Rooted in Clay.
Based in Ann Arbor.
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I’m drawn to the quiet relationship between place and landscape, not just as a physical location, but as something remembered, felt, and carried.
My process is experimental and responsive. I often begin with a location, an observation, or a memory rooted in nature, and then work in response to the material, allowing each mark to shift the direction of the piece. Clay holds memory; each gesture, pause, and decision remains present in the surface, so the material carries both process and time. I leave those marks visible. The finished forms are a bit wild, a bit organic—fully functional, but also sculptural objects in themselves.
Plants complete the picture. These pots nod to landscape, and the plant brings them into balance, introducing growth, change, and time. The work becomes a collaboration: first between material and maker, and then with the person who chooses how to live with and complete the piece.
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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
We are the Guild, Gutman Gallery (2026)
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)
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Find succulent pots and planters at Greye’s Greenhouse, bonsai pots at Green Witch Gardens, and Gutman Gallery, and Yourist Studio & Gallery.
Sculptural Planters
Sculptural Planters (this page)
Paintings
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