Kelli Blanchard

Kelli Blanchard (Napoleon, MI. 1981) has always had a passion for social justice and rugby. When an injury sidelined her a few years ago, the bi-lingual therapist decided to try a new outlet, bringing her to the LSPS-LC hand building class this past September.

Blanchard enjoyed the classes, and the great instruction given by her teacher, Meg Biddle. After only a few weeks of showing up to 4150 N. Lincoln Ave., she felt a deep connection to both the medium and the studio’s sense of community.

Blanchard prefers hand building because of the consistent challenges it provides. The new artist likes approaching each project as a kind of puzzle, figuring out how to build and decorate each distinctive piece. She prefers creating non-functional pieces, which she packs with meaning and personal experiences. She’s been known to make a few cookie jars and mugs, but those usually end up going to friends as gifts. Her work, which is now mostly made with the studio’s Spanish black clay, is often tinged with absurd and clever humor. She says the entire process is low-stakes and lets her walk away with a completed physical object, which is the opposite of her profession.

Blanchard says, “I've always described myself ‘crafty, not creative’, meaning, I'm able to do projects but not to create my own ideas or style. Ceramics is helping me discover that I have the capacity to create. And as I feed that fire in class, it grows and burns more intensely. I am learning that I am also an artist... much to my own surprise.”

We hope that Blanchard continues to enjoy the creative process and its challenges. Who knows what amazing things she will create by the time her 1-year anniversary at LSPS-LC rolls around this fall!