Joanne Kirkland Showcased at Ellison Bay Pottery

Ellison Bay Pottery will showcase Madison potter Joanne Kirkland, Oct. 13-26.

Kirkland’s porcelain works are irresistible. Her designs are timeless and her craftsmanship reflects the decades she’s dedicated to her clay practice. Some of the images she works with are based on her travels and studies in Mexico, Japan and Germany; while her later influences are the environment she lives in such as the people, the prairie, the lakes and the woodlands. Kirkland enjoys residing in a continuum of thousands of years of tradition.

Kirkland was represented by the Potters Wheel Gallery (established in Fish Creek by Abe and Ginka Cohn) for about 20 years. When the Potters Wheel closed, John Dietrich of Ellison Bay Pottery invited her to Ellison Bay Pottery.

Kirkland makes functional porcelain fired in a gas kiln. Recently she’s been exploring firing in a soda kiln and there are many examples available in the gallery. She teaches at Madison Area Technical College.