Clay & Form

Clay & Form
Works on Paper

Works on Paper

  • Throughout my career, I’ve explored a wide range of artistic mediums—but a consistent thread runs through everything I make: a deep interest in the human experience of Place. I’m drawn to the quiet dialogue between place and landscape—not just as a physical location, but as something remembered, felt, and carried.

    Most of my pieces begin with a specific place tied to a lived experience. I build on that memory through layers of research, observation, and intuition. My goal isn’t to replicate a landscape exactly, but to capture the energy it holds—the texture of the moment, the emotional imprint it leaves behind.

    My process is experimental and responsive. I work with photographs as reference points, but draw and erase freely, allowing each mark to shift the conversation. I gravitate toward organic forms, abstraction, and visible evidence of the hand—each piece a record of the making itself.

    Over the past several years I’ve been especially drawn to ceramics. I love the way clay remembers each gesture, each pause, each decision. A ceramic surface holds history—it reflects both the hand and the moment. I’m particularly excited about making bonsai pots and planters. There’s something uniquely collaborative about the relationship between the ceramicist and the botanist—two forms of care, two sets of hands shaping one final expression.

  • Tempest NeuCollins holds a BFA from Pacific Northwest College of Art (Portland, OR) and an MFA in Studio Art from the School of Visual Arts (New York City), where her focus shifted toward abstraction and mark-making across media. Now based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she works out of the Yourist Studio ceramic community.

    Select Exhibitions

    • Varied Vessels, Ann Arbor Art Center, Ann Arbor, MI (2025)

    • Collaborative bonsai piece with Michael Abbot, Ann Arbor Bonsai Society Show, Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Ann Arbor, MI (2024)

    • PowerArt! Public Art Program, vinyl wrap installation, Hands-On Museum, Ann Arbor, MI (2018–present)

    • Michigan 'Scapes, Second Museum, Brighton, MI (2018)

    • Works on Paper III, Jeffrey Leder Gallery, Long Island City, NY (2014)

    • Of Place and Landscape, Space Object (2014)

    • Into the Vortex, NARS Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (2014)

    • Grey Matter, The Painting Center, New York, NY (2011)

    • Exit, SVA Gallery, New York, NY (2011)

    • The Great Disruption, Rayko Photo Center, San Francisco, CA (2009)

    Awards & Residencies

    • 1st Place, Ann Arbor Woman Artists (2018)

    • SVA Alumni Grant Recipient (2011)

    • Artist Residency, Rancho Linda Vista, Oracle, AZ (2014)