Clary Illian

Clary Illian is an exceptionally gifted potter who is revered throughout the American craft community for her ceramics. She is a traditional potter who believes in the purity of form and works at the wheel everyday, if she can. Illian considers herself a utilitarian potter; she is making functional objects, yet they are truly beautiful in their balanced forms, simple decoration, and remarkable glazes. These are objects to be both admired and used and she takes great pride in that. While Illian has received great acclaim for her unpretentious and functional pottery, she continues to make her wares affordable and is very pragmatic about the realities of the medium, sometimes pottery breaks especially when they are being used and enjoyed. Illian’s interest in pottery as her artistic medium is equally as sensible. The history of pottery is a long one because humans have and will always need containers. That need is what she strives to fulfill when she calls herself a utilitarian potter. Clary Illian is an Iowa native who continues to live and work in Ely, Iowa. She has a B.F.A from the University of Iowa and spent two formative years in apprenticeship with the renowned English potter Bernard Leach. His practice of living the life of a potter, working daily, and praise for the beauty of form in functional pottery has stayed with Illian throughout her career. She is today considered not only an important potter, but a treasure in the craft world, whose art is informed by her work ethic and love for the practicality she so beautifully creates in her pottery.