Fair, Crafty Bastards Craft Show, The Richmond Craft Mafia’s Spring Bada-Bing & Handmade Holiday, Charm City Craft Mafia’s Pile of Craft & Holiday Heap, The Hand Workshop Craft and Design Show, Stockley Gardens Arts Festival, Port Warwick Art and Sculpture Festival, The Gosport Arts Festival, Arts in the Park, Art on the Square, An Occasion for the Arts and many more.