LeAnne Ash    

LeAnne Ash lives and works in the mountains of Western North Carolina, and is a resident artist at the EnergyXchange. She makes wheel thrown and hand-built functional pottery fired in reduction and salt/soda kilns. The beauty of the mountainous landscape and its rich community of contemporary potters serve as great inspiration for her.

LeAnne grew up in Louisville, KY. She received her BFA in ceramics from the Cleveland Institute of Art in Cleveland, OH. She furthered her education as an intern for sculptor Deirdre Daw in her Seattle, WA studio, and has attended and assisted several workshops at the Penland School of crafts in Penland, NC. She was a resident artist at the Odyssey Center for Ceramic Arts from 2003-2005.

Of her work, she says, “I have always had an interest in food, cooking, and culture, so it feels natural for me to make pottery. As a potter, there is no greater joy than eating at a table filled with good friends, good food, and great pots. Pottery elicits a strong human emotion triggered by beauty, memory and touch, which can be very powerful. Although pottery can be very complex, I am drawn to the simplicity of its nature. Pottery is not the messenger. It is the message. Its meaning is as clear as a mountain.”