Blog

Sun Valley Center for the Arts

Ellen recalls her formative time at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, where one blunt comment from mentor Jim Romberg turned her from wheel-thrown bowls toward sculptural hand-building.

Anderson Ranch: Raku with Paul Soldner

Ellen traces her Raku practice back to studying with Paul Soldner and Jim Romberg, and reflects on Raku as a discipline as demanding and intuitive as a martial art.

Fontaine de La Rotonde, Aix-en-Provence

Ellen recalls her time as a visiting artist at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Aix-en-Provence and how immersion in French culture reshaped her artistic vocabulary.

Anderson Ranch: Raku Vase

Ellen recalls how a chance encounter with a raku firing at Anderson Ranch, and the mentorship of Paul Soldner and Jim Romberg, set her on her path in ceramics.

Wall pieces and murals class

Ellen recounts her first ceramic mural commission in Chicago and previews her January class on wall pieces and murals.

Raku Group Firing

Studio Nadeau members spent a March day building a backyard raku kiln, glazing pots together, and experimenting with the horse hair firing technique.

Baskets, April, May, and June

Ellen reflects on the joyful, sculptural challenge of making ceramic baskets, drawing inspiration from artists like Betty Woodman and Zan Barnes.

Glazing Ideas

Ellen reflects on how landscapes, light, and even famous painters shape the way she layers and overlaps glazes on her pottery.

Working in a series

Ellen shares why she always works on several ceramic pieces at once, treating each series as an ongoing act of looking, discovery, and refinement.

Clay drying

Ellen Nadeau explains how clay shrinks and cracks as it dries, and the studio techniques—like plastic wrapping and waxed edges—she uses to protect delicate handbuilt and thrown forms through the process.

Creating a Vase by Handbuilding

Ellen shares her love of handbuilding vases from slabs of clay, describing the patience, risk, and freedom the process offers beyond the wheel.

Bowls, bowls, bowls

Ellen walks through her hands-on process for throwing, trimming, and glazing open bowl forms on the wheel.

Maquettes

Ellen Nadeau explains how making small, unfired clay maquettes lets her sketch and play with sculptural ideas before pushing them to full scale.

Salt and Fire: A History of American Stoneware

Ellen traces the history of American salt-fired stoneware, from colonial New York to the potters, including Jack Troy, still keeping the tradition alive.

The figure in clay

Ellen Nadeau explores how the female figure and torso — from ancient Greek Korai to Buddhist Bodhisattvas — has shaped the forms of her ceramic vessels.

Surface and Form

Ellen reflects on how geology, Japanese ceramic traditions, and the female form combine to shape the surfaces of her vases.

Visiting Artist Brett Crawford

Ellen introduces her friend and fellow ceramicist Brett Crawford, who will visit Studio Nadeau as a guest artist to demonstrate techniques for tall pots and bottles.

Ruth Duckworth

Ellen remembers renowned sculptor Ruth Duckworth and the tight-knit Chicago artist community that shaped her own early career.

Val Cushing: A Master of Ceramic Glazes and Form

Ellen recalls studying under legendary ceramics educator Val Cushing at Alfred University and reflects on his enduring influence on glaze chemistry and studio pottery.

Wayne Higby: A Master of Ceramic Art

Ellen recalls how discovering Wayne Higby's landscape-inspired ceramics as a young student at CU helped shape her own visual vocabulary as an artist.

Betty Woodman

Ellen shares personal memories of Betty Woodman and traces her path from a young BFA student in Boulder to internationally celebrated ceramic artist.

Member Highlight

Studio member Bob Gonzales talks about how his wife got him into pottery, the mentors who shaped his craft, and what he loves most about making functional ware.

Member Highlight

A studio member spotlight on Steve Becker, whose nature-inspired stoneware and raku pieces are now on view at a Colorado Springs gallery.

Visiting Artist Deborah Hager

Ellen welcomes visiting ceramic artist Deb Hager to teach a sgraffito and underglaze class inspired by nature, in October 2023.

Visiting Ceramic Artist Michael Lemke

Ellen announces a one-day porcelain workshop with visiting artist Michael Lemke of the University of Colorado, Greeley.

Summer into Fall

Ellen shares photos from her summer travels to Mesa Verde and Arches as a new fall class session gets underway.

Water in the Canyon

Ellen reflects on how the memory of ancient water carved through stone finds its way into her canyon-inspired ceramic forms.

Painted Desert

Ellen tells the story of a small landscape vase named for Arizona's Painted Desert, made at the joyful start of a new studio in 2018.

Six weeks in the desert

Ellen recalls a six-week desert road trip through Utah's canyon country and how its rock forms and colors still shape her ceramic work.

Blue Lake

Ellen reflects on a small hand-built vase and the many vessel forms and landscapes it evokes.

Calf Creek Falls

Ellen recounts a hike to Calf Creek Falls in Utah and the cascading, green-pooled waterfall that inspired one of her vases.