About Emma P.
My roots…
I grew up in on a farm in Nebraska’s central Platte River valley the middle child of three sisters. The three of us shared a lot of happy hours serving mud pie hamburgers in our “restaurant” — a cottonwood tree wind break. We created nicknames — Tish, Emma and Zelda. Emma stuck. I proudly sign “Emma P.” with 3 concentric rings on every pot. The trinity of rings reminds me of higher powers, my sisters and my 3 children.
While working on a Masters in Agriculture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I enrolled in a night class in ceramics at Southeast Community College. I caught the clay bug and enrolled again — not because I was particularly good at it, but because I got NOTHING off the wheel the first 6 weeks!
Following a passion…
In 2014, I began sharing my clay passion with the Salina, Kansas community, teaching wheel throwing for the Salina Parks and Recreation Department. For me, teaching became a way of building a clay community and a source of inspiration.
Some of my ceramic mentors are Carol Long, Ervin Dixon, Linda Ganstrom, Lorna Meaden, Doug Casebeer, Steven Hill, and all the students in my studio workshops. Anderson Ranch Art Center was high on my bucket list until 2014, I crossed that off the list with the help of a Lana Jordan Emerging Artist Grant from Salina Arts and Humanities. In 2016, Anderson Ranch Art Center went right to the top of my list “Do Over” list.
Where to find me…
I currently live and work in Topeka, Kansas, splitting my workspace between a home studio and Fire Me Up Ceramics in the lively NOTO Arts and Entertainment District.
My ceramics can be found at Gallery XII, Wichita; Strecker Nelson West Gallery, Manhattan, KS; Lincoln Art Center, Lincoln KS; Fire Me Up Ceramics, Topeka, KS; and at several juried art shows annually.
