Made in Houston, on purpose.

Handmade ceramics and sculptural work by Michelle Ellis

I'm Michelle Ellis. I make functional pottery and sculptural ceramics from my home studio near Houston.

I grew up in rural central Texas, earned my BFA in Studio Art from Texas State University, and my work has been shown in exhibitions across the country.

Why Houston

I never expected to stay in Texas. When it became clear that we would, I decided I'd find what I loved about it.

Houston doesn't hand that over easily. It isn't a beautiful city at first glance. But it is in places, and looking for those places turned into the work.

The cicadas

I stepped away from clay for a long time to start a family. The cicada is how I came back.

They spend years underground before they surface. I grew up playing with them. They started as a practical thing — easier to sculpt than hair or fur — and turned into the reason I was making again.

Look closely

You'll find things that aren't clay. Seashells from a trip to Galveston. Lace pressed from a scrap in my Me-maw's sewing room. Seeds, insects, screws.

Each piece is a narrative of a place in time.

The functional work

The everyday pieces are meant to be used. Everything is food safe. I make all of my own glazes, and I test every piece for vitrification and acid leaching.

A neutral, minimal palette keeps them quiet on purpose — so the morning coffee, or the berries from the garden, stay the star.

The sculptural work

The sculptural pieces run to guardians and keepers.

I feel a strong pull to protect nature, and a sense that nature has been protecting us all along while we keep destroying it. The guardians come out of that.

I'm a certified Texas Master Naturalist, and I fire with solar-powered electric kilns.